The Art of French Matting With Antique Botanical Prints

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The art of French matting with antique botanical prints. Basilius Besler. Florilegiums. Historical books on flowers. What do these things – and people – have in common, dear readers?

Come with us today on a beautiful learning journey to find out.

THE HISTORY OF FRENCH MATTING

Thin, delicately drawn lines of varying widths and thicknesses, hand marbleized French and Italian papers, gold leaf, whisper soft watercolors, these are all hallmarks of the traditional art of French matting.

This ancient technique began long before the advent of window mats and picture framing. Many early European artists worked on paper and mounted their works onto larger sheets, which were then bound into books or folios.

They then created borders of lines and panels around their images with iron gall and carbon black inks to draw the eye inward, repeating the colors and contrasts in the image.

As picture framing materials and techniques developed in the 19th century, the window mat, made of many layers of paper, was created to separate the art from coming into contact with the glazing { glass } above it in the frame.

The tradition of applying decorative lines and panels continued and came to be known as french matting.

As you can see from the antique botanical prints below, french matting has been used to highlight the exquisite colors in these highly collectible hand tinted antique prints by Basilius Besler.

BASILIUS BESLER
Basilius Besler [1561-1629] compiled and published the world’s first and still most famous book on flowers, the Hortus Eystettensis. Published in 1612, this book was a codex, or a florilegeum { ” a gathering of flowers” } of all the flowers in one man’s garden over the course of one year. It changed the history of botanical literature as it was the first book that displayed flowering plants as objects of beauty.
Mr. Besler was responsible for engaging all of the artists, engravers, colourists and printers whose work is so beautifully displayed in this extremely rare book, of which only 14 complete copies are extant.

Click on the image below to be taken to the wonderful video, prepared by Christie’s, to virtually experience turning the pages of this rare book yourself.

Today, original prints from Hortus Eystettensis [sometimes known as Besler’s Botanicals] are highly prized by collectors, and you can find many of them, already framed with french matting, or unframed, at George Glazer in New York City.
Of course, beautiful botanical prints with french matting can be found in many other places as well, both antique and reproduction, and they are beloved by interior designers as they add a touch of elegance and color to any interior.

One of our personal favorite uses of french matting on an antique botanicals print is in this pretty blush pink and taupe guest bedroom by interior designer Jessica Bradley.
As you can see from the vignette below, created by Liz Williams Interiors, french matted botanical art can be used to create a calm but noticeable focal point in any room of your home.

Modern day french matting artists can be found via luxury framing shops and will, working in collaboration with your local interior designer, help you select exactly the right colors and proportions to enhance the delicacy and beauty of your antique and reproduction botanical art prints.
One last thing… if you can, buy the best. Buy a Besler.
They are still reasonable, and they are extremely rare.

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Leslie Carothers