By Nathan Remmert
Frames are used so that it is easier and safer to move the painting, and they serve as a visual transition from the painting to the wall, where it is mounted .
The pointillist frames were made out of wood and the painter made his own frame. By doing this themselves, they could be sure it looked how they wanted it to. That was something the pointillist painters did. On this particular painting the frame was lost so the U of M Museum of Art had to make a new frame by doing a lot of research on the painting to find out what the original frame looked like.
Most traditional frames (above) make a very distinct separation between the painting and the wall, and between the painting and the frame.
However the frame for "Under The Lamp" is just like the painting. It has a pointillist style and from a distance it looks like a part of the painting. The pointillist frames were an extension of the piece itself.
