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Editorial The Dispersal of Paul Levi’s Archive of Antique Picture Frames

By the time of publication of this Editorial, the first three parts of Paul Levi’s archive of antique picture frames, assembled in London from around 1948, together with his stock-in-trade as the doyen of the London framemakers, will have been sold by auction at Christie’s (London: 11 July, 29 September and 12 December 1995). Already these sales and the accompanying publicity have reinforced the growing interest of both museum professionals and private collectors in antique picture frames as works of art in their own right, as well as heightened awareness of the importance of their primary role in mediating between the imaginary worlds of paintings and the interior decoration of the room in which each is to be displayed.

Italian carved and gilded tab- ernacle frame, with a painted inscription “AVE MARIA GRATIA PLENA” on the base, sight-size: 78.8 X

46.3 cm overall, late 15th century, from the Paul Levi Archive (sold Christie’s London, 11 July 1995, lot 81, 23,680). Severely architec- tural in design, close parallels can be drawn with late 15th century Central Italian mon- umental niches and taber- nacles.

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2. Tuscan carved, gilded and painted tondo frame in the form of a wreath of oak leaves, sight-size: 64.8 cm diameter, width: 22.2 cm, early 16th century, from the Paul Levi Archive (sold Christie’s, London, 11 July 1995, lot 76, E14,900). The deep rebate and the poly- chrome decoration of winged cherubs’ heads applied to the wide sight- edge indicate that this frame may have been made for a sculptured relief rather than an oil painting.

Antique picture frames in archival (so-called original) condition are becom- ing increasingly scarce as the historic stock is adapted and/or restored, but any framemaker wishing to create top quality picture frames in historic styles must have constant access to reliable historic material of the best possible quality. In this context, from the point of view of the framemaker or connoisseur of frames, it matters little whether, for example, only limited areas of the original gesso and gilding survive because, to the experienced eye, those fragments can tell all. Often, only a piece of a frame will suffice, but it must be in untouched, archival condition. Subtle variations in carving, gesso coating, veparuve and bole, as well as in the thickness, colour and burnishing of gilding, and other surface finishes, can only be experienced in the original. The finest colour photographs and images stored in the electronic media, though valuable, are no replacement.

On the other hand, there are very few framemakers and picture frame connoisseurs ready and able to cherish substantial collections of battered frames in archival condition for their information content and value as representatives of historic techniques and earlier aesthetic criteria. This archival function is one traditionally associated with public museums. Fur- thermore, no responsible institution, or indeed private collector, would today countenance totally replacing the visible surface of a significant

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3. Venetian carved and gilded cassetta frame decor- ated with a repeated stylised foliage pattern in guanito, sight-size: 83.8 X 60.9cm, 16th century, from the Paul Levi Archive (sold Christie’s, London, 11 July 1995, lot 79, 216,100). A second frame, almost identical and appar- ently made in the same workshop using the same moulds, is preserved in the Giorgio Franchetti Collec- tion, Ci d’Oro, Venice.

work of art, be it a painting or a piece of furniture, but the processes inevitably involved in adjusting an antique picture frame to fit another painting of a different size cannot but impose a degree of intervention which under normal conditions would be unacceptable in the treatment of other classes of works of art. The conscientious museum curator is thus faced with several alternative courses of action, none of them entirely satisfactory.

At one extreme, the integrity of an antique frame in archival condition which already forms part of a museum collection has to be scrupulously respected as an exhibit in its own right, and if a frame of that design is required for a painting of a different size, an appropriately modified copy is made to the dimensions required, with its ornaments re-scaled and its surface treatment as faithful as possible to the original model. Alternatively, if the new painting is only slightly smaller than the sight-size of the antique frames, an attempt can be made to adapt it by the insertion of removable slips, though this is liable to distort the proportions of the frame and compromise its integrity to an unacceptable degree. More drastic adjustments undertaken to alter the sight-size include cutting the frame in such a way as to enable sections to be removed or new sections added without disturbing unduly the overall balance between the ornamental elements.

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4. Florentine carved walnut frame, with ogee central moulding ornamented with deep fluting, sight-size: 46.4 X 33 cm, early 16th century, from the Paul Levi Archive (sold Christie’s London, 11 July 1995, lot 85, !28,050). Relatively simple moulding frames with repeated orna- ment are the least difficult to adjust for re-use on a paint- ing of slightly different size, but the balance between the scale of the ornament and that of the frame is easily disrupted.

This is considerably easier said than done and any such adjustment changes the proportions between the lengths of the sides of the frame and their widths, as well as the weights of the mouldings, etc. It is possible to counteract this problem partially by dismantling the original frame and reassembling its components on a new carcass, re-spaced to accord with the new size, and with mouldings extended or shortened according to need. Matching exactly the antique surface treatments, rather than covering over both the new and the old and regilding, for example, requires a very high standard of craftsmanship and relatively few workshops possess the skills needed, but the problem of potential loss of balance between the scale of the mouldings and that of the frame remains.

Not surprisingly, few museum curators today will knowingly be responsible for the more drastic adjustments to an antique frame in good condition, let alone one in archival state, but the ethical objections to re-adjusting an antique frame which has already substantially lost its integrity are accordingly much less. The corpus of antique frames in archival condition is, by definition, finite and inevitably shrinking as survivors are adjusted and those in a poor state of repair are restored prior to reuse. Much of the importance of Paul Levi’s archive of antique picture frames, as against his stock-in-trade, has lain in the care with which often damaged frames have been collected and conserved unrestored so as to preserve intact the technical details with regard to their execution. The more

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5. French Louis XIV carved and gilded frame, with B&rain-type repeated ornament on a cross- hatched ground, sight-size: 120.6 x I83 cm, close of 17th century, from the Paul Levi Archive (sold Christie’s London, 11 July 1995, lot 162, 911,500). The repeated ornament is contrasted

with the lightly textured inner flat and powerful gadrooning along the sight-edge.

simple moulding frames with repeated ornament are the least difficult frames to adjust and, not surprisingly, fine examples in archival condition are both relatively scarce and commercially desirable for adapting rather than preservation untouched as models for future copies and variants. Consequently they can command relatively high prices to the trade.

On the other hand, circular and oval frames are virtually iapcssib!e to adapt successfully and thus they tend to survive in archival condition relatively more often. Similarly, richly carved frames, of naturalistic foliage or of the Palazzo Pitti type, for example, and architectural tabernacle frames, tend to survive unadapted because of the practical difficulties in re-using them for paintings of a significantly different size, and these types often find re-use as mirror frames instead. Although potentially important examples of historic picture frame types, and appropriate for preservation as such in decorative arts collections, their commercial value can be relatively modest and they may in consequence not be accorded the same respect and conservation resources as the more highly priced frames able to be re-used for their primary purpose.

Paul Levi’s archive has been both an essential tool in the production of high quality picture frames in historic styles and commercially uneconomic for an individual framemaker to maintain in the late twentieth century. As noted above, the assembly and maintenance of such an archive should be the function of a

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6. French Louis XV carved and gilded frame, with richly sculptural ornament of training garlands of flowers over pierced rocaille and a wavy ground, sight- size: 36.8 X 52.1 cm, 2nd quarter of the 18th century, from the Paul Levi Archive (sold Christie’s, London, 11 July 1995, lot 181, E13,SOO). Formerly in the collection of Serge Roche, the exceptionally rich carving suggests links

with mid-18th century Paris frames executed for British patrons.

major museum, but in London, until relatively recently, none of the national museums and art galleries have taken a serious interest in either picture framing or their own picture frames. The Victoria and Albert Museum, in earlier times, assembled an important archive of samples of historic woodcarving, decorative mouldings, etc., but the contemporary political demand for resources in museums to be focussed on collections intended for display for the benefit of a broad public h as seriously weakened the equally important role undertaken by museums as archives of historic material intended to be available to specialists for reference purposes when required.

Typological sequences of empty picture frames in archival condition but poor repair provide a major resource for framemakers and an essential reference collection for those responsible for the authentic display of paint- ings to the general public, but such visually unappealing collections are themselves of little interest to the non-specialist and their display could even provoke hostile reactions. The dispersal of picture frames in archival condi- tion into the open market will all too often result in their adaptation and restoration to meet immediate commercial requirements, with partial or total loss of integrity, thereby depleting still further the already limited corpus of antique frames in archival condition. Indeed, the battered antique picture frame in archival condition provides something of a parable for the predica- ment in which the museums increasingly find themselves today. The commu- nity is reluctant to recognise that in the longer term it cannot afford to do

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7. French Louis XVI carved and gilded frame, with a cresting composed of two doves on a bow, quiver and flaming torch flanked by laurel leaves, and swags of foliage and flowers suspended from the central console, sight- size: 116.9 X 95.9 cm, 3rd quarter of 18th century, from the Paul Levi Archive (sold Christie’s London, 11 July 1995, lot 185, 27,475). Formerly in the collec- tion of the picture frame con- noisseur Paul Wallraf, this well- known example was exhibited in Paris in 1931 [Exposition Znter-

nationale du Cadre du XVe au XXe siPcle (361)].

without the frame conserved in archival condition, but few wish to look at it in that state and even fewer are willing to fund the long-term commitment to its preservation in the condition which enables it to continue to yield reliable information.

Photo Credits: Christie’s, London.

Peter Cannon-Brookes