The Sgraffito Technique

A sgraffito is not painted. It is drawn in mortar.

First, coarse mortar is applied to the wall, followed by a second layer of finer mortar. More often than not, a layer of lime is added where the motif will be drawn, or over the entire facade, to make the sgraffiti more visible. This surface is the artist’s canvas, where they can express their art by tracing the outlines of their drawings in the still-moist material.

The artist may also wish to add colour, in which case the mortar or lime can be tinted with pigments, usually mineral pigments obtained by crushing different stones.

Once the surface is ready, work has to be done quickly.

The artist traces the contours with a simple metal point, e.g. a nail, and then the areas to be darkened are scraped with a knife. Depending on the scale of the project, the artist may receive help, professional or otherwise, because time is of the essence—a sgraffito is done in the space of one day. After that, the mortar solidifies, and it is impossible to add other motifs.

Sgraffito is unforgiving, and you have to work quickly and accurately, because mistakes cannot be corrected — every line is final.

It is an age-old process that has remained virtually unchanged since the Renaissance. Of course, modern techniques make it possible to obtain purer, whiter limes and finer mortars, but in essence the technique has not changed since its invention. The fact that this tradition continues nowadays in the same form means that we can proudly call it a living tradition.