FAMAG 2010.42
Nineteenth-century French Second Empire Salon frame, with deep-relief applied moulded plaster of Paris foliate ornament, leaf corners, burnished scotia, acanthus-tip moulding and gilt mount. Nineteenth-century French Second Empire Salon frame, with deep-relief applied moulded plaster of Paris foliate ornament, leaf corners, burnished scotia, acanthus-tip moulding and gilt mount.
About this work
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Anderson, Sophie (1823-1903): A sketch of a young girl with a garland of flowers in her hair, signed, oil on board, 30.5 x 24.5 cm.
More information about the frame
The Salon frame was a staple of the French academic art world, being used ? as its name indicates ? to frame many of the paintings submitted to the Paris salons in the second half of the nineteenth century. These exhibitions, like those at the Royal Academy, were so closely hung that the paintings resembled bricks in an immense coloured wall, separated by the golden mortar of their frames.
The wider and more lavish the frame, the greater the chance for the individual work it contained to stand out from its neighbours, and make an impression on the visitor. The wide gilt mount or slip inserted at the sight edge is characteristically Victorian, and lends another inch or so of neutral border to reinforce the effect of the frame. Here, the mount gives a resting place for the eye between the portrait and the halo of scrolling ornament; the latter echoes the curling hair, the ruffles of the collar, and the coronet of flowers. The frame is a foil for the simplicity of the painting, isolating it from the wall, and presenting it to the spectator like a perfect jewel held in an opulent setting.
The framer?s label on the reverse reads: ?George Hughes, Fine Art Dealer, Carver and Gilder. Picture frame manufacturer. Berwick House, 50 & 52 Pilgrim Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne.?