Cassetta Frame
Unknown Artist
mid-16th century
Medium
Pine
Dimensions
Overall: 15 3/16 × 15 5/8 in. (38.5 × 39.7 cm) Sight: 11 7/16 × 11 13/16 in. (29 × 30 cm) Rabbet: 12 3/8 × 12 13/16 in. (31.5 × 32.5 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
1975.1.1793
Art Historical Context
This elegant *Cassetta Frame* from mid-16th-century Veneto, Italy, exemplifies the Renaissance artistry of Venetian frame-making. Crafted from pine—a lightweight, easily carved wood favored for its workability—the frame features a classic cassetta design: a deep box-like profile with a outer molding, recessed sight edge, and inner rabbet for securing a painting. Its compact dimensions (overall 15 3/16 × 15 5/8 in.) made it ideal for intimate panel paintings, common in private devotional or domestic settings during Venice's Golden Age. Cassetta frames like this one were more than mere supports...