Dark Brown Picture Frame with a Dutch Reverse Profile

A dark brown picture frame with a Dutch reverse profile, made to measure for oil paintings on canvas. Most mouldings rise from the painting to their outer edge; this one does the opposite, so the picture is carried forward rather than set back into the frame. The 67 mm face gives a canvas a firm dark border without taking attention from it.

The reverse profile

The inner part of the moulding is a concave hollow rising to a half-round, which forms the crown of the section and its highest point. From the crown the surface falls away in a long sloping face that takes up the middle of the width, and a small bead closes the profile at the outer edge.

Specification

• Style: reverse profile in the Dutch tradition
• Finish: warm dark brown, near black, hand-painted over a red ground and hand-patinated; satin sheen, sealed with shellac and wax
• Moulding width: 67 mm
• Moulding thickness (face to back): 36 mm
• Rebate: 7 mm wide, 20 mm deep
• Material: timber with a low tannin content, of the kind used in museums and art conservation
• Corner construction: mitred corners reinforced with wooden splines, jointed before painting
• Artwork retention: sprung clips as standard, brass plates with screws on request
• Hanging: picture wire as standard, orientation chosen in the order menu, single D-ring on request
• Glazing, backing and mount: available as add-ons, quoted individually
• Suitable for: oil paintings on stretched canvas; with glazing, prints, drawings, watercolours and photographs
• Lead time: 20–30 working days

The frame is made to the exact dimensions of your artwork, so enter the dimensions of the work itself in the calculator. I build in 2–3 mm of technical clearance, and the moulding overlaps the edge of the artwork by roughly 4–5 mm.

A Dutch frame for oil paintings on canvas

This is first of all a frame for oil paintings on a stretcher up to 20 mm thick. Holding the picture forward, the reverse profile keeps attention on the canvas, which suits portraits, still lifes and landscapes. The type is closely associated with 17th-century Dutch framing, where dark reverse mouldings were common; I write more about the type in my article on Dutch frames and the reverse profile.

With glazing, the same frame takes prints, drawings, watercolours and photographs. The warm, near-black brown sits naturally in classic and rustic rooms and reads as a dark outline on a pale contemporary wall. More on matching a frame to a stretched oil painting is on my page about framing oil paintings, and the rest of my range is under custom picture frames.

How it is made and finished

I cut the corners at 45 degrees and reinforce them with wooden splines before anything goes on the surface, so the geometry is fixed first and the finish runs across the joints. The moulding then takes a red ground and several hand-applied coats of warm dark brown.

When the paint has set, I patinate the frame by hand, working the brown back on the raised parts of the profile until the red ground shows through; I set the depth of the patination for each order. The surface is sealed in the traditional way with shellac and wax, which deepens the colour and leaves a satin sheen.

How it differs from a mass-produced frame

A ready-made frame in this colour is usually a length of MDF or softwood wrapped in printed foil, with the grain and the wear printed on and repeated every metre. Here the moulding is timber low in tannins, jointed at the corners before finishing, painted in coats by hand and patinated on this one frame. It is made to the size of one painting, not cut down from a stock format.

What the frame will hold

The frame is supplied without glazing and without a backing, for a painting on a stretcher. The rebate is 20 mm deep, so it takes a stretcher up to 20 mm thick, seated from the back; measure the stretcher rather than estimating it.

For a print, drawing, watercolour or photograph I can prepare the frame with glazing, a mount and a backing as an individual order. The same moulding can also be made without a rebate, as a floating frame, with the canvas set inside the frame and a narrow gap around the edges of the stretcher. I describe that construction in my guide to the floating picture frame for canvas art.

Frequently asked questions

Will this frame fit an oil painting on a stretcher?

Yes, if the stretcher is no more than 20 mm (about ¾ inch) thick. For a thicker stretcher, write to me before ordering.

Can I order it with glazing for a print or a photograph?

Yes. On request I fit conservation-grade low-reflection UV glazing, an acid-free mount, spacers and a Dibond backing. Send me the dimensions of the work and I will quote it.

Can this frame be made in another colour?

Yes. I can paint this moulding in another colour from my own range of richly pigmented paints and make the patination lighter or heavier. Write to me before ordering, ideally with a photograph of the painting; my picture frame colour and material guide helps with the choice.

Complete framing – additional options

Every frame I make can be completed with full archival and museum-quality framing: conservation-grade low-reflection UV glazing (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

Sprung clips are fitted as standard. They turn aside to let the work in and back to hold it, and they cope with anything from a thin board to a stretched canvas. Brass plates with screws are available on request and are supplied loose, for permanent fixing once the work is in place. Hanging orientation, vertical or horizontal, is chosen from the order menu. Picture wire is fitted as standard, and a single D-ring hanger can be fitted instead if you ask for it.

Ordering made to measure

Measure the artwork to within a millimetre, enter both figures in the calculator and choose the hanging orientation in the product options.

The base price shown is the price per running metre of moulding. The perimeter of the artwork is not the whole length a frame consumes: mitres cut at 45 degrees take extra length at every corner, and the wider the moulding, the more they take. The calculator accounts for the full consumption of moulding including the corners.

For this moulding width the calculator handles artworks up to 180 cm around the perimeter; anything larger is made to individual order, so send me the dimensions and I will price it. Glazing, backing and mount are quoted separately. Every frame leaves the workshop in 20–30 working days.