Description

From 1913 Baumann’s tempera preparatory drawings were always made on brown, tan, or gray paper. The background color functioned as a neutral, median baseline from which both brighter and darker hues could be calibrated. The gold border (Baumann most often painted a white perimeter around his drawings) brightens the scene and enhances the illusion of depth as if looking through a window into a three-dimensional space. The gold frame also separates the image from the margins of brown paper, so that areas of unpainted paper become integrated within the design.