Allegory of March – Triumph of Minerva and Sign of Aries. Frescos in Palazzo Schifanoia (detail) 1470

This detail is part of a fresco made in Palazzo Schifanoia, by Francesco del Cossa. Fresco, meaning "fresh" in Italian, is a technique where pigments are applied to wet plaster. Consider the labor involved: from preparing the lime plaster to grinding the pigments by hand, to the artist's careful application, a fresco is a testament to skilled work. The evenness of the surface and the delicacy of the figures here speak to a mastery of the medium, possible only through years of practice. The very act of painting on a wall, rather than a portable canvas, was a social act, one that brought art into the everyday lives of those who moved through these spaces. By engaging with materials and processes rooted in tradition, while creating works of extraordinary beauty and expressive power, artists like del Cossa challenged the boundaries between craft and fine art.