Frames of the Renaissance and their inscriptions
Frames with inscriptions represent a special category within the frame types of the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. They are often richly decorated and of high quality craftsmanship. And they are the only frames which due to their inscriptions provide clues to the original paintings and motifs they once contained.
~
These inscriptions, comparable to picture captions, refer directly to the subjects of the paintings and establish a direct relationship with that depicted. On cassetta, plate or tabernacle frames, the inscriptions were often applied all around the surface (fascia) between the outer and inner profiles, either in polychrome using the sgraffito technique or in gold on a black background. The themes of the inscriptions originate from the Bible, as do the pictorial motifs of the 15th and 16th centuries.
Famous artists of the Italian Renaissance made use of them.
In the history of art, inscribed frames are more than just decorative elements. They are vehicles conveying intrinsic stories and emotions. Today, these rare frames are fragments of dismantled works of art that once united images, texts and frames.
In 2025 we developed two exhibitions in Berlin and Basel. Displaying 26 „inscribed frames“ with the translations of their Latin or Spanish inscriptions standing at the centre of the frame. Their verses appear timeless and universal in their simple beauty, yet with the air of a bygone era. Placed central in the frames, the verses substitute for the lost images and stimulate us to create imaginary works of art in our mind’s eye.
Basically, the frames are carriers of stories and emotions. Their inscriptions are taken from Christian psalms, the Song of Solomon or liturgical texts. And precisely because there are no pictures in the exhibition, the verses appear simple, almost timeless and universal. This is about people’s most emotional moments – birth and joy, death and pain, love and longing, justice and hope.
About the historical development
