Anyone walking past the racks of nineteenth-century paintings in Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen will initially see a great many gold frames, richly decorated with a variety of motifs. They lead the eye to a landscape by Barend Cornelis Koekkoek, a tree branch by Théodore Rousseau, a self-portrait by George Hendrik Breitner or playing kittens by Henriette Ronner-Knip. Just like the paintings, the frames have also had a whole life behind them: some were ordered by the artist himself, others by a later dealer, collector or museum director. But what were their criteria and which frame makers did they turn to? In order to find an answer to these and other questions and to gain more insight into the stylistic and material-technical development that the frame underwent in the long nineteenth century (1780-1914), the museum started a multi-year study in 2020. From Saturday 21 September, the collection presentation Art framed can be visited in the Depot. This is part of the series 'research on rails' and can be seen on the second floor. The results of this research have been published in the Boijmans Study Art Framed, available in the depot shop and via the webshop. This book, written by Milou Goverde, offers extensive information about the frames in our collection and is a must-read for anyone interested in the aesthetics and technique of painting frames.
