History Of Picture Framing

THE PICTURE FRAME,
as it exists today, is derived from the doorway or entrance to temples, palaces and cathedrals. From a functional viewpoint, it might have been more practical to place doors at the sides of these buildings, but the importance of the door framing an impressive picture of the interior was never overlooked.

The need to enhance a picture or bas-relief with a frame is evidenced from the earliest times. The first decorations were necessarily crude; a raised line sometimes being the only ornament.

The earliest examples of frame-like decorations or borders bear a great resemblance to door frames. They were composed of two columns surmounted by a connecting entablature and this form persisted into the 15th century. Even the decorations painted by the artists around the edges of pictures before the intro-duction of movable frames were similar in form.

As a matter of fact, frames without pictures eventu-ally came into existence because the desire to embellish with Moldings was so strong. Rooms in palaces were arbitrarily paneled with Moldings and their vestigial remains are to be seen today in the senselessly paneled walls of apartments in modern cities.

Movable picture frames for "easel" paintings gained quickly in popularity once they were introduced. Besides the elaborate and intricate wood-carving, ebony, ivory, tortoise shell and mother of pearl were used for inlaid decoration. Gold, silver and every other metal have also been used for frames.

With the perfection of the technique of making large sheets of glass which were in turn used to cover and protect pictures, frame-making received a big impetus in the 17th century. In the 18th century, when cheaper mirrors were introduced, frames were in greater demand than ever.

This century also saw an invention that was to revolutionize the art of frame decoration—that of the development of molded composition ornaments. The use of this easily handled material, which did away with the need for laborious and expensive handcarving, drove artisans to other fields.

Since then, there has been no large group of woodcarvers devoted solely to frame decoration.

It is interesting to note that during the Renaissance period, when movable frames were first introduced, book decoration reached its highest form. Undoubtedly, the early carvers and framers, besides using architectural designs, took many of their ideas from early illuminated manuscripts.

The frames of the Louis' periods certainly got their inspiration from typographical decorative motifs. Before then, architects and sculptors designed much of the scroll-work, but later goldsmiths were employed for decoration. Over elaboration became the order of the day until all forms were lost beneath the gingerbread.

With the French revolution, people turned away from all evidences of bourgeois wealth and returnedto a refreshing simplicity. Until 1850 all Moldings were cut from rough boards by hand, but with the invention of laborsaving machinery, frames could be put on the market for what the raw material had cost previously.

This country was fortunately spared from the use of molded ornaments until the advent of the Victorian era. American frames up to that time were relatively simple and dignified, very often using only natural, stained wood and a gilded insert The carving, when used, was restricted to the classical forms of ornamentation for specific molding shapes.

The frame makers who constructed the monstrosities of the Victorian era were not content to put one heavily embellished gold frame around a picture of "The Stag at Bay" or something similar, but three or four. This birthday cake was then enclosed in a glass covered, plush lined, mahogany shadowbox. This was presumably for protection, but its need is a mystery since the interiors of that time were heavily shaded and hermetically sealed anyway.

Around 1900 there was a fashion for "Oxford", plush and cork-decorated frames. Hours and hours were spent carving these horrors and fitting them intricately together or in decorating frames with segments of cork. They can be found only rarely today, even in the higher priced secondhand stores, euphemistically called "antique shops". But perhaps it is too early to drag out another "antique" vogue. Mass production, to some degree at least, has forced a healthy simplification.

At the same time that heavy gilt frames were the vogue for oil paintings, a demand for polished,veneered oak and white enamel frames developed. In order to cheapen the cost of production, a fashion was instituted for bronze frames, i.e., frames finished with gold or silver paint. It did not last long, however, and simple, wide frames in black or dark brown wood of the Flemish type came into favor.

"An inexpensive picture frame may be made by covering a plain pine frame with varnish, then sprinkling it lavishly with either sand, oatmeal or rice. When thoroughly dry, cover the whole surface with gold paint"—From a ladies magazine of 1894.

As will be seen from this quotation, one of the causes of a great deal of misconception regarding proper framing is the damage which has been done by the "ideas" put forth in women's magazines and slick paper decorators' journals. The attempts at being "cute" and "homey" in the women's magazines and the chi-chi attitude of being "smart" in the more expensive journals are on a par for bad taste. There is no reason to suppose that any of the suggestions they make today are any improvement basically over those advanced fifty years ago.

Just as all decorative art continued in the doldrums until the influence of the "modern" art of the Paris Exposition of 1925 was felt, so picture framing had its minor ups and downs in design. In the late twenties there was less of a high bound attitude toward picture frames. In place of gilt or gloomy black, color began to appear. Picture framing has lagged, to some extent, behind the advances made in the best of contemporary furniture design for example, but that is to be expected since the bulk of home furnishings produced in this country is in execrable taste.

While the major part of the framing being done today is still in poor taste, one can avoid contributing to it by following a simple guide for good, conventional work. Always consider the finish of the frame first in relation to the picture and only later to the colors of draperies, furniture or walls.

The result will be that if the picture itself is really suited to the room, the frame will also be harmonious. Of course, there are no hard and fast rules in framing, and at times a slight variation in hue or value will certainly not hurt the picture but may make it more in keeping with the interior for which it is destined.

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