The Frame Blog

In the exhibition of J-L David's work at Musée du Louvre (Oct2025-Jan2026), there is an extra dimension to the paintings in many of the frames...

David's frames: theframeblog.com/2024/04/17/j...

There is a sale by Euvrard & Fabre, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, coming up on 20 November, which includes 160+ antique picture frames & a group of looking-glass frames...:
theframeblog.com/2025/11/17/e...

"The identification of this elderly gentleman sitting at a desk in his study is borne out by the inscription on the fore edge of the book he is writing in, which displays the words "rime del casellio". Giovanni Battista Caselli was a poet and medal engraver who enjoyed certain prominence in Cremona during his lifetime...Sofonisba demonstrates she is a keenly observant painter capable of describing details such as the books and Caselli’s hands and head with subtle realism... The poet looks up from his work -writing praise for the Virgin- and points with his left hand to the small picture of the Virgin and Child with the infant Saint John hanging on the background wall. The text is written in Italian in elegant humanist miniscule. On top of the other books piled on the table is a small armillary sphere that was concealed by a portable crucifix until the canvas was cleaned in 2011." https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/giovanni-battista-caselli-poet-from-cremona/f106661c-11c1-4e5f-ba6e-7992ac8d1b4c

A portrait by Sofonisba Anguissola the centerpiece of "Poetic Portraits: Allegory and Identity in Sixteenth-Century Europe" at Timken Museum of Art in San Diego www.timkenmuseum.org/news/poetic-...

Love how, every time I want to buy, like, a pair of pantyhose online, I have to come up with a new unique password with at least one number and one symbol and one uppercase letter, but the people guarding precious works of art are allowed to be, like, “I dunno, Louvre?”

The picture frames of Wright of Derby (1734-97)

by Paul Mitchell an essay from the Tate Gallery Wright of Derby exhibition catalogue, 1990, to celebrate the opening of the National Gallery exhibition, Wright of Derby: from the shadows, 7 November 2025-10 May 2026 Introduction Framemaking was a…

Frames and framing! Bet @theframeblog.bsky.social will like this.

Very beautiful indeed, and thank you both. There's nothing like a bit of rioting Rococo to cheer one up...🙂

The Drawings section of The Frame Blog is growing: here is a glimpse of Adam's scheme for Headfort House, Ireland.
For more British frame drawings, go to theframeblog.com/drawings-and... and scroll down for century and country.

The ECHR was Britain’s response to WW2 fascist regimes. With authoritarianism on the rise again, we’d be mad to give up the protections it provides. Tell your MP we won’t let that happen! actionstorm.org/petitions/pr...

V&A: Call for papers – Ukrainian Cultural Heritage and UK Institutions: Shifting Perspectives and Practice - ICOM UK This article was first published by the V&A. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, cultural institutions around the world have become more aware of the long-standing attempts at erasure and appr...

The V & A is holding a conference on 15 September 2026, dealing with the better understanding of and care for Ukrainian objects in all institutions, and greater knowledge of Ukraine's history and culture. The deadline for abstracts is 12 December 2025.
uk.icom.museum/va-call-for-...

Here for 29th September, Michaelmas, is one of the best depictions of St Michael in all his knightly splendour (Sternberg Palace, Prague)...

...See also: theframeblog.com/2020/11/19/f...

Or this:

bsky.app/profile/mari...

This one is wonderful... although having her standing in the corner of the sitting room might be slightly on the surreal side of intensely creepy. And what might she do when switched off?

NB I wouldn't try eating it - it's probably made of toughened pterodactyl hide.

I think that, like small children, if she can't see anyone, then technically she isn't there...

‘Drawings’ section added to The Frame Blog The Frame Blog now has a new section (accessible, like the Archives, Contributors, etc., from the header, above), which contains drawings and designs for frames, organized by nationality within century. These are taken mainly from the drawings departments of large museums and similar institutions; occasionally from commercial galleries and auction houses; and each drawing is linked back to its source. As well as designs for altarpieces and moveable frames, the subjects include wall elevations containing frames, some designs for engravings of frames or book frontispieces and illustrations where these seem significant, and drawings of details of ornaments or profiles.

‘Drawings’ section added to The Frame Blog

The Frame Blog now has a new section (accessible, like the Archives, Contributors, etc., from the header, above), which contains drawings and designs for frames, organized by nationality within century. These are taken mainly from the drawings departments…

That is certainly an argument in favour of HVIII over the Trumpeter, although I shouldn't have cared to be a female at the former's court. Well, nor at the latter's, either, but presumably I might in that case have had more security for my head...

I feel we’ve pointed much energy at trying to decide whether Trump is Caligula or Nero, whereas I think he is probably Idi Amin. Though with much worse tailoring.

...and much oranger... Possibly with an element of Genghis Khan (without the charm), and a strong thread of Henry VIII (without the pieces of cod).

That's very hard to believe, so I won't. 🙂

Dear Penny, thank you 🙂

I am v. in your debt, thank you... and sadly I know very few of anybody, ungrammatically speaking...

Tee hee! Brilliant! Why are you not ruling the world, and confounding the crowd-born 'charisma' of Trump, Farage & Putin (also see Hitler and various cult leaders) with your wit and sense...?

Probably my main audience is amongst those who appreciate the smartypants approach to Trump, Farage, and the general Decline of the Roman Empire state of world politics (including knowledgeable comparisons to Caligula and horsine senators), so, yes, please... 🙂 🙂 🙂

It's not because I say much of interest, unlike you; but the dissimilarity between Twitter & here is that I was away when a movement last year onto BlueSky meant a way of getting your newly-arrived Twitter followers was open - and I missed it! & it's dispiriting to have to build it all up again...

@cerishields.bsky.social and @nguthrie.bsky.social - Thank you so much for reposting the Drawings section's birth on The Frame Blog @theframeblog.bsky.social ; I have very few followers since coming here, and every bit of support helps so much and is appreciated...🙂 🙂

Drawings DRAWINGS and DESIGNS for FRAMES This section of The Frame Blog is intended to collect together from various sources – museums and elsewhere – as many as possible designs and drawings of…

A lot of pages are now live in the 'Drawings' section of The Frame Blog, accessible from the header. The C15 to halfway thro' the C18 are available; some have a lot more drawings on them than others, but I shall continue adding drawings whenever I find them...

theframeblog.com/drawings-and...

The Christmas pudding is very sweet!

I wouldn't stand there too long if I were you, as the Roman dolphins you are so unkind about have nothing on this machine-age monster...!

It is extremely unnerving, I must say!