215

was very interesting to learn how many changes he made

day by day. The journal entries suggest the conditions of

cold and damp under which he had to work; in fact, there

was even a danger of the plaster freezing.

Meigs’s observations are borne out by what we found

on the wall in the configuration of the giornate and in the

way Brumidi built up his pigments as one would when

using oil paint. We learn that Meigs was initially disturbed

by how bright the blue was when first applied; Brumidi

knew that it would dry to a lighter shade. The journal

gives us a very rare account of the dynamic process of creating a fresco, which normally can only be studied as a

fait accompli.

he description of Brumidi at work in the room for

the House Committee on Agriculture (H–144), recently discovered in the transcription of Montgomery C. Meigs’s private journal, appears to be unique

in the history of art. Although there have been several

“how-to” manuals that explain the step-by-step execution

of a fresco, beginning with the Roman architect Vitruvius, Meigs’s journal is the only known eye-witness description of a frescoist actually at work.

For the conservator, the transcriptions bring us close to

the artist and make us feel a part of the creative process.

Although some of the sections Brumidi chopped out and

replaced were evident to us while cleaning the fresco, it

Conservators’ Introduction

BERNARD RABIN AND CONSTANCE S. SILVER

T

Fig. A–1. Diagram of giornate in Calling of Cincinnatus

from the Plow. Lines indicate divisions between the sections of

mortar. The numbers indicate the order in which Brumidi painted

the sections; they are keyed to the descriptions from Meigs’s journal.

APPENDIX A:

Brumidi’s First Fresco

Patches indicating 

corrections

Edges 

of giornate

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●2

●3

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●7

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●4

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216

Excerpts from the Journals of

Montgomery C. Meigs

The Journals are among the Papers of Montgomery C.

Meigs, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress. They

were transcribed from archaic Pittman shorthand by

William Mohr for the U.S. Senate Bicentennial Commission. These selections describe Meigs’s introduction to

Brumidi and the execution of the frescoed lunette of

Calling of Cincinnatus from the Plow in room H–144. 

1854

Dec. 28 Mr. Stone stopped today to see me about an

Italian painter named—I forget. He has been

in Mexico lately, painting a church, is from

Rome, which place, like all his countrymen,

according to their own account, he left for

political reasons. Mr. Stone said he had told

him that I could not employ him without

seeing anything of his work. And he had offered to paint a small piece if I would give

him a room, a piece of fresh wall as a sample

of what he could do. After some conversation carried on in bad French on both sides,

I gave him the size and shape of the lunette

filling the elliptical arch at one end of my office, and he promised to make and send to

me a design for an allegorical painting of

agriculture, supposing that the room might

be occupied by the Committee on Agriculture at some future day. He spoke very confidently of his own skill, said there was no

fresco painting in America, only tempera. He

said he had a picture to paint for a church

and another for a hotel. He said he would be

here in March and paint his specimen, but I

told him that the determination of these

things rested with Congress and that the legislators went away in March, so that if he

wished them to see his painting, he had better do it earlier. Upon this, he laughed and

said that the church would be there always,

Congress would pass, and he would paint

this first. He is a lively old man with a very

red nose, either from Mexican suns or

French brandies. Is an élève [pupil]of some

Roman academy, knows Crawford, the sculptor. Was employed with many other artists in

the decoration of the house of the banker

Toroni [Torlonia] in Rome, which he says is

very splendid, painted in fresco. There was

with him another man, a handsome young

man, either French or Italian, I did not understand which, who is a bronze worker. For

him, I had nothing. He acted as interpreter

for us whenever the painter failed to understand my bad French or I failed to comprehend his, which was about as bad. 

1855

Jan. 24 I received a visit also from the fresco painter,

Brumidi, who brought his sketch in oil of

Cincinnatus at the Plow. It is good and shows

skill in drawing and composition and coloring,

much greater than I expected. He is to begin

it in fresco in about a week, taking a week to

make his cartoons full-size. 

Jan. 30 I took Mr. Stone today through the workshops. The old gentleman was much interested. He said that I had done 10 years’ work

since I had been here. I took him to see the

cartoon drawing by Mr. Brumidi. He is not

much advanced, the cold weather interfering

with his colors. He has taken a house on

Delaware Avenue, within one square of the

Capitol, for his work.... I sent him today a

marble slab to rub his colors upon, and sent

a bucket of lime for his white, as the other,

he says, froze. 

Feb. 12 I went also with Mr. Brumidi, the painter in

fresco, to look at his cartoon, which he had

finished. I did not think that he had carried

out the promise of his sketch. He has not carefully enough studied the figures. They are

carelessly drawn and are therefore out of drawing. His priest is too short for his head. One of

his warriors is not standing correctly. And

there are other faults in the picture more visible where it is drawn in black and white only

than in the colored sketch which he worked

from. I pointed out some defects, which he did

not seem to be quite pleased at my doing. I

told him that he would have many critics, as

the American painters would all look with jealousy at him and at his works and that they

would find all the fault they could. 

Feb. 14 Mr. Brumidi came today to make preparations

for the painting of his fresco. The first operation is to wet thoroughly for several days the

rough coat of plaster upon the wall. This was

done twice today. He says that the common

sand used in the mortar is as good as any for

the final coat of plastering, or “intonaco.” I
seem to sink in as quick as I had expected. I

asked him if his sky was not going to be too

blue, for he laid it in very thick with some

blue, either smalt or cobalt. He said no, that

he feared rather that it would prove too

light, “troppo chiaro.”

He began about 10 1/2 a.m. and continued

to paint, with the interval during which he

went home to dinner until I left the office at 4

p.m. I left him at work. The part of his picture

which he was at work upon is a left-hand corner, which conveys a distant view of some

building and the Tiber, with a boat in which

the deputation has come to offer an insignia of

the dictatorship to Cincinnatus. A man sits

upon the stern of the boat, and a fine figure

stands upon the gunwale. The sky, when I left

it, was as intensely blue as it could well be

made by cobalt. I shall look with interest to see

the changes which drying will make in its

color. The hand and forearm of the moving

figure, with a bundle of fasces upon his shoulder, are in the part of the picture which he was

painting upon. When I left him, he had merely

put the first tint on this hand and arm, and I

do not suppose that he touched that again;

and he will therefore, I expect, scrape that all

the while this morning. 

Feb. 20 Brumidi finished yesterday the hand which I

thought he would erase. Today he had the

outline of the next figure, putting in upon the

fresh plaster, or intonaco. He painted, however, only one of them, that to which the

hand and arm done yesterday belonged. This

figure has some force but is not an important

figure in the composition, being in the background. The parts of the work done yesterday

begin already to come out with much more

force and clearness that they did at first, and

they begin also to show spots of irregular

color. This is owing to the unequal drying of

the mortar. The dark blue sky looks a light

cobalt, and the background figures are getting

much more visible than they were. For tomorrow, he expects to make the bust and head

and body of the next figure, the one leaning

upon the fasces. I am surprised to see so much

time spent upon the painting. He worked till

sunset today without any inconvenience from

drying of the intonaco. The work is gone over

and over again with the same freedom of retouching and the same thickness of color that

told Mr. McFarlane to prepare himself by getting the necessary tools to do the plastering

for the painter as he goes on with his work.

The lime used in the last coat should be

kept a long time in pots; so, soon as the

weather gets favorable, I must have a large

quantity slacked (slaked) and run into the

cellars to be used in our decorated walls. 

Feb. 19 Monday. Today Mr. Brumidi began his fresco

of ‘Cincinnatus Called from the Plow to be

Dictator.’ I made Mr. McFarlane, the master

mason, do the plastering for him. This coat

of lime and sand was laid upon a small part,

perhaps a yard [square], in the lower lefthand corner of the picture. This was laid and

smoothed by common mason’s plastering

trowel. Brumidi went over it with a broom

and water till he got a somewhat roughened

surface. The ground of this plaster was laid

last summer, and as a hot stove has been

burning, with the wind in the room this

ground has got very dry. It was well floated

when put on, so that the surfaces are quite

true and have an advantage over many of the

walls in Italy which have fine and indeed

great works painted upon them.

After the coat of plaster was ready, Brumidi proceeded to mix his palette very deliberately. He used the common artist colors—

terra di siena, umber, ochres, smalt, cobalt.

These were all mixed with lime which has

been slaked for some days into a paste. This

lime, like all his other colors, are kept in pots

of various sizes, placed for convenience in a

wooden box of about 300 x 180 x 90. Water

enough was mixed with that to leave some

free water floating at the top of the pot. To

make his palette, he takes a spatula and pours

out of it every color he wished and pours the

lime, mixed that upon a slab of marble to the

tint he wanted. The color of the tint changes

as it dries, an advantage of the effect. He had

a brick upon which he dried his brush from

time to time; and as that did not dry quick

enough, he afterwards went out and brought

in a lump of umber. The tint applied to this

seemed, from its powerful absorptive quality,

to sink in at once, and the change of color

was quite remarkable. I was surprised to see

him painting so deliberately and also to see

him use his colors with so much impasto. He

laid them on, it appeared to me, just as they

are used in oil painting. The color did not

217

APPENDIX A: BRUMIDI’S FIRST FRESCO

●1

●2

●3

●4
218

is used in oil painting. In fact, the process

seemed to be precisely the same. 

Feb. 21 I found that Brumidi had finished the first lictor yesterday, so that this morning he had a

piece of plaster put in for the next figure,

which is the second lictor. Of this, he only attempted the upper half of the figure, with sky

and tree branches above it. This being more

in the front of the picture that the other, required a more careful finish, and he completed this part of the painting by sunset. The

work has much force, and the part begun

first, though now only 3 days old, already begins to show much improvement in clearness

and beauty. The mortar seems to set very

hard, and it will make a durable wall, and the

picture will be as durable as the wall itself.

Many visitors came in to look at the fresco

painter, among others Senator Douglas, who

came to look at the dome and to show it to a

friend. I told him of the painting, and he was

delighted to have the opportunity to explain

it to his friend, who had seen the frescoes of

Rome. He said he was very glad to see that I

was going to fresco the walls. 

Feb. 22 Washington’s Birthday. A busy day for me.

Many visitors to look at the fresco painting

and the dome. 

The fresco painting gets on rapidly. I

found this morning that the lower part of

the figure of the second lictor was laid in

with the first tints when I reached the office.

This figure, I believe, was completed by sunset. I was too much occupied for the last few

hours of the day to look at it closely. He included in the part he laid in a foot of the

priest. The work thus far looks very strong

and forcible.

Feb. 23 Brumidi today undertook the tree and the

head and robe of the armed man in the background, between the priest and the lictor. He

said when I left the office at 4 p.m. that he

had undertaken too much and would be

obliged to content himself with the figure

and erase the tree at night, to be painted

again tomorrow. 

Feb. 24 Brumidi has now completed his fresco as far

as the priest in white and has made his right

foot and the lower part of his dress, which is

in shadow. He cut out today the face and part

of the 2nd lictor, which did not please him,

and repainted it. A drop or two of water also

had trickled in the plaster over the foot which

was finished yesterday, and he said he should

be obliged to cut that out and repaint it. 

Feb. 25 I have stayed at home today in consequence

of a cold, which has nearly deprived me of

the power to speak at all, caught in the office

because of the damp and cold while Brumidi

is painting his fresco. 

Feb. 27 The fresco begins to show itself much better

than it did. The figure of the lictor is coming

out in a striking manner. I found this morning that Brumidi had erased all that he

painted yesterday. He said that the intonaco

dried too fast for him and he did not get it

finished. He had painted the white robe of

the priest. He painted it all today above the

fold which runs from the right foot obliquely

up, leaving the shadow part below unpainted. It is well done and looks already

very well. 

March 1 I had many visitors today to look at the dome

and at the fresco, both generally admired.

The figure of the priest is finished, and today

Brumidi put in the upper part of the Senator,

who points to Rome and appeals to Cincinnatus to come to the help of this country, with

the sky and background belonging to this figure. He painted this with more care than any

figure yet, and the head is put in with a delicacy and beauty which has surprised me. It

looks like one of Sully’s delicately painted

heads. The undergarment is finished, the left

hand and arm not yet begun. Brumidi said

today that after painting in oil for some time,

his hand was a little out and first thought he

would repaint some of the first parts of the

work. After he finishes, he will cut them out

and repaint them.

March 7 [Congressman Richard H. Stanton] saw the

painting of Brumidi, which he has not seen

before; for although he has been into Mr.

Walter’s room, he has not been into mine.

He was much delighted with it. Went up to

the scaffold.

March 9 Brumidi has now got so far with his picture

that today he painted the driver of the oxen.

The greater part of the picture is thus finished. 

March 14 Mr. Brumidi has finished his picture, except

the head and bust of the boy in the corner.

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April 18 I went to see the work of Brumidi, and

Casali, the former has made and finished the

first of the half-size cartoons for the ceiling.

He has one other nearly done and a third is

begun. I do not think he works as fast as in

the first picture.

April 21 Brumidi is at work upon his cartoons.

May 19 [President Pierce and Secretary Davis] had

come in for a moment to see me and look at

the picture.

May 28 Mr. Huntington, the painter, came to see me

and the Capitol. I took him over the work,

showed him Brumidi’s designs and cartoons,

with which he was pleased.

June 6 Mr. Brumidi announced his completion of the

cartoons for the room, and I have ordered the

scaffold to be put up for him tomorrow.

June 11 The scaffold is up in my room for the purpose

of painting the walls, but it seems that some

of the plaster has got loosened from the bricks

by the driving of nails and plugs for the

boards which I had put up to hang specimens

upon. So that it will be necessary to take from

the wall this part of the plaster. I have concluded to change my office into the back

room till these paintings are finished.

1856

April 1 I believe I will finish the painting of the agricultural room and report it to the department as ready for occupation. Then let his

committees fight for it.

April 11 The painted chamber, the agriculture room,

is finished and cleaned out. The key has been

sent by the secretary to the Speaker of the

House of Representatives. I think that whatever committee takes possession of it will

have a hard time with the public who throng

to see it.

July 25 I went today to the committee room to

meet the committee on expenditures upon

public building, as I had been told by the

Chairman, Mr. McMullen, that he intended

to call them to conference this day and

wished me present. They were called in the

room of the Committee on Agriculture, the

frescoed chamber. Only two Members, including the Chairman, assembled, so that as

there was no quorum, there was no business

He is waiting for this till I can take Monty as

the model for it. Louisa asked him to put

him in, and he said that he was a good model

and he would make it a portrait. Today was

so damp and dark that I did not like to take

him to the place. Some little changes will be

made in two parts of the picture which were

painted first. It was 5 years since he had

painted in fresco, and his hand was a little

out of practice.

March 15 I took Monty to the office today, and Mr.

Brumidi used him as the model to paint

the boy in the corner of his picture. He did

not make a likeness but only a sketch

which is a boy of Monty’s character. This

completes the picture, except some repainting which he proposes to do in the

first parts of it. 

March 16 Fresco painting is now completed, except

that Mr. Brumidi today took out the landscape at the left which he painted the first

day, and repainted it. As he began upon

Monday, after he works upon the picture in

making little repairs, tomorrow it will be just

4 weeks’ work all together. 

March 17 Mr. Corcoran came with his daughter and

another lady to look at the fresco painting

today. 

March 20 I had this morning a visit from the Secretary

of War. He went over the shops and looked

at the work. He authorized me to offer to

Mr. Brumidi $8 per diem.

March 30 I forgot to mention, by the way, in this book

that Brumidi has made a sketch—“skitch,” he

calls it—for the ceiling of the room in which

he has painted the Cincinnatus. He has made

a beautiful division of the work and put into

the 4 arches the 4 seasons. I think that it will

make a very beautiful room when finished.

April 2 I had a visit from Mr. Stanton, Dick, this

morning. He came to take another look at

the painting of Cincinnatus, which he professes to admire very highly.

April 7 Miss Noah, with her brother, with some other

persons in her train, came today to look at the

fresco. I introduced her to Brumidi. Took her

to see the dome drawing as it is now. We then

went to Brumidi’s painting room to look at

the cartoons he is making for the ceiling of

the committee room of agriculture.

219

APPENDIX A: BRUMIDI’S FIRST FRESCO

●17

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●18
done. The fresco painting, if thought by

some extravagant, is evidently popular with

the Members.

Sept. 5 I wrote today to the Clerk of the House of

Representatives to ask him to cause the person

left in charge of the room in the south wing to

attend to his duty so far as to keep the room

open. So many persons come to look at it

from a distance and find it closed that we are

annoyed by their complaints.

220