Early Renaissance masters painted on wood panels embellished with decorative borders. In the 16th century, the design rose out of the panels and centralized focus on the artwork, usually religious in nature. The primary features on these tabernacle frames are the plinth or base, the pilasters or columns on the sides and the embellished top lintel.
Renaissance framers used lower quality woods such as pine, poplar or spruce for simpler, more economical frames or backing material. Oak, elm and chestnut added structural integrity to larger frames. Framers used gesso, a dense substance made of calcium carbonate, water and rabbit-skin glue, as an overlay to smooth the grain or as an additional carving surface. Carvers utilized tools such as chisels and mallets similar to those used in furniture or architectural molding detailing.
An ornate Renaissance frame started from a roughly carved piece of wood such as lime or linden. Eight to 10 coats of gesso painted over this form created a surface for carving intricate details. A clay called bole or bolus influenced the final tone of the gold leaf, which, when burnished, created an appearance of solid gold. As rooms of the period had little illumination, light reflected back onto the painting from the leafed gilding.
At first, the artist was the frame maker. As tools, demand and techniques progressed, framing became very labor intensive for the artist. Furniture makers and wood carvers soon took up the profession, taking inspiration from the subject of the painting. Respected as true artists in Venice, the Moranzone family signed frames in addition to the painter.
Recently displaying a period painting inside the appropriate period frame is more of a concern for collectors and museums. Thus, an appreciation of the frame maker as an artist in his own right initiated exhibitions of these ornately decorated frames of the Renaissance and other periods. The woodcarver's shop style characterized a particular region and era. A Renaissance frame is a must-have rather than just a collectible item. Today, frame makers follow the tradition of quality Renaissance craftsman and vary little from their methods.