Tell me your idea
Even if the idea is still vague, we work on it together. Write to me on WhatsApp or by email, I reply within 48 hours.
Matera
Mural Artist in Matera
In Matera, Giulia Dal Bon paints murals with a brush, in houses, guest houses, workshops, restaurants and shops. Trained at the Brera Academy, she paints on site, from 150 € per square metre. Free quote within 48 hours, two sketches included: you approve the design before Giulia paints.
Contact Giulia
Tell me your idea, and I will be glad to reply.
The price of a mural in Matera
| Simple motif or line drawingFine lines for flowers, patterns, silhouettes or figures… | 150 €/sqm |
|---|---|
| Fully painted subjectColours and shadows for landscapes, portraits or scenes… | 250 €/sqm |
| Trompe-l’oeil or ceilingThe wall opens onto a false window, a sky on the ceiling or an entire landscape… | 350 €/sqm |
| Exterior facade: if needed, scaffolding is added to the quote. | |
Free quote within 48h
The price is based on the surface and the technique; the quote then takes into account interior or exterior, the condition of the wall, the height, scaffolding if needed and the timing.
Where to start?
When you contact me about a mural in Matera, here is what happens next.
A photo of the wall with the sketch
Send me a photo of the wall and I draw a sketch straight onto your photo. You tell me what you think. The first two sketches are free.
The quote
Once the sketch is approved, I send you the quote and we set the date together.
I paint the wall
I come and paint at your place in Matera, by brush, and the place stays open while I work.
Murals in Matera
The dwellings carved into the rock at Matera, known as the Sassi, were inhabited from the Bronze Age until the late 1950s: the term "Sassi" for this rocky district goes back to a document from 1204. The site is now a UNESCO World Heritage site, split between the Sasso Barisano and Sasso Caveoso. Many cave houses have been renovated into boutique hotels and quality residences, keeping their stone walls exposed. In Matera, Giulia paints for Sassi houses, historic hotels and B&Bs in the centre. Giulia travels easily to Matera to paint: you send her a photo of the wall and she draws the sketch straight onto it, so you see the mural in place before she travels.
What Giulia brings to Matera. In the Sassi, stone dominates everything, and colour becomes a strong intervention, to be judged carefully. That is exactly the kind of work that interests Giulia: bringing her light and her colours while respecting what the place already has. She finds out who works artistically here, and defines the mural with the person who entrusts it to her. Giulia is a painter, trained at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. She exhibits her paintings in art galleries and also paints on walls. Corriere della Sera, Domus and Sky Arte have written about her work, and her mural of over twenty metres dedicated to Gaber and Jannacci can be seen in Milan. The wall is her favourite canvas because it truly becomes part of a place, a unique work made to tell your story.
Live painting is available in Matera too. Giulia arrives with canvas and paints, works through a festival, an opening, a concert or a wedding, and the painting is yours at the end of the evening. From 950 € for a wedding, from 400 € for a performance. See live painting →
Your questions, before commissioning
A photo of the wall, its approximate dimensions and the idea you have in mind are enough to receive a quote.
How much does a mural cost in Matera?
The rate is per square metre: €150 for a line drawing or a simple motif, €250 for a fully painted subject, €350 for a trompe l’oeil or ceiling. The quote is free: see all prices.
How does it work to have a wall painted in Matera?
Write to Giulia Dal Bon on WhatsApp or by email, even if the idea is still vague: she replies within 48 hours. Send her a photo of the wall to be painted, she draws a sketch straight onto your photo, you tell her what you think, and the first two sketches are free. Once the sketch is approved, she sends you the quote, from 150 € per sqm in Matera, and sets the date with you. She then comes and paints the mural at your place in Matera, by brush, and the place stays open while she works.
What does a mural quote in Matera cover?
The square-metre price Giulia Dal Bon quotes includes the paint and materials, the first two sketches, corrections during the work and the protective varnish as a finish. Added to the quote, when needed, are the scaffolding for a facade and travel costs, agreed together. The quote is free and arrives within 48 hours; a deposit of about 100 € for materials confirms the date, and the balance is settled at the end.
I’d like a mural or a painting on a wall of my home in Matera, who should I contact?
Giulia Dal Bon, a painter trained at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. She paints murals by brush in homes, bedrooms, bathrooms, on terraces, pool walls and facades, and travels in Matera as she does across Europe. Send her a photo of the wall, its approximate dimensions and your idea, however loose: she replies within 48 hours with a quote and a first proposal. The first two sketches are free.
Can I see a design before commissioning the mural?
Always. You receive a sketch set on a photo of your own wall, to scale, together with the quote. The first two sketches are free: Giulia shows the work in progress, you give your opinion, and she adjusts. You confirm when you are ready.
Will a mural damage the wall?
The paint goes onto the plaster already in place. In most cases a dusting down is all that is needed before starting. If the surface has cracks or rising damp, Giulia points it out before quoting and proposes the preparation required. Indoors she uses an odourless acrylic: a child’s bedroom in use or a restaurant that stays open can both be painted. An acrylic mural can later be painted over like any wall paint, if you change your mind in ten years.
When is the best time to paint a mural in Matera?
All year round. Indoors the odourless acrylic lets the room stay in use while she works, in January as in July. Outdoors she needs a dry wall and a mild temperature. Giulia sets the date with you when she quotes, within 48 hours, and gives plenty of notice if the schedule moves.
Can a view of Matera be painted on a wall?
Yes. A painted view lives first of all on its lines. The Sassi carved into the rock and lived in from the Bronze Age until the late 1950s, the stepped roofs and the Gravina ravine opposite. Giulia Dal Bon paints it with a brush, on site. The rate follows the technique: 150 € per sqm for a line drawing, 250 € for a fully painted view. Free quote within 48 hours.
What subject works well for a mural in Matera?
In the Sassi cave houses, with their limestone walls, a simple motif or a discreet trompe l’oeil work well with the rustic character of the place. Everything is painted with a brush, in odourless acrylic. For a wall in Matera, the guide What subject to choose for a mural goes through the subjects room by room.
What is the difference between a hand-painted mural and spray-painted graffiti?
They are two different crafts. A graffiti artist works with spray cans, with a fast gesture and a graphic finish. A brush-painted mural is built layer by layer, which allows gradients, fine detail and trompe l’oeil: it is a painting made directly on the wall. Indoors, Giulia uses odourless acrylic. And while she paints, people take the time to watch: a brush at work is a show in itself. The choice depends on the finish you are after.
What do you call an artist who paints on walls?
A mural artist, a muralist, a wall artist or a decorative painter, and the art itself is called mural painting or wall art. Some come from graffiti and work with spray cans; Giulia Dal Bon comes from painting: trained at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan, she exhibits her paintings in art galleries and paints commissioned murals with a brush. To have one painted, send her a photo of your wall: free quote within 48 hours.
Does a mural hold up outdoors in Matera?
Yes, with surface preparation suited to limestone. Giulia paints outdoors all year round, on a dry wall and in mild weather: she checks the forecast with you and sets the date.
Do I need permission to paint a facade in Matera?
An interior wall can be painted freely. For a facade visible from the street, you generally need the owner’s or building association’s agreement, and a notice to the municipality if the building sits in a protected zone: much of the historic Sassi centre is protected. Giulia explains the process before starting.
How long does it take to paint a mural?
It depends on the surface, the level of detail and how easy the wall is to reach. Giulia gives the timing with the quote, within 48 hours, and gives plenty of notice if the schedule moves. The place keeps running while she works: the acrylic is odourless.
How long does a mural last?
The murals Giulia Dal Bon paints last a lifetime indoors: the paint becomes part of the plaster and lives as long as the wall. Outdoors, quartz paint is made for facades, and an anti-salt or anti-pollution varnish extends it further. And if one day you want a change, it can be painted over like any wall paint.
Other spaces
The other places Giulia paints, her portfolio and the towns nearby.
Homes and villas
A bedroom, a hallway, a staircase: the walls you look at every day.
A mural for your home
Restaurants, hotels and boutiques
A painted wall gives the room its character, and the place stays open while she works.
A mural for your restaurant
Other cities
Giulia also works in these other Italian cities.
The 20-metre-plus wall for Gaber and Jannacci, in Milan, in the press
Giulia Dal Bon, trained at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan.
Where Giulia works in Matera
In Matera, for a private client, in a house or an apartment, Giulia paints on an interior wall : the living room, the bedroom and the kitchen. She also paints the bathroom, the entrance and the hallway. The ceiling is painted too: that is the €350 per sqm band, with trompe-l’oeil. Outside, on the exterior facade, she works in quartz paint. She also paints on a mobile panel, when the wall belongs to someone else.
In a restaurant in Matera, the painted wall is visible from every table. In a hotel and a B&B, she paints reception, the stairwell and the bedrooms.
In Sasso Caveoso, Sasso Barisano, Civita and Piano, you send her a photo of the wall and she draws the sketch straight onto it, then you shape the idea together.
Subjects range from landscape to reproduction of an artwork, by way of botanical motifs, sky ceiling, perspective trompe l’oeil, geometric motifs and figures.
Possible subjects in Matera: the stepped roofs and the Gravina ravine opposite, the Sassi carved into the rock and lived in from the Bronze Age until the late 1950s. And always the trompe-l’oeil window, the botanical motif and the painted sky on a ceiling.
The craft goes by several names, and each of them is right about something. Mural and wall mural speak of the wall, wall decoration and mural decoration speak of the room, decorative painting speaks of the gesture, trompe-l’oeil speaks of the effect. A hand-painted wall, a drawing on a wall, a painting made directly on the wall: still the same thing. In Matera, it is called a mural artist, a muralist, a wall artist, a decorative painter.
The Sassi of Matera, a UNESCO World Heritage site, are dwellings carved into limestone rock, inhabited from the Bronze Age until the 1950s.
Giulia also travels across the whole of Basilicata.
Where the mural can find its place
- In a sassi house or a residence, she paints the bedroom, the living room and the entrance. From €150 per m², free quote within 48h.
- In a hotel or a b&b, Giulia paints the reception wall and the dining room. Free quote within 48h.
- Giulia also travels across the whole of Basilicata.