Clothes make the man – frames make pictures. An appropriate frame is like a perfectly fitted dress or a well-tailored suit. It enhances an artwork’s aura and, at best, even heightens a painting’s impact.

In early Italian gold-ground painting, the panel and frame very often constitute a single entity. One example of a frame that forms an integral part of a painting and was gilded together with the panel can be found in the neighbouring room (marked with the button labelled ‘1’). Since the Renaissance, however, frames have – almost without exception – been crafted as objects in their own right. They were made by carpenters, sculptors and gilders according to the wishes of the painter or their client to match the painting on panel or canvas.

Unfortunately, most Old Master paintings have become separated from their original frames in the course of history. The sale and transport of paintings, war-time destruction, changes in presentation styles and new aesthetic preferences have led, time and time again, to the reframing of works. As a result, a vibrant mixture of the following museum frames can generally be found in the world’s major art galleries:

Original frames, acquired on the open market (2 and 3), that are especially suitable from historical and aesthetic perspectives as they were made for works of close comparison. Ideally, they originate from around the same period and possibly even from the same artistic environment as the painting. The number of original frames available is small. It is, therefore, a rare stroke of luck when a frame can be found that is a perfect match, right down to its dimensions.

Leonardo’s ‘Madonna of the Carnation’ is presented in a Florentine tabernacle frame dating from around 1490; the latter was acquired at the beginning of the 20th century (2). Private devotional images were similarly displayed in architectural frames, like large altarpieces, in the second half of the 15th century. Tabernacle or aedicular frames, orientated on forms found in the temple architecture of classical antiquity, consist of a base, columns or pilasters and an architrave or pediment (see also 3).

The new frame for Raphael’s ‘Canigiani Holy Family’ (4) was modelled on historical tabernacle frames. The process behind the creation of this frame is described on the adjacent stela. It is exemplary for such gallery frames designed after original models and executed using traditional methods of craftsmanship. When made to a high standard and carefully patinated, such frame copies have many of the qualities that are otherwise only found in original frames.

It is rare for a museum to have a historical frame available that perfectly suits a new acquisition. Fortunately, the Alte Pinakothek has a small collection of original Italian frames. It has, therefore, been possible to fit Giovanni Bellini’s Madonna, that is on permanent loan, with a 16th-century panel frame (5). Incidentally, a few years earlier, this very frame served as a model for the new gallery frame in which Pietro Perugino’s altar painting has been presented since 2011 (6).

The Florentine cloth merchant Domenico Canigiani probably commissioned Raphael’s large-format devotional painting (4) to mark his wedding in 1507. It graced the chapel in his palazzo and would most likely have been placed on the altar in a so-called tabernacle frame. Later, the painting entered the Medici collection before being transferred to the Elector of Düsseldorf’s residence. A great many Renaissance altarpieces became separated from their heavy architectural frames when they were moved to princely galleries. The new location and context called for frames of a different form.

The loss of the architectural frame with its slender pilasters rising gracefully upwards, diminished the visual impact of the pyramidal composition of figures accompanied by angels that Raphael had intended. For this reason, in 2013, the Mannerist panel frame that had been used over many decades was replaced by a new tabernacle frame. A historical model formed the basis of the design. After trials with a 1:1 template, its dimensions and volume were reduced so that it does not have the massive appearance of an altarpiece furnishing but, instead, blends harmoniously into the gallery presentation.

The illustrations show the individual steps taken in the traditional frame manufacturing process at the Pfefferle Workshop in Munich.