24/12/2025
As we bid farewell to 2025 and welcome the New Year, we are looking back on the most-read articles and reviews of the past twelve months. Throughout the coming week, we will share the top three, which will be available to read for free for one week.
Peter Schade's article review on framing published in our November issue takes top place among readers from all around the world.
Almost all old master paintings were framed once they were finished, and the combined effect of the frame and the painting was part of the painter’s visual calculation, influencing the impression of depth, the figure scale, the contrast and the intensity of the colours. Picture frames have survived from almost every period but their study requires a deep understanding of the details, patterns and moulding profiles in order to identify distinctive local styles and create a coherent narrative of the history of European framing from the early fifteenth century to the present.
🔗 Read Peter Schade's article review 'Framing in museums' in our November issue: https://www.burlington.org.uk/annex/framing-in-museums
Image: Portrait of Elena Carafa, by Edgar Degas. c.1875. Oil on canvas, 70.1 by 55 cm. (The National Gallery, London).
