Venice c. 1560/80 in the style of JACOPO SANSOVINO (1486-1570), a three-piece removable softwood frame, stained dark brown and carved with ornamental and floral motifs and caryatids, gilt, vegetal decoration, surmounted by a carved angel’s head (cherub) in the centre, external measurements c. 250 x 180 cm, inside measurements c. 230 x 150 cm, lower strip missing, professionally conserved condition with some paint losses due to age and small missing wooden parts. (DOC)

Exquisite workmanship.

Provenance:
formerly Collection of Dr. Wolfgang Hofstätter, Vienna

The present frame, which gets its radiant charm from its contrasting brown and gold carved decoration, corresponds to the Mannerist taste of the Italian Renaissance from the 1550s onwards. JACOPO SANSOVINO (1486-1570) is one of its most prominent representatives. He is responsible for the development of the frame’s function from a mere architectural aid to a work of art in its own right. Frames would subsequently play an important role in the overall appearance of the interior for sacred objects or a painting. From richly decorated churches to the prestigious entrances of city palaces, the aim was to impress guests and visitors. The most important features of these frames include symmetry on both axes, rocailles, volutes, mascarons, caryatids and putti. The figural and vegetal decoration on the present frame is strikingly reminiscent of a frame illustrated in Augusto Pedrini's book "Il Mobilio" (see reference)

Cf Lit.:
- Nicholas Penny, Peter Schade, Harriett O'Neill, The Sansovino Frame,
cat. 10, National Gallery Company, London 2015 - Franco Sabatelli, La Cornice Italiana, p. 154, Mondadori Electa, Milan 1992 - Augusto Pedrini, Il Mobilio, p. 161, ill. 409, Stringa Editore Genova 1969 - Liechtenstein Museum Vienna, exhibition "Halt und Zierde. Das Bild und sein Rahmen", ill. 53, 15.5.2009 - 12.1.2010