Black gesso picture frame

A black picture frame built on a classical Dutch profile — a deep, sweeping cavetto that gives presence to the work without entering its conversation. Made to measure in solid wood, in the workshop of Karol Milewski.

The cross-section combines a rounded outer torus, a deep, uninterrupted cavetto sweeping inward toward the work, and a small secondary bead with a step at the rabbet. The architecture follows seventeenth-century Dutch cabinet frames — a soft sweep closed on both sides by beads, ordered by mass rather than ornament.

What it frames, where it sits

The black cavetto profile is well-suited to oil on canvas, watercolour and photography — particularly works with strong tonal range and clear light-and-shadow contrast. The black mass separates the work from the wall and deepens the composition without competing with the picture's palette.

It reads as readily on a white gallery wall as on a deep, painted interior wall — classical, modernist and loft interiors alike. The full range of black picture frames lets you balance proportion to the work at hand.

Specification

• Style: classical Dutch profile, deep cavetto
• Finish: black silky sheen, hand-polished with wax
• Moulding width: 52 mm
• Moulding depth: 38 mm
• Rabbet depth: 15 mm standard (20 mm and deeper to order)
• Rabbet width: 7 mm
• Material: low-tannin solid timber, used in museum and conservation framing
• Corner joinery: mitred corners reinforced with wooden splines (conservation technique)
• For: oil on canvas, photography, fine-art prints

Dimensions describe the outer moulding — the sight area is correspondingly smaller. Made to measure to your artwork's dimensions, with a 2–3 mm technical clearance for fitting.

Workshop

The moulding is shaped from a single board on the workshop router. Corners are mitred and reinforced with wooden splines — a conservation technique in which a wooden tongue is inserted perpendicular to the cut, substantially improving dimensional stability and resistance to seasonal movement in interior rooms.

The finish is built in layers: black pigment laid down, sanded back, laid again — until the colour has depth rather than a coating. Sealed with traditional shellac and wax, then hand-polished — the procedure that gives this profile its silky sheen, the kind a sprayed lacquer cannot reach.

What sets it apart from mass production

Mass-produced black frames are typically MDF or aluminium under a film wrap or a sprayed lacquer — the colour sits flat on the surface. Here the colour is built into the moulding: pigment layers, wax burnishing between them, hand finishing. The surface has optical depth — under raking light, the work of the hand becomes visible. A black frame treated as a piano lid, not a stationery border.

Functionality

Sold as a frame for canvas on stretcher — without glass. Artwork retention in the rabbet, your choice from the variant menu:

• Spring clips — factory-fitted, rotate to one side for swap-out. Workshop standard for rotating artworks.
• Brass plates with screws — supplied loose, screws included. You fit them once the work is in. A permanent fixing.

Portrait or landscape orientation — selected in the product variants; the frame is assembled in that orientation only. Standard hanging on cord. A single D-ring is available on request.

Complete framing — additional options

Every frame can be completed with a full archival mounting prepared in the workshop: glass, archival backing and matting. All components are available as a custom add-on — quote on request.

Glass — four classes available

Opti White, 4mm — low-iron glass with a neutral, colourless appearance (no green tint typical of standard float glass). Available up to 90×90 cm — the only option for larger works.

Ultra Vue UV70 (Tru Vue), 2.0mm — anti-reflective glass with 70% UV protection, low-iron. Available up to 60×80 cm.

Art View — premium-class anti-reflective glass: reflection reduced below 1%, up to 75% UV protection, scratch-resistant coating, low-iron, can be cut and mounted from either side. Meets ISO 18916 (Photographic Activity Test) — safe for archival photography. Premium quality at an accessible price. Available up to 60×80 cm.

Optium Museum Acrylic (Tru Vue) — top-tier museum acrylic: over 99% UV protection, museum-grade reflection reduction, anti-static, lightweight, shatter-resistant. The museum standard for conservation work and archival photography. Available up to 60×80 cm.

Archival backing

Dibond 3mm aluminium composite panel — two layers of aluminium with an acid-free polymer core. Rigid, chemically neutral, dimensionally stable. An industry standard in archival photographic framing and art conservation.

Mounting and matting

Acid-free foam board — chemically neutral, will not yellow over time, will not react with paper or photographic emulsions. Archival standard.

Full museum framing

Combining anti-reflective UV-filtering glass, acid-free matting, Dibond backing and conservation hinging tapes provides a museum-grade mounting — protecting the work from light damage, acid migration from typical framing materials, and mechanical distortion. This type of framing is used in museums, galleries and private collections.

To order: all of the above components are available as a frame add-on on request. Please get in touch with the dimensions of your work and your preferred glass class — I will prepare an individual quote.

Ordering, made to measure

To order a black picture frame to your dimensions:

1. Measure the artwork's width and height to 0.1 cm.
2. Enter the dimensions in the calculator on this page (e.g. 35.0 × 30.3 cm). The frame is made with a 2–3 mm technical clearance for fitting.
3. Select orientation (portrait/landscape) and the retention method, then add to basket.

The online price calculator supports artwork sizes up to 120 × 80 cm. Larger formats are made to individual order — please get in touch.

The base price is the price per linear metre of moulding. Mitred corners take additional length — more, the wider the moulding — and the calculator accounts for full consumption with corners and any selected add-ons.

Lead time: 20–30 working days.

The same profile is also available in the white gesso picture frame. For more on the workshop end of things, see the article on black custom picture frames.