Molding

A strip that adds variety and interest to a surface by creating areas of light and shadow, as in a frame. In architecture, any of various long, narrow, ornamental bands having a distinctive profile (plain or ornamented) which project or recede from the surface of a structure. Its purpose may be to break up a surface, to organize it, to accent it, or to decorate it. Brunelleschi (Italian, 1377-1446) used dark moldings along with pilasters and columns to divide and organize the flat white walls inside the Pazzi Chapel.photo of moldings mitered, glued and nailed togetherThe wood (or other material) assembled to form a painting's stretcher and its frame are also called moldings. These moldings must be mitered so that their corners are right angles.Also see bevel, boss, chamfer, edge, kerf, ogee, profile, and relief.