History Of Picture Framing
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 im-petus
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 hand-carv-ing, drove artisans to other fields. Since then, there has
been no large group of wood-carvers 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 archi-tectural designs, took many
of their ideas from early illuminated manuscripts. The frames of the Louis’
periods certainly got their inspiration from typograph-ical decorative motifs.
Before then, architects and sculptors designed much of the scroll-work, but later
goldsmiths were employed for decoration. Over-elabo-ration became the order of
the day until all forms were lost beneath the gingerbread.
