FRAMING A PICTURE
Calculation of the Picture window
In this sheet, we will start from the subject to be framed and measure it in order to determine the dimensions of the picture window and then determine the dimensions of the background cardboard... This is the first operation to be carried out, prior to any supervision...
The picture window
The picture window is simply the part of the art that will be visible once framed. It can make the whole subject appear or just a part if you decide to reframe it....
The picture window gives you exactly the opening to create in your passe-partout.
Very often, especially if it is a photo to be framed, the image window corresponds to the photo itself reduced by 2mm in all directions.... If your photo is 13x18 without margins... your image window will be (13-0,4)x(18-0,4) or 12,6x17,6.
the image window is always smaller than the subject! Sometimes a few mm, sometimes more (see B). The work, once completed, could be this one...
Sometimes, you will have to crop the photo (without cutting it out) in order to refocus it or to highlight this or that part of the subject... It will be the role of the passe-partout to create this refocusing window....
Thus, the framing of this 12x21 photo could advantageously be corrected by reducing the empty space to the right of the character, thus accentuating his gaze towards the left.
We will keep the height at 12cm and reduce the length to 17cm. The image window will therefore measure 11.6x16.6 (2mm in all directions)
We chose a red frame that recalls the nuances of the actress' dress... to get:
Sometimes, the subject to be framed does not have very precise limits as in a photo... This is the case with some watercolours or old engravings. Or the subject may have a date, a signature or any other indication you wish to see in the frame...
As in this watercolour with uncertain limits... and on which appears the signature of the artist who made it.
It is therefore necessary to empirically determine an image window that will respect the balance of the colored masses and allow the signature to appear... Here it measures 21 cm x 27 cm (A4)... but could have been slightly bigger or smaller... there is no rule!
It is not necessary (and not even advisable at all) to cut the watercolour to fit the frame. We choose a more restorative and off-center picture-window in relation to the sheet of paper.... Just enough for the watercolour to refocus and to see the signature of the artist who painted it.
We chose a dark, blue-green passe-partout: it is a secondary colour found in the leaves of the trees on the left, just above the small brown boat... and put it all in a very dark wenge wooden frame....
In conclusion....
In conclusion, you now know how to measure and determine the dimensions of the picture-window.
This is simply the part of the art that you will see once the framing is completed....
But it's the starting point for all framing!
The next step is to cut the bottom cardboard taking into account the dimensions of the image window...