The picture is a copy in sepia tones of Murillo's Saint Anthony, 16
inches in height by 20 inches horizontally. The frame is made of
quartered oak 3 inches wide, slightly convex but smooth; and it is
well joined with mitred corners. A picture of this character needs
no mat. Indeed, it would have been the height of presumption to
strive to accentuate a masterpiece of such highly idealistic meaning
and treatment. It must be left to itself as much as possible. The
dimensions of the frame are therefore determined by the size of the
picture itself.
The picture hangs against a light gray wall in good light, somewhat
apart from other pictures. It was a happy thought thus to recognize its
dignity. It was given further distinction by finishing the oak frame
so that it should not associate itself with the other woodwork in the
room. Since the room in which the picture was to hang has a light ash
trim and most of the furniture a mahogany finish, this requirement was
easily met.
But there are many ways of finishing a frame to avoid too close
association with the commonplace that would have been anything but
appropriate to such a picture as this. A gilt surface, a silver-gray
tone, or a highly polished golden oak are possible blunders. Nothing
should be done to call attention to the frame of any picture, least
of all to one of such spiritual feeling as this one. The frame should
seem to be a part of the picture, repeating its prevailing tones with
a richness in keeping with the composition of the picture itself. The
colour should be a rich, dark brown, but not so dark as to obscure the
figure of the wood. The finish should be dull, but soft and smooth.
There are several brown stains which, properly applied, would give
the desired effect. For the colour it was thought best to rely upon
Van Dyke brown, which may be used either with alcohol or turpentine.
It is not desirable to use a water stain in a case like this because
it would raise the grain, necessitating sand-papering, which should
be avoided as much as possible on picture frames in order to keep the
edges and corners intact. Ammonia fuming preserves the figure of the
wood better than any other form of staining, but it was thought that
the oak might not take on a tone dark enough to meet the requirements.
It was decided, however, to try the fuming method and to tone up with
a thin coat of stain if the effect proved to be not sufficiently dark.
The ammonia process resulted in a rich, soft surface, but in a colour
too light. A thin Van Dyke brown alcohol stain was therefore applied
and when dry this was followed by a very thin coat of shellac--mostly
alcohol--coloured to match the stain. This was to fill partially the
grain of the wood. Finally, it was thoroughly coated with wax finish
and well rubbed to restore the soft, satin-like surface.
[Illustration: A group of passe-partouts]