sinopa
In Italian, refers to a preparatory drawing on wet plaster made with red earth mixed with water. Named for Sinope, a Turkish city on the Baltic Sea. Once the wall was prepared with a gross coating of plaster (rinzaffo) a thinner coat (arriccio) was spread, on to which was drawn, using the red earth mixed with water, the preparatory drawing called the sinopia. One notable example where this technique was used is in the Campo Santo in Pisa, Italy. Following bombing of this site in World War II, the intense heat caused frescoes to peel off, revealing the sinope beneath them. Later these frescoes and sinope were painstakingly deinstalled for restoration and portions of the murals reinstalled. Large portions of the sinope may be viewed in a special museum and exhibit space in Pisa. Photo from Pisa, Italy, 2018.
