FAMAG 2006.19
A French Art Deco frame, first half of the twentieth century, with architrave profile; stepped and deeply canted section to sight edge; finished with matt and burnished water-gilding; supplied by Paul Mitchell Limited. (r)
About this work
view without frame
Whicker, Fred (1901-1966): Mackerel, signed, oil on board, 42 x 51 cms. Presented by Alan and Christine Smith in 2006.
More information about the frame
Stepped frames grew in popularity all over Europe from about the late 1870s. They were probably derived from the deep bevelled moulding with parallel flutes which Ford Madox Brown used on both the rails of his frames, reinforced by Degas?s use of repeated spur mouldings in his own designs. They were fashionable in Scandinavia in the 1880s to 1890s, finished in gilding, polished wood or paint, and took off in Britain in the early 1900s. A particularly striking comparison with the present frame is that on Christopher Nevinson?s Any wintry afternoon in England, 1930 (Manchester City Art Gallery), with five steps and a greyish-white finish.
This is a simple and very modern moulding which works exceptionally well with Whicker?s Mackerel. It works through the emphatic recession of the stepped mouldings, which causes the viewer to feel that he is peering into the mouth of a small pool or well, in which the fish circle at the bottom. The tension between the severely geometric lines of the frame and the subtle elliptical forms of the fish is visually arresting, and the contrast of matt and burnished surface echoes the metallic glint of fish and water.