Framing the Frame: Frans Post’s View of Olinda, Brazil (1662)

Abstract

The article discusses the frame of Frans Post’s View of Olinda, Brazil (1662) and its structure, identifying the flora and fauna carved into it. The Rijksmuseum conservators used our identification of the plants and animals as a basis for their rendered images of various possible original colour schemes for the frames that are presented here. The painting by Post must be understood in its historical context, as is the case for the frame and its motifs taken from nature. An analysis of the frame’s style makes it possible to establish that it must have been created around the same time as the painting was made and that Post was closely involved in its creation.