Antique Frames

ANTIQUE FRAMES STYLES SINCE THE 1300s

Before the 1300s exist just a few examples of frames: they are mostly related to architecture and interiors. So, as our main goal is to talk about frames for paintings, we analyze the styles from the late Middle Ages to the 20th century.

Also, we believe that the 20th century corresponds with the death of art intended as dogmatic and rigid. As a result, 21st-century art is too free and eclectic to be categorized by a few simple styles.

Down below, we describe the main antique picture frame styles that European framers designed over the centuries.

GOTHIC PICTURE FRAMES

The first examples of antique gothic frames are complements of altarpieces of churches and have a structure that recalls Hebrew holy tabernacles. Their typical shapes influenced the north more than the south of Europe.

Antique gothic picture frames developed in Italy at the end of the 1300s. They have been used to frame masterpieces as the polyptych of Vigoroso da Siena and the “Santa Trinita Maestà” of Cimabue.

You won’t find on our website photos of gothic frames because we realize them under commission. We didn’t set up a gallery page displaying our previous works, but we will undoubtedly do it soon. If you need excellent replicas of antique tabernacles for sale, contact us by email.

RENAISSANCE FRAMES

Renaissance style frame recalls classic Roman art. In fact, its real spirit is an in-depth look at the art of the Roman Empire. Most ornamentations of Renaissance style frames come from that period. Even if a mix of new forms characterizes its symbols, Romans were already using most of those decorations a long time ago. In other words, Roman art is the main source of Renaissance ornates.

What is the Italian Renaissance style?

To answer straightforward, we can picture the Italian Renaissance as the end of the dark ages. It’s a new way of perceiving the world, and it emphasizes the rebirth of humanity after years of illnesses and famine.

Renaissance starts in Florence at the beginning of the 15th century in Lorenzo de’ Medici’s court. This man is the beginner of Renaissance culture.

As the style is composed of different phases in time, we can distinguish two main Renaissance frame styles. In the first category, one finds polyptychs, triptychs, diptychs, and altarpieces commissioned by churches. In the second category, one finds Cassetta picture frames decorated with gold leaf and lacquer headed to private collectors.

This website displays many Renaissance frames with the typical Cassetta structure decorated by the gold leaf and the flat central surface lacquered in black.

Check our gallery of Renaissance picture frames

Renaissance frame value

Renaissance frames are essential for antiques because art dealers have the right to commercialize them. Also, you find a fair quantity of models still available on the market. Unfortunately, they are super expensive.

Why are Renaissance picture frames so valuable?

First, because the Renaissance style is ancient. Second, Renaissance frames are a closed number, and some of them are already in museums. It is quite unlikely that they will turn available on the market. For this reason, the price rises.

BAROQUE PICTURE FRAMES

Baroque style frames developed in Europe during the first half of the 17th century, and they are the evolution of Renaissance frames. We can distinguish Baroque frames from other styles for their rich ornamentations and massive structure. Carvers did their work exceeding in virtuosity to create frames that are no longer complementary to the paintings.

Therefore, frames stand out more than paintings, as they are composed of intricate acanthus leaves over their sides. For this reason, decorations and design became too heavy and, metaphorically speaking, could kill the painting. That is why we use the word Baroque, sometimes, to describe a piece of art too rich.

Balance in extremely worked ornates

Nevertheless, the seventeenth century witnessed the growth of extraordinary craftsmanship as well. In other words, the Baroque period gives birth to astonishing frames capable of enriching their paintings by balanced carvings and bright gildings.

For instance, see on our Pinterest board, a good result of a complex Baroque frame. Even though it is extremely rich, it doesn’t suffocate its painting. We expressed, of course, just a point of view and not a dogma. Besides, standpoints change in time depending on many variables: the economy, the availability of materials, etc. 

In short, during the Baroque era, artists push themselves even further than Renaissance artists. As the world had just got out of the ages of darkness (Middle Ages), there was a huge wish to exaggerate the research of wellbeing and richness that started during the Renaissance era. 

Check our gallery of Baroque picture frames

ROCOCO FRAME STYLE

What defines the Rococo style is an exceeding of intricate leaf decorations over the sides. They are quite similar to Baroque ornamentations except for a few differences. First, Rococo style frames have a softer structure. So, generally, they weigh less than Baroque frames. Second, they have ornaments that are not specular.

If you look carefully, you will notice that Baroque-style frames are composed of very centered and specular ornaments over the sides. On the other hand, Rococo frames are made with ornates that run freely around their structures. Thus they’re rich a great balance without even being specular. People tend to confuse the two styles: they’re very similar.

Rococo frames appeared in France around the 1700s. They last until the 1760s so that they lasted much longer than Baroque models. Besides, experts define the Rococo style as a derivation of Baroque art. Rococo frames evolved from the Baroque style, exceeding even more in virtuosity and abundance.

During the Baroque and Rococo eras, carved mirror frames became very common to decor interiors. The new rising bourgeoisie made large use of them to show off their power. Probably that is the reason why the Rococo style evolved through compositions even more complex than Baroque models.

Check our gallery of Rococo picture frames

NEOCLASSICAL PICTURE FRAMES

Neoclassical frames spread over Europe around the 1780s. During that time, Neoclassical art developed after the previous discovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Indeed, architects started to study in-depth classical architecture to synthesize the new trend style that would take form with Neoclassicism.

Symmetrical and uncomplicated forms define Neoclassical frames. Carvers and gilders pay more attention to balanced geometry than rich ornamentation. The style in itself is a reaction to the exaggerations of Rococo art, and its central core is the necessity of regaining the ancient harmonious traditions of the classic world.

As the Renaissance did 300 years earlier, Neoclassicism dug deeply into ancient Greco-Roman art to recover the aesthetic balance of traditional ornaments.

It is essential to understand the profound analogy between Roman art, the Renaissance, and Neoclassicism. They’re all linked together by similar purposes, and the style of the ladder consists of a mix of the first two.

Follow the links below to see the similarity between a Renaissance frame and a Neoclassical frame. You will see a parallel in the typical Cassetta structure, the geometry of the forms, and the use of lacquer on the flat central surfaces.

Neoclassical picture frame
Renaissance picture frame

The main difference between the two frames is the color of the paint. Renaissance typically used red, blue, and black paint, while Neoclassical frames are in white lacquer.

Check our gallery of Neoclassical picture frames

EMPIRE ANTIQUE FRAMES

The Empire style is the evolution of Neoclassicism. The connection between the two is so strong that you could have a challenging time distinguishing them. Decorations and symbols remain almost the same; what slightly changes is the general structure of the profiles and the finishes.

The typical shape of Neoclassical frames is the Cassetta flat structure. On the contrary, Empire frames have a deep concave surface to form their profiles. To synthesize, curved moldings are the main elements of Empire profiles, while flat lacquered surfaces determine Neoclassical frame shapes.

The second consistent difference between Neoclassical and Empire antique frames is the finishing. Although the two styles made extensive use of gold leaf, the ladder tends to mix walnut surfaces and gold. So, apart from the structure, you would tell apart the two styles by the red walnut surfaces of the Empire frames.

Empire art is an early 19th-century artistic movement. It started under Napoleon and lasted a couple of decades. Its influence disappeared around 1850 when new style trends took over the traditional ways of art design.

See two typical example of Empire frames:
Empire gilded frame
Empire walnut frame

Check our gallery of Empire picture frames

OTHER STYLES

Since the 1850s, many art movements related to visual arts developed in Europe. We decided to bring all of them together in this last section under the name of Eclecticism because they share one major intent: freedom.

The Eclectic movements that influenced paintings and frames have been created under the logic of mixing ornaments and structures of the past. As a result, artists covered 600 hundred years of history of art, from Gothic to Empire, gathering elements to free art from rules.

The newborn trends are so different that their description would take tough work to do. Dogma, intended as in previous artistic styles, disappeared. For this reason, a new generation of artists was free to create art following instinct and knowledge without any specific rule.

We are still able to find excellent examples of craftsmanship among Eclectic movements. However, the excess of freedom in the creation process leads to results sometimes not very high, compared to previous styles.

RELATED LINKS

Clicking on the links below, you will be able to reach the product gallery pages of the main styles of our reproduction frames. We cover a range of styles that goes from the late 15th century to the early 19th century.

1. Renaissance picture frames
2. Baroque picture frames
3. Rococo picture frames
4. Neoclassical frames
5. Empire frames

ANTIQUE PERIOD FRAMES 

Down below, you find links to the major period frames that we cover. They are the same frames linked above, but this time categorized by era.

1. 16th-century picture frames
2. 17th-century picture frames
3. Antique picture frames 1800s
4. 19th-century picture frames
5. 1920 vintage picture frames