Progress has gone far, and we are happy to enjoy its benefits, but there are some things that we regret sincerely. For example, letters and postcards, which are replaced by SMS and e-mail. They do not carry that warmth and touchingness that carried the leaves with carefully printed letters, folded into affectionate words. Together with the letters and postcards, the photos were taken to oblivion. We have long put them not in beautiful photo albums, but in ordinary folders, formed on the computer desktop. The digital form, of course, is convenient, but the opportunity to pick up a piece of history printed on glossy paper is worth a lot. That's what we are talking about today: photos, portraits and engravings in a mat.
This word we are more associated not with its direct meaning, but with the name of one of the heroes of the popular TV show ("Fort Bayard") or a servant from the story of Jules Verne "Around the World in 80 Days." In fact, the passepartout is a cardboard frame for a variety of works of art, including photographs. It was particularly popular in XVIII - XX centuries. The main quality of such a framework is the ability to strike a balance between what is depicted in the art work and what will be handled in this work. Meanwhile, the passepartout is not only something capable of holding work, protecting from negative phenomena and balancing colors and textures, but also what can serve as the basis for various kinds of notes, autographs, explanations, being inherently fields, between work and Frame.
Now to the details, but in principle they are not very many. A distinctive feature of all specimens is a rectangular or oval cutout in the center. In the slot is placed a portrait, photograph or other kind of artwork, then the entire exposition is strengthened in the frame. This form of decoration allows, if necessary, to focus on something specific. Can increase the size of the work due to optical illusion. A small picture will look ridiculously in a large frame, but to look adequate to it will easily help the passepartout. This is just a storehouse for decorating, not only the premises, but also the works themselves, which, due to a small improvement, receive a new life.
Let's consider the design of a mat. The most banal and common is, of course, a framework of contrast material. We do not mean the frame of the frame, in which the passepartout will be placed, but additional accents from contrasting materials. The next most prevalent are the color solutions of the material. In addition, that it can harmonize or contrast the work itself, in its power to combine several different images into one composition, forming a single design solution. Talk about a variety of flowers and angels, able to bring additional characteristics, even to say no, it's trite. The last reception of the design, which can give an unforgettable passepartout - a photo, portrait or engraving collage. Such a move can make the work more touching and tender as well as giving it rigidity.