Cassetta frame
Unknown Artist
mid-to-late 18th century, style mid-17th century
Medium
Poplar
Dimensions
Overall: 17 1/8 × 14 9/16 in. (43.5 × 37 cm) Sight: 11 × 8 3/8 in. (28 × 21.2 cm) Rabbet: 11 9/16 × 8 3/4 in. (29.3 × 22.3 cm)
Classification
Frames
Culture
Italian, Bologna
Department
Robert Lehman Collection
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Accession Number
1975.1.2518
Art Historical Context
This elegant *Cassetta frame* from, Italy, exemplifies the renowned tradition of frame-making during the 17th and 18 centuries. Crafted fromlar wood in the mid-to-late 18th century but echoing the robust style of the mid-17th century the frame features the signature "cassetta" design—named for the Italian word for "little box." Its deep rabbet creates recessed, box-like enclosure that frames paintings with architectural depth, mimicking a window into another world and enhancing the illusionistic effects prized in Baroque art. Bolognese frames like this one were essential complements to painti...