Black Tondo Picture Frame, Made to Measure

A tondo frame closes a square canvas inside a circle, and this is the painted version of that idea: a wide black picture frame, hand-painted in deep black with a satin sheen and no gilding anywhere on the profile. I cut the circular aperture into a flat panel set inside the moulding, to a diameter that follows your work rather than a catalogue size, so each frame is made for one painting.

Moulding profile

At the tondo the face opens with a hollow, and a narrow flat runs above it. From there the face falls away towards the middle of the width, reaching its lowest point at the centre, then rises again in the same slow curve. On the outer side that rise does not stop at a flat: it carries higher and turns into an ogee, closed by a second narrow flat at the outer edge. The side of the frame is profiled and steps down to a foot. The width of the flat panel that carries the tondo follows from the difference between the side of your canvas and the diameter you choose for the aperture.

Specification

• Style: double-rise profile with an ogee, with a circular tondo aperture
• Finish: hand-painted, deep black as standard, satin sheen on the raised parts
• Moulding width (excluding the tondo panel): 90 mm
• Moulding thickness (face to back): 50 to 65 mm
• Rebate: 7 mm wide, 10, 15 or 20 mm deep, selected when ordering; deeper to individual order
• Material: low-tannin timber used in museums and art conservation
• Corner construction: mitred at 45°, reinforced with wooden splines
• Tondo: circular aperture in the flat panel, diameter given when ordering; oval or arched opening by prior arrangement
• Artwork retention: spring clips as standard, screw-fixed brass plates on request
• Hanging: picture wire as standard, single D-ring on request
• Glass, backing and mount: optional extras, outside the calculator
• Use: canvases on stretchers and on rigid supports, round mirrors, embroidery

The dimension you enter when ordering is the size of the canvas support, not the outer size of the frame and not the diameter of the opening. The 90 mm moulding adds to the overall size, and the circular aperture is at least 7 cm smaller than the side of the support, cropping it to a circle and covering its edges and corners. I make the frame 2 to 3 mm larger than the size you give, the standard technical clearance that lets the work sit in the rebate without stress.

Choosing the tondo diameter

The diameter of the tondo has to be at least 7 cm smaller than the side of the canvas support, which is 3.5 cm on each side, about 1⅜ in. That margin is the flat panel the opening is cut into, and it is also what covers the edge of the canvas. A 40 × 40 cm support (16 × 16 in) therefore takes an aperture of up to 33 cm, about 13 in; a 50 × 50 cm support (20 × 20 in) takes up to 43 cm, about 17 in.

Enter the size of the canvas support in the calculator and give the tondo diameter in the order notes or in a separate email. Instead of a circle I can cut an oval or an opening closed with an arch in the same flat panel. That variant is agreed before purchase, because it changes the way the frame is built.

Suitable artworks and interiors

The frame suits oil and acrylic paintings on stretchers whose composition can take a circular crop: a portrait, a still life, a flower study, a landscape with a settled centre. The aperture cuts off the corners of the canvas and concentrates a picture that was already working from the middle outwards. In the same profile I also frame round mirrors and embroidery stretched over a square backing.

Deep black with a satin sheen holds its own in classical rooms and against walls in cool, flat colours, where the circle becomes the only incident on the wall. Black is the standard here, as it is across my black picture frames. Another colour, white, bottle green or a warm brown among them, is agreed before the order is taken, since it is not in the option menu; I set out how colour and finish work together in my guide to frame colours and materials.

Craft and finish

I cut the moulding at 45° and join the corners with wooden splines before any paint goes on, so the joint is made in bare timber and stays stable through the seasonal movement of wood. The surface is then built up by hand in layers of pigment, resin and wax, laid on and wiped back. On the raised parts of the profile, the narrow flats and the ogee, the finish takes a satin sheen; in the hollow the tone stays deeper and quieter. That is where the impression of a surface smoothed by handling over years comes from, rather than one sprayed evenly in a booth.

Each frame is finished singly, to one set of dimensions, so small differences in the way the sheen sits across the profile belong to the work.

What sets this frame apart from mass production

Three things. The timber: low-tannin wood used in museums and art conservation, not moulded foam, board with a printed profile or extruded polystyrene. The corners: mitred and joined with wooden splines, cut and assembled before finishing rather than stapled or taped. And the opening: the flat panel is set inside the moulding and the circle is cut for one particular canvas, which a catalogue frame cannot do, because a catalogue frame has to fit a standard size.

Function

The frame is supplied without glass, as a mount for a canvas on a stretcher held behind the circular opening. The rebate is 7 mm wide and its depth is chosen when ordering, 10, 15 or 20 mm, according to the thickness of the stretcher; a deeper rebate is made to individual order. The work goes in from the back, and because the opening crops the canvas to a circle, the tondo diameter is confirmed with me before I begin.

Frequently asked questions

What diameter should the tondo be?

At least 7 cm smaller than the side of the canvas support. On a 50 × 50 cm support that means an aperture of up to 43 cm. A narrower margin leaves no flat panel to cut the opening into and nothing to cover the edge of the canvas.

Can the opening be an oval or an arch instead of a circle?

Yes, cut in the same flat panel. Please get in touch before buying so that I can confirm it for your dimensions.

Can the frame be made in a colour other than black?

Yes. Deep black is the standard; other colours are agreed individually before the order is placed.

Is this frame gilded?

No, this one is painted throughout. The version with a gilded ring around the opening, laid in 22-karat moon gold leaf, is a separate model: round picture frame with a gilded tondo.

Complete framing – additional options

Every frame I make can be completed with full archival and museum-quality framing: anti-reflective UV-filtering glass (four classes to choose from), acid-free museum mat board, spacers wrapped in acid-free paper and a Dibond backing. This kind of mounting protects the work from light, acids and distortion. I set out the full glass and material specification on a separate page: archival and museum framing for paintings and photographs. All components are available at extra cost, as an individual quote on request.

Mounting and hanging

As standard the artwork is held in the rebate with spring clips, fitted inside the rebate at the workshop; you turn them aside, insert the work and turn them back into the holding position. That allows a quick change of artwork without removing any fittings. On request I supply screw-fixed brass plates instead, loose and with screws included; you fix the work in the rebate yourself from the back of the frame. This is a permanent fixing, for works intended for lasting display.

The hanging direction, portrait or landscape, is chosen from the menu of options, and the frame is physically finished for that one orientation. As standard I supply picture wire fixed to rear hooks. On request a single D-ring can be fitted instead of the wire.

Made-to-measure ordering

The base price shown is the price per running metre of moulding. The perimeter of the painting is not the whole length of moulding a frame needs: corners cut at 45° take additional length, the more so the wider the moulding, and this one is 90 mm. The calculator accounts for the full use of moulding with the corners and for the options chosen.

The dimensions entered in the calculator have to form a square. The calculator covers supports up to 180 cm around the perimeter, which is a square with sides up to 45 cm, about 17¾ in; a larger format I make after we have been in touch. Lead time is 20–30 working days.