Procession of the Magi (detail) 1461

Benozzo Gozzoli's "Procession of the Magi" was made with tempera on plaster, a common wall-painting technique in the Renaissance. These were not industrial materials, but certainly were not primitive either. The artist would have first prepared the wall with layers of plaster, then applied pigments mixed with egg yolk to create the vibrant colors you see. The fresco-secco method allows for incredibly fine details to be added, as we can see in the faces of the figures depicted, and the rich textiles adorning their heads and shoulders. The quality of these pigments was also important. The best would have come from grinding precious stones to create the colors. The creation of such a large fresco requires a team of skilled artisans, from the plasterers preparing the wall to the apprentices grinding pigments. Consider how the labor and expertise of many hands contributed to the visual impact and enduring legacy of this work. Paying attention to the making of the artwork gives us a fuller understanding of its meaning.