Year: 1875

A frame must invariably interfere
with the picturesque Illusion intended
by the artist. All frames are nuisanees
TO the art of the painter. They tend to
destroy the perspective, and confuse
the eoloristic qualities of q painting.
Yet, in private houses, the artistic ef-
feet of a picture, though the most i'm
portant, is not the sole consideration.
The part which paintings must take in
house is that ef decosatiye furnitars-
ornaments In 3 room which should be
considered in relation to the other arti-
cles of furniture should be male to set
them of, and should not inJure any
more than possible the artistic effect of
the painting.


Tue furniture in q room should, like
the setting of z gem, be made to en-.
hance the proper purpose of the PAINT
iugs by not obstructihg the light, and
by not disturbing the cOloristic design
of the painting by the iuxtaposition of
the distracting colors.


Tie best way to look upon a painting
Is from the dark, through a narrow
opening, in such manner that all the
light is thrown upon the picture. A


When a painting is regarded merely
as an article of furniture it has the best
effects when inserted III the walls, as In
the italian palace.


A gilt frame is good for oil paintings.
except when gliding or warm atmos
pheric eject or the light of torches or
artificial lights are represented. The
sheen Of the gliding Serves to detach
the painting from the surrounding OBJ
Iects, and allows the gaze to center upon
the picture. Bronze, black, or dark
wood frames are suitable for the closes
above mentioned and for many kinds of
pictures, except when the browns and
shadows which are near the border may
be dulled.


Drawings, chronic autographs, pho
tographs and engravings might better
be framed in some hattiral wood than
ia gilt frames.


Oak or some light wood accords well
with such pictures. In water color and
other color pictures the tone may be
heightened, and the prospective often
improved, by attention to the color of
the frame or by the Introduction of an
inner border of tinted paper. ..


Engravings, Autographs, and draw
ings, should never be hung upon the
same wall with oil paintings, for the
reason that their own effects are greatly
damaged from proximity to tue lights
and colored forms of the painting, and
that they may distract tha attention
Cm the composition of the painting.
Every painting that is worth hanging
| at all deserves a wall to itself. ~


Glazed pictures should never be
placed so as to refees the light, as they
cannot be seen IN such position with
out a painful effort of vision.
Picture frames ought to be distin-
| guished In color from the remaining
| furniture of a room, since a part of their
| design is to isolate the pictures which
! they crease. For the same reason they
! should not correspond too nearly in
! their decoration with the other objects
| of the room. On the other hand, how
| ever, they should not be out of harmony
with the predominating color of the
room, and might better harmonize in
tone than by contrast; neither should
! their ornamentation be out of keeping
with the general style of decoration OBJ
served in the rest of the furniture.


Pictures of middle size should be
! hung with their centers nearly level with
! the observers eye. They should be
often the case, tilted out. When they
| hang from the wall there is an unpleas-
ant sense of insecurity and a confusion
of lines, and the projection of shape
less shadows upon the neighboring wall.
They should also be secured by two
cords suspending from two nails-heavy
cords for large pictures rather than thin
cords or wires, in order to preserve the
idea of security. Two parallel cords
hanging perpendicularly are in better
keeping with the parallel lines of the
room than the unpleasant, triangular
form made by cord suspended by a
single nail attached to the two sides OF
the picture-frame.


Oil paintings in gilt frames have the
best effect against baDgings of olive
gray, more or less deep, according tc
the tone of the picture.


Pearl gray, or normal gray, a little
deeper, is a good tint to receive engrav.
ings and plain Autographs in gilt Oh
yellow wood frame.