The mount is the border of board that surrounds the artwork, between the image and the frame. Inherited from museums and galleries, it is often what makes the difference between a framed picture and a true work of art.
What is it for?
- It gives the artwork room to breathe: the border sets the image apart from the frame and the wall, and draws the eye to it.
- It does not change the size of the picture: it sits inside the frame, around an artwork printed slightly smaller, which gains room to breathe.
- It brings things together: on a gallery wall, it unifies artworks of different styles or sizes.
Our mount
Ours is made of off-white conservation board, bevelled by hand: the angled cut around the image creates a fine line of light that sets off the artwork. It slips into the frame at the size you choose: the artwork is then printed in the next size down, centred, with at least 1.5 cm of mount on each side.
| Frame size | Printed artwork | Mount, sides / top and bottom (portrait) |
|---|---|---|
| 13 × 18 cm | 10 × 15 cm | 1.5 cm |
| 18 × 24 cm | 13 × 18 cm | 2.5 / 3 cm |
| 20 × 30 cm | 13 × 18 cm | 3.5 / 6 cm |
| 30 × 40 cm | 20 × 30 cm | 5 cm |
| 40 × 50 cm | 30 × 40 cm | 5 cm |
| 50 × 70 cm | 40 × 50 cm | 5 / 10 cm |
| 70 × 100 cm | 50 × 70 cm | 10 / 15 cm |
The frame adds its moulding around the size: 3 cm for the slim classic frame, 9 cm for the wide wooden frame, with or without a mount. The 10 × 15, too small, comes without one. To choose the overall size, see what size picture to choose.
When to choose one
- For delicate or luminous artworks: watercolour, line art, Japanese print, minimalism, charcoal and ink. The off-white extends their softness.
- For medium and large sizes, where the artwork keeps a generous size at the heart of its mount.
- For a gallery wall, to unify the whole arrangement.
- For a gallery look in a pared-back interior.
When to do without
- For bold, intense artworks (oil painting, pop art, abstracts in strong colours), which look good framed right up to the edge of the image, often in a wide frame.
- When you want the artwork as large as possible in a given size: without a mount, it fills the whole frame (a 30 × 40 rather than a 20 × 30).
