How to choose an antique print for a room.
An antique print is the quickest way to give a room age, color and a story. It is also easy to get wrong: too small for the wall, too pale for the paint, framed in a way that damages it. This guide is how we choose prints for rooms, and how the 2,571 pieces on Madder & Ochre are organized to make that choice quick.
Start with the wall, not the subject
Most people buy a print for what it shows. Designers buy it for what it does to a wall. Begin with the paint color, then look for prints whose colors either echo it or answer it. A sage green wall makes the reds and pinks in a botanical come forward; an oxblood wall makes ochre and gilt glow; a stone or cream wall lets the print carry all the color.
That is why every piece here was photographed into one of six wall colors. Browse oxblood, ochre, cream, sage, duck egg or stone walls to see what already works in each.
Match the colors of the scheme
If you have a fabric, a rug or a paint card, match the print to it. Our color finder accepts up to three colors as swatches, HEX codes or RGB values, and shows only prints that contain all of them. Popular starting points are madder red, Prussian blue, sap green and ochre; for a room that already has enough color, try black and white engravings.
Get the scale right
The most common mistake is a print that is too small. Above a sofa or a console, the framed piece should be roughly two thirds of the width of the furniture; if one print cannot reach that, hang two or three as a group. Every room photograph on this site is built to the real sheet size, so what you see is the true scale.
Sizes here are always given framed as shown (the sheet plus a mat of 4 cm and a tenth of the long side, plus a 2.6 cm moulding) and as the bare sheet. Browse large, medium and small prints by framed size.
Hang it at the right height
Hang so the center of the print is about 145 to 152 cm (57 to 60 in) from the floor, the eye level of a standing adult. Above furniture, leave 15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 in) between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the frame. Groups hang as one piece: find the center of the whole group, and keep the gaps between frames equal, usually 5 to 8 cm.
Hang in pairs, rows and grids
Antique prints were mostly published in series, which makes them ideal for groups. Pairs of birds facing each other, a row of three botanicals above a bed, or a strict grid of nine architectural or orders plates: the repetition is the point. Keep the mats and mouldings identical across the group.
Frame it properly
An antique sheet should be framed to conservation standard: acid-free cotton rag mounts, reversible hinges of Japanese paper and starch paste, and UV-filtering glazing so that hand coloring does not fade. Never dry-mount, glue or tape an original. Our prints ship unframed, and we will put you in touch with a conservation framer near you or near the project.
Originals, not reproductions
Everything on Madder & Ochre is an original, printed in its own century and sold by Bartele Gallery in Langweer, the Netherlands, members of the Dutch antiques dealers' association NVvA and of ILAB. A reproduction is a photograph of a print; an original is the object itself, with the plate mark, the paper and the hand color that make it worth framing.
Questions designers ask
Are these prints originals or reproductions?
Originals. Every piece on Madder & Ochre was printed in its own time, from the 1600s to the early 1900s, from engraved copper or steel plates, wood blocks or lithographic stones, and most were colored by hand. Nothing here is a modern reproduction or a print-on-demand copy.
Do the prints come framed?
No. The frames, mats and rooms in our photographs show each piece at its true size, so you can judge scale. You receive the original sheet, unframed, shipped flat or rolled. We can put you in touch with a conservation framer near you or near the project.
How do I know the size will work on my wall?
Every room photograph is built to scale around the real sheet size, with a mat of 4 cm plus a tenth of the long side and a 2.6 cm moulding. Each piece lists both the sheet size and the framed size as shown, in centimeters or inches.
How does the color search work?
We measured the colors of every sheet from its scan: up to six colors per print with the share of the sheet each covers, plus the paper tone. Pick up to three swatches, or type a HEX or RGB value from your scheme, and we match them with CIEDE2000, the color-difference formula used in the paint and textile trade. Every chosen color must appear in the print.
Do you offer trade prices for interior designers?
Yes. Designers, architects and decorators can apply for BarTrade, the trade program of Bartele Gallery. Once approved, your trade price applies on every Bartele Gallery site.
Where do you ship, and what does it cost?
Worldwide, insured and tracked, from the Netherlands. Standard shipping is 45 euros to the United States and Canada, 30 to the United Kingdom, 25 within Europe and 15 within the Netherlands, with an express option. Returns are accepted within 14 days.
How should an antique print be framed?
With acid-free cotton rag mounts, reversible Japanese paper hinges, and UV-filtering glazing. Never dry-mounted or glued. A good conservation framer does this as a matter of course; ask us for a recommendation.