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A mat (or matte, or mount in British English) is a thin, flat piece of paper-based material incorporated within a picture frame that acts as extra ornamentation and performs numerous other, more practical duties, such as isolating the art from the glass, in the picture framing business. Matting, which is often used interchangeably with mat, is the process of placing mats in a frame. Passe-partout is a French phrase that is occasionally used in English (or passepartout). Underneath it, a picture (photo or print, sketch, etc.) is framed by the cutout. The passe-partout has two functions: first, it keeps the picture from hitting the glass, and second, it frames the image and improves its aesthetic attractiveness. To eliminate shadows on the picture, the cutout of the passe-partout is frequently beveled. The tape used to adhere the back of the picture to its frame may alternatively be referred to as “tape.”
The picture-framing mat is most recognized among laypeople for its usage as an extra embellishment to improve the look of a framed item, often in conjunction with a fillet or, more rarely, liners formed of wooden moulding with a fabric surface. Although most mats have just one opening per layer, if a picture is “float-mounted” or “top-mounted” (put on top of the mat), it may have none, and mats with two or more occur, more typically with family photographs or individual family member images than other sorts of artwork. Typically, the mat or mats serve to assist bring the attention in towards the framed item, or towards a particular significant feature of the piece, provided they are appropriately matched and proportioned.
While the mat is typically thought of as something to complement or set off the artwork to best effect, rather than to interfere or compete with it (neutral-colored mats are often preferred by high-end art galleries), there are some instances where the mat is considered a part of the artwork by the artist. Mats can be ornamented as seen below, utilized as a continuation surface for the artwork within, or feature three-dimensional elements, but the latter two are uncommon.
In terms of appearance, mats are quite versatile. Because they are normally relatively thin (for example, American-made mats are approximately 1/16 of an inch thick), they may be trimmed to “stack” inside of a display, allowing for double, triple, or quadruple matting, or even a fillet in between mats. Mats come in a variety of hues and tones, as well as preprinted patterns or motifs, which are less frequent. Mats with a fabric covering (most often linen or silk, though mats with leather covers or many other types of cloth covering are also available from some firms) or other ornamental coverings or coatings can readily be found or altered (such as metallic coatings, or textured and patterned coatings that can include rice paper).
Because the mat is thin but not razor-thin, it can be carved (traditionally by hand, though computerized mat-cutting systems have also been developed) to include a design, such as lettering or a simple image; because the carving consists primarily of cutting away a small portion of the mat’s top decorative layer, the carved design will show up as the color of the mat’s core. (Sandpaper has been used to sand through the mat to disclose the core, as well as incisions put into it with the same result.) The majority of mats come with a white core, black core, or normal (cream colored) core, although a few come with bright green, red, yellow, or blue cores.