Cassetta frame
Unknown Artist
mid-16th century
Medium
Pine
Dimensions
Overall: 21 7/8 × 19 7/16 in. (55.6 × 49.3 cm) Sight: 15 1/16 × 12 5/16 in. (38.3 × 31.2 cm) Rabbet: 15 7/16 × 13 1/16 in. (39.2 × 33.1 cm)
Classification
Frames
Culture
Italian, Veneto
Department
Robert Lehman Collection
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Accession Number
1975.1.1628
Art Historical Context
This elegant **Cassetta frame**, crafted in the mid-16th century pine wood in Italy's Veneto region, exemplifies Renaissance artistry of Venetian framing. The term "cassetta" refers its box-like (or "little box") structure, characterized by a deep, recessed profile with bold moldings that create a sense of depth and architectural grandeur. Measuring 21 7/8 × 19 7/16 inches overall, it designed to encase and elevate paintings, transforming them into unified works of art where the frame played an equal role in composition. In Veneto, a hub of Renaissance innovation during the 1500s, frames like...