T
he Creation fresco was proposed in
1997 by Bethany art professor William
Bukowski. The idea was to proclaim
Bethany’s belief in the Biblical account of creation
in a modern building of mathematics and science
using an ancient painting technique.
Fresco is a form of painting that was used in
tombs, palaces and churches since the development
of cities. Many cultures, ranging from the Mayans
in Mexico to the Romans throughout the empire in
Italy, have used fresco.
fresco, drawing the cartoon and working on small
fresco and egg tempera studies. The math and
science division and the college’s board of regents
met with Bukowski as the ideas for the fresco were
presented and developed.
Shugrue visited the Bethany campus in December
2001 to check the site and wall specifications.
The painting must be
finished while it is still
wet.The artist has a
window of about 10
hours to finish a section.
Bruenicke (left) and Shugrue apply the arranata layer.
PROCESS
A water-based pigment (color) is applied to damp
plaster to fuse with the wall. The plaster is made of
sand and hydrated lime. When it dries it becomes
calcium carbonate, permanently fixing the painting
to the wall.
The wall is made of three layers. The first, called
the arranata, or scratch coat is made of rough
sand and cement mixed with a small amount of
horsehair. The second layer, called the arriccio, is
lime and medium grade sand. The final layer, the
intonaco, contains fine sand and is the layer to
which the artist applies the pigment. The pigment
must be applied when the wall is damp. During this
phase the artist must be extremely accurate, as the
wall does not allow for excessive blending or correction.
PREPARATIONS BEGIN
Professor Bukowski traveled to Italy in the
summer of 1998 and studied fresco at the Academia
Caerita in Ceri. At the fresco class, Bukowski met
artist James Shugrue and proposed a collaboration
to complete the commission. Bukowski returned
to Bethany and began the process of designing the
You can see the painting process in this detail
from the creation of
man panel. Pigment is
applied to the dampened
wall in layers where it
is absorbed into the
intonaco. More layers
of paint are added to
produce the final image.
Pigments used in this
fresco are from a traditional 15th Century
palette.
CREATION
In May 2002, James Shugrue and Charles
Bruenicke built the multi-layered stucco wall.
Beginning on June 12, 2002, Bukowski and
Shugrue worked for 20 consecutive days,
completing the fresco on July 2, 2002. Bukowski
transferred the image from the full size cartoons
and did the painting, and Shugrue prepared the
intonaco and wall for each day of painting.
INSCRIPTIONS
The design is meant to be read like an ancient
prayer book and describes parts of the biblical
account of creation in the book of Genesis.
The inscription across the middle on the left
side is the original Hebrew of Genesis 1:1 - “In
the beginning God created the heavens and
the earth.”
The inscription across the middle on the right
side is the original Greek of John 1:1 - “In the
Fresco creators William Bukowski (left)
and James Shugrue
The Creation Fresco is located in the
Marvin G. Meyer Hall of Science and Mathematics
on the campus of
beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God.”
The two inscriptions remind us that these words
are the inspired words of God. Their meaning was
clear when they were recorded and is clear to us
today.
The
Creation
Fresco
by William Bukowski
and James Shugrue
700 Luther Drive • Mankato, MN 56001
507-344-7000 • www.blc.edu
IN THE BEGINNING
o read the fresco, you must begin in the
upper left panel with the creation of light:
Genesis 1:3 — Then God said, ‘Let there be
light’, and there was light. — and the creation of the
sun, moon and stars: Genesis 1:16 — Then God
made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day,
and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars
also.
The Trinity is portrayed in the act of creation.
The hands are a symbol of God the Father, the
Christ figure holds a measuring device and a globe
with a modern symbol for DNA. This figure
slightly bent was used in medieval manuscripts to
show God as the designer of all things. The Holy
Spirit is depicted as in Genesis 1:2 — …And the
Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
To the right of Christ is the cosmos, which was
based on images taken with NASA’s Hubble Space
Telescope.
T
PARADISE GARDEN
The lower left portion of the fresco represents
the creation of the land, vegetation, birds, and fish:
Genesis 1:11 — Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring
forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree
that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in
itself, on the earth,’ and Genesis 1:20 — Then God
said, ‘Let the waters abound with an abundance of
living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across
the face of the firmament of the heavens.’
Many of the birds are of North American origin.
In the Middle Ages the peacock was called the bird
of paradise and used as a symbol of the resurrection.
So the depiction is meant to continue that reference
to the coming of Christ and our salvation through
Him.
CREATION OF MAN
The upper right portion of the fresco shows
Adam and Eve. Their figures are clay-like and in
the shadow of a large tree: Genesis 1:27 — So God
created man in His own image; in the image of God
He created him; male and female He created them.
Each figure is presented as it was viewed in the art
The design is meant to be read like an ancient prayer book and describes parts of the book of Genesis.
The inscription across the middle on the left side is the original Hebrew text of Genesis 1:1 — “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
The inscription across the middle on the right side is the original Greek text of John 1:1 — “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
of past kingdoms. The bison is based on a prehistoric cave painting, the ducks and fish are from
Egyptian tombs, and the octopus and dolphin are
from the Aegean culture. The small red bird is from
an Etruscan tomb, the lion is from the Assyrian
kingdom, the bull from Babylon, the horse from
Greece, the rabbits from medieval France and the
lamb from the Good Shepherd mosaic of Byzantine
culture. All ancient peoples have shared the wonder
of creation.
THE SEVENTH DAY
The lower right portion of the fresco represents
the seventh day. The earth is complete: Genesis 2:2
— And on the seventh day God ended His work which
He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from
all His work which He had done. This landscape is
taken from the fjords of Norway. The landscape is
made up of basic elements of the earth: rock, water
and vegetation unchanged by man. The presentation of the seventh day as a Norwegian landscape
was also included because of the college’s ties with
the Norwegian Synod, now called the Evangelical
Lutheran Synod.