Glossary: Mounting a work of art
A Mount is known as a "Mat" in the United States. It consists of a coloured board where the centre has been cut out to produce a surround for a painting. This is now performed mechanically with a mitre cutter, but my first framer did it by hand with a scalpel blade. Regrettably such craftsmanship is long gone. There are many different types of mount but here are the main ones:
- Single or double mounts. This is where either one or two mounts are used either singly or in conjunction with one another. A double mount delivers a greater impressions of depth, and is how we mount all our worksRoom4art.com™.
- Wash-line mounts. This was a popular mount in Victorian times and the 20th c. It consists of a mount over which has been applied a series of lines around the opening of the mount. Between these lines a wash of watercolour is applied which can be most effective on some paintings. It has fallen out of fashion recently as contemporary paintings do not accommodate wash-lining well.
- French Mounts - a superb mount produced by cutting a normal mount with an opening over which is laid a sheet of fine quality paper. This is then cut and wrapped round the bevel of the mount producing a very distinctive shape.
- Deep Bevel mounts - the top mount has been increased in depth to produce a recessed painting. This can look very impressive and has the effect of drawing the viewer into the painting.
Colour of Mounts
My own personal preference is to use an off white ivory-coloured board at all times. Occasionally I might introduce a secondary coloured mount under the top ivory mount to perform a specific function such as picking out a featured area of the work of art. However, in general I am against coloured mounts as they tend to clash with the often delicate shades of watercolours and gouaches. With antique prints it is possible to use certain pastel shades without affecting the look of the work. Here at Room4art.com™ we recommend a mount board called "Minuet", a classical light ivory shade.
Mount size
This is a personal thing but I do hate to see a small insignificant mount around a large picture. My watchword would be ‘don’t skimp on the mount’ and I believe the picture will look the better for it. A large mount, say 5” or 6” wide can look very impressive around a small painting thereby giving it an air of importance. One of the problems with small pictures is that they tend to get lost and disappear in a wall setting but over-mounting them can resolve this.
Here at www.room4art.com we believe it is important for our clients to understand the process of mounting and framing works of art. This allows you, the customer, to appreciate the quality of the work we produce for you.
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