Book review: Omkaderd/ Framed

Here is a review of a recently published book on frames by Maarten van 't Klooster. Or, rather, here are three reviews of the same book - one by a layperson (at whom the work is primarily aimed), sandwiched between two by a frame specialist (one in English and one in Dutch, since that's the language of the book). With luck, it will be successful enough to be published in an English translation, and possibly in other languages - because the…

http://theframeblog.com/2026/03/23/book-review-omkaderd-framed/

17th – 18th century silvered & lacquered frames from Barcelona

by Gema de Cambra Florensa Introduction This article attempts to describe, identify and locate the origin of a group of unusual Spanish Baroque frames. Several examples of these architrave, flat or plate frames, finished in silverleaf, lacquered, and decorated in monochrome with scrolling foliate ornamentation on the frieze, have passed through the author's workshop. They date from the 17th and early 18th…

http://theframeblog.com/2026/03/06/17th-18th-century-silvered-lacquered-frames-from-barcelona/

Reframing at the National Gallery, London: Part 5

This is the fifth of a series of short articles on the reframing projects undertaken by the National Gallery, London, under the Head of Framing, Peter Schade. The articles were originally published in the National Gallery’s Review of the Year, from 2008-09 onwards, and are republished here by kind permission of the Gallery, and with added illustrations. 5: Review of the year April 2012 – March 2013: Framing, by Peter…

http://theframeblog.com/2026/02/18/reframing-at-the-national-gallery-london-part-5/

John Constable and picture frames

John Constable and picture frames by Jacob Simon This is an initial exploration of some of John Constable’s landscape frames, primarily his Royal Academy exhibits, on the occasion of the Tate exhibition, Turner & Constable: rivals & originals (until 12 April 2026) [1]. Here we look at original or early frames and their makers, at attitudes to framing in Constable’s lifetime and at some later reframing.

http://theframeblog.com/2026/02/01/john-constable-and-picture-frames/

Pastiglia in Italian Renaissance cassoni of the 14th–16th centuries

Professor Svetlana Nikolskaya  This paper was given at the conference 'Pastiglia decoration', held on 18th November 2025 at the State Museum of Fine Arts of the Republic of Tatarstan, Kazan. Because pastiglia decoration, both as a firmer, moulded and cast auxiliary material, or as applied directly to the object in a more liquid form, has been of great importance for the ornamentation of frames, all the…

http://theframeblog.com/2026/01/13/pastiglia-in-italian-renaissance-cassoni-of-the-14th-16th-centuries/

Framing the Drawing. Drawing the Frame (Rome, 13-15 May 26)

Rome, Bibliotheca Hertziana: Max Planck Institute for Art History, May 13–15, 2026 Deadline: Jan 16, 2026 Marga Sanchez The 2026 Gernsheim Study Days seek to explore the relationship between early modern drawings, frames, and framing. Antonio Tempesta (1555-1630), frame on Federico Zuccari’s Induction of a cardinal, picture: pen-&- ink, wash, white heightening, squared up in chalk; frame: chalk, pen-&-ink,…

http://theframeblog.com/2025/12/21/framing-the-drawing-drawing-the-frame-rome-13-15-may-26/

The gloriously ornamental frames in the Piccolomini Spannocchi collection

Jacob Simon, Research Fellow at the National Portrait Gallery in London, examines a fascinating and perhaps less well-known collection of 16th-18th century paintings, which has been reassembled after years of dispersal and is now on show again in Siena. One of its notable features is the even more extraordinary group of original and near-contemporary frames in which it is partly housed.

http://theframeblog.com/2025/12/06/the-gloriously-ornamental-frames-in-the-piccolomini-spannocchi-collection/

Euvrard & Fabre: ‘Cadres et bois dorés…’: a sale including antique frames

An auction,  ‘Cadres et bois dorés...', will be held by Euvrard & Fabre at the Hôtel Drouot, Paris, on Thursday 20th November 2025. It comprises 161+ lots of pictures frames, many fairly modest in estimate, and more than 100 lots of looking-glasses. The e-catalogue is available here, but has far fewer illustrations than the online grid of lots.

http://theframeblog.com/2025/11/17/euvrard-fabre-cadres-et-bois-dores-a-sale-including-antique-frames/

The picture frames of Wright of Derby (1734-97)

by Paul Mitchell an essay from the Tate Gallery Wright of Derby exhibition catalogue, 1990, to celebrate the opening of the National Gallery exhibition, Wright of Derby: from the shadows, 7 November 2025-10 May 2026 Introduction Framemaking was a flourishing trade during Wright's lifetime. Artists and their patrons, as well as ornamentalists, decorators and architects, were all to some degree involved in the…

http://theframeblog.com/2025/11/03/the-picture-frames-of-wright-of-derby-1734-97/

‘Drawings’ section added to The Frame Blog

The Frame Blog now has a new section (accessible, like the Archives, Contributors, etc., from the header, above), which contains drawings and designs for frames, organized by nationality within century. These are taken mainly from the drawings departments of large museums and similar institutions; occasionally from commercial galleries and auction houses; and each drawing is linked back to its source. As well as designs for…

http://theframeblog.com/2025/09/21/drawings-section-added-to-the-frame-blog/