![]() Mats are, with very few exceptions, made of paper-based material. While most mats are generally rectangular in shape, with a rectangular opening, in addition to fairly common oval, oval-apertured mats designed to go with oval frames, there are also very unusual examples of mats in other shapes. (There have been examples of sandpaper being used to sand into the mat and reveal the core, or incisions made into it with the same result.) Most mats are available with a white core, black core, or standard (cream colored) core, but a handful of mats are also available with bright green, red, yellow or blue cores.Ī mat with several French lines and a watercolor panel. Mats can easily be found or altered to include further decorative features, such as a cloth covering (most commonly linen or silk, though mats with leather coverings or various other types of cloth covering are also available from some companies) or other decorative coverings or coatings (such as metallic coatings, or textured and patterned coatings that can include rice paper).īecause the mat is thin, but not razor-thin, it can also be carved (traditionally by hand, though computerized mat-cutting systems have also been developed), to feature a design, such as lettering or a simple image since the carving consists mainly of cutting away a small portion of the top decorative layer of the mat, this means that the carved design will show up as the color of the mat's core. Mats are available in numerous colors and shades and, less commonly, in preprinted patterns or designs. Since they are typically quite thin ( American-made mats are usually 1/16 of an inch thick, for example), they are able to be cut to "stack" inside of a display, allowing for double, triple or quadruple matting, or even allowing for a fillet in between mats. Mats are fairly adaptable in the visual sense. Mats can be decorated as described below, used as a surface for the continuation of the artwork within, or can incorporate three-dimensional aspects, though the last two are highly unusual. However, while the mat is usually regarded as something to complement or set off the artwork to best effect, or not to interfere or compete with it (neutral-colored mats are often preferred by high-end art galleries, ) there are some examples of the mat being regarded by the artist as a part of the artwork. Typically the mat or mats, if matched carefully and properly proportioned, serve to help draw the eye in towards the framed piece, or towards a particular key element of the piece. Although matting usually contains only one opening per layer, it may contain none if a picture is "float-mounted" or "top-mounted" (placed on top of the mat), and mats with two or more exist, more commonly with photography of the family or pictures of individual family members type than other types of artwork. ![]() The picture-framing mat is most commonly known by laymen for its use as additional decoration to enhance the look of a framed piece, sometimes in conjunction with a fillet or more rarely, liners made of wooden moulding with a cloth surface. The French word may also be used for the tape used to stick the back of the picture to its frame. The cutout in the passe-partout is usually beveled to avoid casting shadows on the picture. The passe-partout serves two purposes: first, to prevent the image from touching the glass, and second, to frame the image and enhance its visual appeal. A picture (a photo or print, drawing, etc.) is placed beneath it, with the cutout framing it. The French term, occasionally used in English, is passe-partout (or passepartout). ![]() ![]() Putting mats in a frame is called matting, a term which can also usually be used interchangeably with mat. In the picture framing industry, a mat (or matte, or mount in British English) is a thin, flat piece of paper-based material included within a picture frame, which serves as additional decoration and to perform several other, more practical functions, such as separating the art from the glass. ![]() A framed daguerrotype surrounded by a passe-partout Passepartout Mats are available in a wide variety of colors and styles this rack includes several hundred corner samples A passe-partout, put between the picture and frame, protects the picture and changes its visual appearance. For other uses of "Passepartout", see Passepartout. ![]()
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