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Joy Reed Belt
Frames greatly influence our perception of paintings. In fact, experts suggest that the frame represents 40-70% of the visual impact of any given painting. Frames can clash with a painting or be harmonious; they can enhance or diminish a painting. Frames have become important as art objects. Museums now have framing committees and constantly reframe paintings; auction houses organize sales of frame lots; over the past three years, both The San Diego Museum of Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art have had exhibitions of frames sans paintings.
Framing pictures had its origins in the stylized geometric borders that first appeared on vase and tomb paintings between 2000 and 1000 B.C. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the first frames appeared on European altarpieces usually in the form of decorative margins. In the 14th and 15th centuries altarpieces featured a single, rectangular scene set within a frame. Simpler images were framed in a wooden case or molding frames called cassetta frames. With the emergence of the great courts of Europe during the 17th century, the picture in its frame became an expression of wealth and privilege and reflected the architecture or decor of the salon in which it was hung. The Baroque and Rococo periods produced elaborate three dimensional sculptural frames in France while the Dutch frames of the 17th century were simply carved fruitwoods that were usually painted black. In England in the 18th century, great cabinet makers like Thomas Chippendale carved frames for the paintings that hung in the grand houses of the day.
Degas designed his own frames. A pastel of ballet dancers sold at Sotheby's in 1999 had his original white frame with fluted borders. Most of the impressionists preferred simple strip frames. James Abbott McNeill Whistler designed reeded frames that reflected a tendency toward simplicity and strength of design in reaction to the prevailing Victorian ornamentation. In America, Stanford White, partner in the turn-of-the century architecture firm McKim, Mead & White, designed picture frames which he gave as gifts to his clients. One of his frames brought $43,700 at a 2001 auction. With the advent of the industrial age, standardized, massed produced frames began and continue to flood the market with a bewildering array of choices. While each artistic movement has produced its own frame patterns that reflect the prevailing decorative style, as pictures have changed hands new owners have re-framed according to their taste. Chances are the older the painting the more it has been framed.
Today there seems to be a great deal of interest on the part of artists, curators, and collectors in "properly" framing or reframing a piece of art. However, there doesn't seem to be agreement on what is a proper frame. Mark Leonard, conservator of paintings at the J. Paul Getty Center in Los Angeles says, "The best frames ease your eyes into the painting, and everything is geared to letting the artist speak." Laurence B. Kanter, a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, thinks "The fashion these days is for what the media call period frames, which is to say you try to match a work of art to a frame of the same date and time."
Craig Ponzio, the owner and chief designer at Larson Johl, the world's largest designer, manufacturer, and distributor of frames, generally doesn't believe that the frame should interact with the art. "A dialogue with the surroundings is much more important," he says. The ads for Larson Johl assert "The right custom frame creates a dialogue between your art and decor---a visual bridge that becomes a backdrop of personal expression." Personally, I agree with Jared Bark, one of the partners a Bark Frameworks in New York, who states ”The frame is there to present the work in the most effective way. That doesn't mean that the frame should be invisible or mute. It can have its own resonance that engages the work. There can be a dialogue."
Here are some questions to ask if you are considering reframing a work of art: How well does the frame relate aesthetically to the picture? Could the framing be improved? If so, how? Is the frame an antique or a reproduction? If it is an antique does it conform to the picture's nationality and period? If it is a replica is it a good copy? What is the frame worth? Will it enhance the value of the painting, and if so, what is the added value? Does your framer use archival materials? Remember that all art work should be framed using archival quality materials. Masking tape and pulp mat board can totally destroy a painting. If it's a work on paper it's important to use specially treated UV-blocking glass or acrylic over the front of an image.
When framing a work of art it’s a good idea to look at several styles and colors to determine what works best with the paintings. Just as a hairdo affects the face, a molding in pewter, gold or silver will interact differently with the image being framed.
Additionally, the size of the frame should be considered in relationship to other artwork that may be hanging nearby and the surrounding decor. Frames should never overwhelm the painting. Nothing enhances the appeal of a beautiful painting like the perfect frame. It is a marriage of style, aesthetic and craftsmanship. Properly framing a work of art is indeed an art.
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