16x20 Vincent Pro Saint-Cloud Canvas 7/8 Inch Deep #VD-1620

True 5:4 Photography Proportion - 16x20 Size

The 16x20 size is generally considered the most popular size in art. It doesn't take a lot of wall space, but it provides enough space on the canvas to create detail and made a statement without being too overpowering.

The 5:4 aspect ratio is common to both art and portrait photography, as it creates a visually pleasing format for the human figure and face. The balanced compositional format can help to create a sense of symmetry and harmony in your artwork. The 5:4 ratio has a familiar "feel", as it was commonly used in early computer monitors. Additionally, you might consider trying some relatively unknown sizes in this same proportion that we call Lost Sizes As an artist, you get the best of both worlds, because you still get to use the same aesthetically appealing 5:4 format and use rare or novel sizes that help make your art stand-out.

Explore other sizes in this same 5:4 aspect ratio:

4x5 • 8x10 • 24x30 • 12x15 • 20x25 • 28x35 • 32x40 • 36x45 • 40x50

Explore Related Products to this 16x20 Size:

• Acrylic Primed Linen: Muir™ • Vintage L22U™ • Santa Cruz™ • Vintage L22U™ • Grenoble™ • Pau™
• Acrylic Primed Cotton: Monterey™ • Carmel™ • Tahoe™ • Heavy Weight 14oz cotton • Sierra™
• Alkyd Oil Primed Linen: Malibu™ • Ventura™
• Oil Primed Linen: Vintage L21C™ • Versailles™ • Isola™ • Poitiers™
• Hardcore Canvas Panel: Saint-Cloud™
• Monet™ Pro 1.5 • 3D™ Pro 2.5

Titanium Dioxide (TiO₂) Primer Pigment

Our primer is made with the highest-quality Titanium Dioxide white pigment, which is an excellent pigment for acrylic primed grounds, providing superior whiteness and maintaining excellent flexibility over time. Unlike some other common pigments, such as zinc dioxide, TiO₂ doesn't become brittle as it ages, helping to ensure that your painting will stand the test of time.

16x20 Vincent Pro Keyable Cross Braced Frame

• Photo displays the exact frame construction, not the proportion
• Precision machined medium duty keyable tongue-and-groove Stretcher Bars
• Two 1/2" thick keyable cross braces (1.5" wide) provide excellent frame support for this 16x20 size - Cross braces may be removed and reinserted at any time
• An exclusive slot is milled on the inside perimeter of all of the Stretcher Bars to which the Braces and the expansion wedges attach
• Patented keyable cross braces allow the frame to be tensioned in the middle of the canvas, where the tension needed the most
• Cross braces firmly attached with hardware at the intersection point for maximum support and rigidity

Vincent™ Pro 7/8" Deep Bar • 5/16" Canvas Clearance

5/16" Canvas Clearance is the space between the Bar and the canvas. Generally speaking, more clearance reduces the risk of the canvas touching the wood and creating unsightly lines during painting. Our design provides the optimal clearance so as not to impact your painting, but still leaving enough wood to the maximize strength of the Stretched Canvas Frame.

• Stretcher Bar Profile produces a 7/8" deep stretched canvas
• 1.5" wide Stretcher Bar
• Frames with a dimension of 16" and up have a groove machined in the center inside perimeter to which cross braces attach
• Solid Ponderosa Pine or Fir from the Pacific Northwest

What's so important about keyable canvas frames?

In dry and air conditioned environments, wood can shrink and canvas fibers elongate, thereby making the canvas looser to the point where you might see waves in the canvas. Keyability is an important feature that professionals cherish because it makes it possible to increase canvas tension without having to re-stretch it. There is a risk to re-stretching a canvas as it could apply undue stress on the paint across the surface which could accelerate cracking of the paint, particularly with oil paintings.

With Masterpiece's patented framing systems, you can tap the keys into the corners as well as the ends of the braces, which expands the canvas more equally across the entire surface. The difference between a loose or tight canvas is just 1/8", so even small adjustments with corner and brace keys can improve a stretched canvas.

To increase canvas tension:

1. Remove any staples in the corners above and below the canvas
2. Remove any staples that restrict the keys in the corners and braces
3. Tap all the expansion keys further into their respective slots until desired tension has been achieved
4. Using canvas pliers, tighten the canvas in the corners and staple
5. Canvas tension will be restored

No Finger Joints!

Solid Wood is far superior to finger jointed wood, which is many small pieces glued together, each with varying grain densities that absorb and shed moisture at varying rates, expanding and contracting non-uniformly as environmental conditions change, and causing the wood to bow and the finger joints to eventually fail.

A single homogeneous kiln-dried solid wood Stretcher Bar outperforms and outlasts a finger jointed Bar whose sole purpose is to save the manufacturer cost, not contribute to the archival value of artwork intended to last a millennium. As a manufacturer, Masterpiece® does its part to conserve as much wood as possible, and still provide a quality product that will out-perform any other in the marketplace.

Cross Braces Make it Tighter

A tightly stretched canvas on an un-braced frame overpowers the Stretcher Bars causing them to bow inward and thereby lose tension. Sometimes that bow can expose a space in picture frames.

When a canvas is stretched on a properly supported frame, the cross-braces prevent the Bars from bowing thereby achieving maximum canvas tension. To increase the canvas tension even more, simply tap the corner and brace keys further in their slots. Properly supported frames provide you with the control over the canvas tension of your canvas and painting.

Our Ecosystem Depends on Healthy Forests

Forests play a vital role in our planet's ecosystem. They absorb carbon dioxide, filter air and water, and provide habitat for countless species of plants and animals. By using sustainably sourced lumber, we can help to protect these important ecosystems and ensure that they continue to provide these valuable services for generations to come.

Canvas Tension is in Your Control

In dry climates or air conditioned environments, the lack of moisture in the air causes wood frames to shrink and the canvas fibers to narrow and elongate making the canvas more slack and resulting in a loss of canvas tension. In some instances, the canvas could have waves on the surface resulting in an unsightly viewing experience.

Our Vincent™ Pro professional frames provide the functionality for you to slightly expand the size of the frame in the corners and the middle of the canvas, thereby increasing canvas tension all across the surface. The difference between a loose canvas and a tight canvas is just 1/8" of an inch, so a small adjustment using our corner and brace keys makes an important difference in canvas tension.

• Helps to prevent waves that occur in a loose canvas
• Increase canvas tension by tapping-in the corner and brace keys
• True professional class canvases make it possible for you to adjust the canvas tension

MuseumWrap™ Stretching Technique

With more than a half a century of American engineering, Masterpiece® designs and builds its own proprietary stretching equipment that enables us to produce the finest and most tightly-stretched canvas on the market.

• Drum-tight stretch!
• Up to 50% tighter than other methods
• Balanced tension across the surface
• Uncut folded corners make it possible to remove and re-stretch canvas on the same size frame
• Usually the corner folds are on the long sides

Our unwavering commitment at Masterpiece® is to produce only the finest, which has made us the vanguard in the world of professional fine-art canvas. Explore our extensive range of surfaces and roll sizes to find the perfect fit for your next creation.

Lend your ears to music, open your eyes to painting, and..stop thinking! Just ask yourself whether the work has enabled you to 'walk about' into a hitherto unknown world. If the answer is yes, what more do you want? ♦ Wassily Kandinsky

Often heralded as the pioneer of abstract art, Wassily Kandinsky deeply believed in the spiritual dimension of art. His works are not mere visual delights; they are symphonies of colors and shapes that evoke deep emotions and stir the soul. Kandinsky encourages us to let go of the logical and rational part of our brain, urging us to experience art with pure sensation, rather than overthinking or dissecting it.

For many artists, the goal is to transport the viewer to a different realm, a space uncharted and full of possibilities. When we, as viewers or creators, experience a piece of art, it's not always about understanding every brushstroke or note. It's about feeling, sensing, and being in that moment. Kandinsky's words remind us that sometimes, the most profound reactions are the ones that leave us speechless, where we find ourselves lost in the world the artist has crafted. Such moments are when we truly connect with art, transcending the boundaries of language and thought.

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As we honor the legacy of Wassily Kandinsky, we've created our own portrait as well as pass along these words of wisdom and our take on the message. Get to work on yours!

Tight'n'Up™ Liquid Canvas Retensioner

While all of our Masterpiece® Pro canvases are stretched very tightly and our frames have a built-in method to increase tension, we have another method to add canvas tension. Tight'n'Up™ Liquid Canvas Retensioner (sold separately) can be sprayed on the back of a canvas to repair most canvas tension issues.

With Tight'n'Up™, you can add tension to just a small area, or a large area. Simply spray it lightly on the back and brush it into the canvas, and within seconds, your canvas becomes tighter and stays tighter. The more you use, the tighter it gets.