In the Midst of Old Masters

Artists

Anri Sala

Press release

Curated by: Bodo Brinkmann

Kunstmuseum Basel is presenting the latest work by artist Anri Sala (born 1974, Tirana, Albania) in the Hauptbau in the midst of the Old Masters. Sala made the six frescoes in 2023, which were acquired by the Emanuel Hoffmann Foundation that same year. In them Sala revives the historical craft of al fresco painting, in relation to thoughts about temporality and narrative, themes that are crucial to his oeuvre.

The technique of fresco painting was refined to perfection by the Italian masters of the Early and High Renaissance, above all by Ghirlandaio, Raphael and Michelangelo. Anri Sala already took an interest in fresco painting while still studying in his native Tirana. He has always been fascinated by the limited timeframe of the technique, especially as it relates to his time-based media work.
 

A fresco is completed in sections known as a “giornata,” since each section must be completed within a single day, which requires extremely careful planning. The work consists of two main steps: first, the work is drawn in outline on a layer of damp plaster known as “arriccio,” and then another thin layer of plaster, the “intonaco,” is applied for the painting itself. The pigments can only be applied as long as the plaster is still damp, enabling pigment and plaster to bond in the process of drying. Change is no longer possible after the surface has dried.