The decor of the frames
It was especially from the 17th century that the art of the gilded wooden frame developed in France, going hand in hand with the rise of easel painting. The decorations, evolving, characterize the different periods of production. This is how we determine, depending on the decorative inspiration, the period or the style to which the old frame belongs. The ornament is a marker of history. These ornamental patterns, which are found not only on gilded wooden frames but more generally applied to furniture and decoration, can be inspired by nature, geometry, architecture or everyday objects. On the other hand, on the framing, animal motifs, outside of the shell, are quite rare, as are anthropomorphic motifs. Many of these decorative patterns have been used since Antiquity and find a greater or lesser echo depending on the era, resurfacing regularly, according to the fashions, in forms sometimes modified or stylized.
The moldings of the frames have linear ornamental compositions, most often friezes, coupled with other elements such as grids, interlacing, bundles, garlands, embossings, a reticulated network, grains of rice in relief or grains of barley… as many decorative compositions allowed by the variable width of the baguette, the thickness of which is generally proposed in correlation with the format of the work to be framed. Some small format frames can however have a proportionally very large width, leaving a large place for the decor, whether simple or more supplied, while frames intended for larger formats can conversely be found to have a molding width little important, depending on the current modes.
