How to choose a mat — colour, width, material
A mat can lift a work or kill it. Here are the three decisions — colour, width, material — that I work through on every commission, and what I know about them after twenty years in the workshop.
What a mat is actually for
Two things. It separates the work from the frame optically, so that both can breathe. And it physically holds the work off the glass, so that moisture cannot condense on it.
When someone tells you a mat is „just decoration“, they don't know what they are talking about. Without a mat the picture starts sticking to the glass after a few years and the work is lost for good.
Colour — white, cream, black, coloured
White is the safest choice. It works on 90 % of works and never overpowers. Cream is the warmer variant — flattering on watercolours, prints and older impressions.
Black works on strong modern prints and photographs where you want drama. Coloured mats — wine, navy, forest green — I only recommend where that colour is already in the work; the mat then draws it out.
Width — a craftsman's thumb or dramatic space
The classic 5–7 cm looks like craft: a balanced composition. A narrower mat (3–4 cm) feels cramped and visually shrinks a small work. A wide mat (10 cm and more) creates dramatic space — it works on strong minimalist pieces, or when you want to push the work forward.
On works above 50×70 cm we often make the bottom of the mat 10–15 % deeper. It balances the picture visually; otherwise the lower part looks as though it is sliding down.
Material — when acid-free, when ordinary will do
For anything that has value to you, acid-free. Board at pH 8–9, no chlorine bleach, no lignin. It adds 50–150 CZK to the commission.
For a poster or a reproduction you will throw out in a few years, an ordinary mat is defensible. It is not the best choice, but it will not be a catastrophe.
The short version
An original, or a work with sentimental value → acid-free mat, cream or white, 5–7 cm wide. That works nine times out of ten. A more modern watercolour or print? Then we try a wider mat and play with colour. In the workshop you have samples of every material to hand — you can hold them straight against the work and see what happens.
Marek Homolka
Third-generation framer · RDH Rámy, Přísečná
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