Thursday

Corner and centre frame





This wonderful 17th/18th Century Louis XIV frame is carved from oak, it looks as if it has been cut down during the 19th Century to fit the current painting, (which is by a French 19th Century artist) this fits in with the practice at the time of using earlier frames, especially this corner and centre style. Interestingly the artist actually worked as a picture frame maker, along with his Father. Who knows, maybe this frame was chosen by the artist or maybe by a dealer or gallery, either way it is a lovely antique frame.
My favourite detail on this frame is the variation in the cross hatched ground, it uses four different types of pattern for the centres, the corners, and the areas between the two. It's subtle but shows some extra time and thought went into the making.