FAMAG 1000.15
A seventeenth-century Netherlandish cabinetmaker?s frame, entablature profile, with stained and polished finish and gilt sight edge; supplied by Paul Mitchell Limited. (r) A seventeenth-century Netherlandish cabinetmaker?s frame, entablature profile, with stained and polished finish and gilt sight edge; supplied by Paul Mitchell Limited. (r)
About this work
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Lanyon, Miss Katherine (1862-1928): Edwin 'Neddy' Hall (1841-1909), Boatman, Custom House Quay, Falmouth, oil on board, 31 x 23.5 cms.
More information about the frame
A version of a seventeenth-century cabinetmaker?s frame is extremely appropriate for this small-scale portrait, with its close focus, enclosed space and warm colouring. The wide margin, with its deep mitres, leads the eye into the work, emphasising the already close focus, so that the head against its golden ground gleams like a jewel in its dark setting. The effect, in terms of the size and placement of the portrait in its frame, is very close to, for example, that of the Rembrandt Self-portrait (1629), with similar frame, in the Munich Alte Pinakothek.
As with nineteenth-century gilded oak frames, much of the aesthetic pleasure of this style lies in the grain of the wood, visible through its translucent layer of stain and polish; organic, variable, and suitably emblematic for a man who worked with the elements.
About the Artist
Research has revealed that Miss K. Lanyon is Katherine Rosina Lanyon who was born and lived her entire life in Falmouth. She was a spinster who lived with her parents at Tasman Villa, Stratton Terrace and then moved to Florence Terrace where she was housekeeper for her brother George, a medical practitioner, until his death in 1916. No information has been found about her artistic career. She died at 1 Florence Place and is buried with her parents at Budock Cemetery.