We were aiming for a reproduction that was not just a simple copy, but that could be 100 % closed to the original work.
It had to transmit the pathos that normally is experimented in front o a real work of art. To obtain that exact feeling, Pictography was invented

The technology adapting to the past

Here is the path that took us to the finish line

What if Leonardo had access to a computer? How would he use it? What if Raffaello had printing, would have he been using it? From here came the solution: by studying the different technologies used by the artists to make their paintings, and at the same time by evaluating all the modern technologies, we gradually start to experiment, by trying again and again until, ten years later we finally created the first fresco done “al fresco”.

  We finally made one


Now we had to do one more. And again and again


Soon the enthusiasm we enjoyed after the first result took us to the next problem: the possibility to recreate more than one. The fresco, by its nature, does not allow us to make mistakes, it requires an absolute respect of the timing for every passage. And so to realize a perfect one we had to waste seven to eight attempts. It was not possible then to present it to the public. We had to put more months of efforts and work, of continuous trials and errors, changing the ingredients inside the lime, to finally reach the perfection of a beautiful, resistant, long lasting fresco. And all of this was made possible thanks to the territory where we live in.

The best technique to recreate a painting

There is no other technique with the same esthetic result and the same durability

  Pictography is a method of work who has required studies and researches for over 25 years and it is constantly updated. It has been studied to reproduce any painting with scientific methodology, through the use of materials and recipes used for the original ones . Being paintings from Roman era or from most recent times, with the ability to replicate the exact same aesthetic quality and to guarantee the same durability over time. When in 1991 we began our researches, we realized that all the available technologies and techniques were not sufficient to meet our ideas and expectations. There was the technique of “chequerwork”, a method utilized by the artists to enlarge or reduce a painting, or the technique of “projection” on a painting’s white canvas . May be the best method at that time, but that could reach only 90-95 pct of accuracy (depending on the artist’s skills). It could work for wood and canvas but for fresco that requires very fast execution, it seemed there was no solution at that time. We needed “mechanic hands “ in order to have a stable and neutral color on a base that was processed with recipes and methods of the “old craft art shops of ‘400”

The importance of the original

Comparing makes the difference

The way we operate allows us to compare every time with the original work we need to recreate. Only by doing this we are able to transmit to the viewer the same kind of wonder we experiment in front of an original painting. We work for the most important Museums around the world and for this reason we can always make a serious comparison

From the dust to the finished product

This is why there is nothing like Pictography

Bottega Tifernate is able to create both the base and the painted side of the work of art ; it is thanks to this work of integration that the best results can be obtained. All processes are thought to obtain the best and most exact replica. The bases are created with the best materials on the market to obtain the best results. Every work has its own history and it is capable to tell a unique story about the work of the artists of the past. Nothing is left to chance: every single passage is the fruit of deep research on the artisan’s works of the past but also of the mistakes and problems that came out through old and new restoration works.

Natural Color Technique

A work of art can represent an event from the past or an object to be passed on history

We know how valuable a work of art can be , not only economically; of how important is its legacy with a moment in history . For all of that, our work is concentrated on the raw materials and most of all, on colors. All our creations are made by pigments with oxide base, that also when solicited with adverse climate conditions, can guarantee a long life to our works. Depending on the kind of intervention necessary for the work, we use different types of colors , made directly in our laboratory or prepared with precious and natural materials. In both cases the pigments used are able to resist to exceptional exposure of light.

Cennino Cennini e Giorgio Vasari

Both have marked on paper the secrets of their time

Fresco, Canvas and Wood

Work was concentrated here

We could not study only a base and avoid another one. To interpret all the artistic history of Italy at its best , we had to learn how the fresco was handled on the Churches’ walls and inside the palaces or how a canvas or a wood was prepared before being painted.

It was not easy to make it “al fresco”

We wanted it beautiful, we wanted it portable , but most of all ,we wanted it fresco

The objective was clear; we had to realize a fresco as never seen before. Beside the esthetic characteristics, we wanted also to build a base with real materials that were used during ‘400, but that was portable and processed according to the standards of the “buon fresco”

All about fresco

Canvas: a valuable object

The perception of a precious object

Since the beginning we concentrated our works and efforts on the Dutch linen canvas , handled with manual process. We thought this was the best support able to receive a dough made of glue and lime, processed for 2 to 7 times, to be able to maintain the colors for a very long time.

All about Cavans  

Wood: one of the most ancient supports

The preparation of wood is a rite. A slow and delicate process.
From the work of Leonardo we acknowledged both secrets and techniques

  Wood has the same exact preparation of canvas. A manual work, with natural products; It needs a reliable support, robust , away from environmental conditions. This is the reason why we choose only weathered and tracked wood that together with our unique preparation, holds across time a remarkable stability to guarantee the best colors maintenance for years.

All about wood