The Manguinhos Workshop-School (OEM) is a part of the Heritage Education Center, Department of Cultural Heritage of the Casa de Oswaldo Cruz. Since its establishment in 2006, it has aimed to preserve traditional building techniques and arts integrated with architecture. With this in mind the project "The Art and Technique of Fresco - course of traditional painting." was started in 2013. The course, which is sponsored by Fiotec through the Cultural Incentive Law (ISS Law), has carried out everything from the preparation of an artistic design for a fresco mural to its implementation, through theoretical and practical lessons, involving 13 students.

The technique consists of painting ​​directly onto lime plaster, while still fresh in the wall, with pigments diluted in water that penetrate and blend with the plaster. Paintings done using ​​this technique are long-lasting, precisely because they are painted while still wet.

The art is ancient and is widespread in Europe; one example is the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Here in Brazil the technique has also been in evidence; one can see it in paintings by Eliseu Visconti at the Theatro Municipal and in paintings by Candido Portinari at the GustavoCapanema Palace in Rio de Janeiro.

Over time, Fresco painting has disappeared and now few people have knowledge of the technique. One goal of the course is precisely to preserve this art “This is a course with a great contribution to society, for art and culture. We want to create a new generation of artists who have mastered the fresco technique and pass this on “explained Cristina Coelho, coordinator of the course.

Another purpose of the course is to preserve the memory of Lydio Bandeira de Mello, one of the few Brazilian artists who mastered the technique of Fresco with precision. While living in Europe, Flag painted two murals at the Sanctuary of Poggio Bustone in a small church Built by St. Francis of Assisi in 1209 and partially rebuilt after being hit by earthquake in 1948. This work is today considered one of the great Brazilian works internationally. "The Fresco is a technique that requires a lot of training and dedication. Not everyone has the hands for this. Here in this course, the students are improving every day", said Bandeira de Mello.

The Legacy of the Course

Scheduled for the first half of 2015, the final project of the course involves painting fresco murals on buildings used by the public, around the campuses of Fiocruz in Manguinhos and Jacarepaguá. This is one way of spreading the technique and giving back to society the resources employed in conducting the course. The population of the chosen locations may collaborate with the research to create an artwork to be depicted in the fresco, and should participate in the painting, after a selection process to choose helpers, at the discretion of the course coordinator.

Additionally, the entire course is being filmed, so that at the end, a DVD containing the technique, the work by the students and the story of professor Bandeirawill be produced. The film will be the second edition of "Master & Crafts of traditional Brazilian construction" series, which aims at enhancing and disseminating the experience of master craftsmen and their traditional crafts, so as to enable the preservation of our architectural heritage.

Cultural Incentive Law

Passed in December 1992, the ISS law (known as the Cultural Incentive Law) provides tax incentives for creating and developing projects for culture within the municipality of Rio de Janeiro. In April 2013 the Municipal Culture Secretariat published a public invitation calling taxpayers to register and in May the list of the institutions qualified to promote cultural activities in Rio de Janeiro was released, with Fiotec having the second largest budget available for sponsorship.

The coordinator stressed the importance Fiotec to the project. "The sponsorship has been instrumental in continuing the course. Often our budget can not cover all our activities and sometimes cuts happen. Sponsorship is extremely important to keeping open certain courses like this, which revives an ancient technique and keeps its legacy alive", said Cristina.