12/22/2022
Art&Frame in the Wild — Starry Eyed Ed.
I zipped over to the yesterday and am still dazzled by the Vittore Carpaccio exhibition (and so many pieces newly arranged in other galleries). The extraordinary artistry, detail, scale, and gorgeousness of it all! And not least, the fantastic riot of color in every painting. So many sumptuous frames but I have to start with the show stopping massive (unframed) canvas of St Augustine in his Study. Painted at the very beginning of the 16th century, this is such a display of mastery. (And light — we all could write some serious letters in that study!)
Frames need only pick up on a small piece of pattern or lightly echo some motif in a scene to meld with their art. Carpaccio’s canvases are so filled with details of all manner of life that a connection between art and frame is quick.
The frame on the portrait of A Young Knight is a wonderful Renaissance frame — massive, ornate, carved and gilded — and teeming with the life so evident in the canvas. As presentation and extension, this young buck deserves this frame.
What could match the outrageous luxurious splendor of the doge in his bright brocade cape and ducal cap? A carved ripple-molding frame painted in a dazzle of alternating gold stripes. So much movement and pizzazz achieved through a simple design choice. Magnifico!
The last pairing is simply gorgeous. The canvas is a beautiful fragment of a Group of Soldiers and Foreigners (1494) full of color, detail, and movement. It’s a fabulous look into a stylized array of people and their clothes and arms — you can almost hear the creak of armor and rattle of weapons. I love cassetta frames, their panels offering another canvas that can be punched or carved or painted to enhance a work of art. Look closely at the panel to see hundreds of thousands of punch marks that underscore the vibrancy of the canvas itself. Extravagantly subtle.
Happy holidays and stay warm!
