Joinery is an ancient woodworking and cabinetry craft to the point were joiners have always been a separate and specialized group, apart from carpenters and turners.

How to join pieces of wood to create the frames used to strech canvas for the purpose of painting on it dates from about the year 1500. Before that, stretched canvas was not used. Instead, paintings were done on walls, wood panels, copper sheets, sheets of slate stone, leather glued or nailed to the front panels of furniture.

Over time, joinery evolved and by studying how stretcher bars are joined they can be dated.

Additionally, local and regional usage and traditions resulted in different types of joints and makes it possible to locate where the stretchers were built.

If you would like to identify when and where the stretchers bars of your painting were built and joined, contact us, we will probably be able to help you.