FAMAG 1000.31


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British ?Maratta? style frame with ribbon-&-stave, plain scotia, and beading at sight edge; gilded finish. This is not the original frame and may be a replica, late nineteenth-/early twentieth-century frame, as it is rather narrow for the painting.

About this work


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Kettle, Tilly (1735-1786): A Naval Officer, signed, oil on canvas, 75 cms x 62.5 cms.


More information about the frame

This is an example of the long-lived ?Carlo Maratta? frame; in this case a ?semi-Carlo?, with two orders of enrichment (the ?full-Carlo? having a separately carved rod ornamented with detailed acanthus leaf ornament attached inside the scotia or hollow of the frame). The design is, like its Roman original, severely linear and classical, suitable for most genres of painting, and particularly popular for portraits. It fitted comfortably into the British country house, the majority of which were Palladian in architectural style, and was the natural choice where the curvaceous Rococo frame was unsuitable or disliked.

It is possible that Kettle was also influenced by Reynolds? framing choices, as ? like Gainsborough and their peers ? Reynolds frequently chose a ?Maratta? to frame his portraits. This style is thus appropriate for Kettle?s work in terms of style, period and influence.