According to previous studies, highly understandable painting is generally associated with favorable evaluations. This study investigated the contribution of understandability to the combination effect of painting and frame. Using eight combinations, the degrees of harmony and impression (evaluation, activity) were rated. It was found that when a highly understandable painting was combined with a regular and symmetrical frame, the degree of harmony and evaluation were higher than if the painting was combined with an irregular and complex frame. In contrast, a poorly understandable painting harmonized with both types of frames and their evaluation only slightly differed. The results indicated that the aesthetic appreciation of art is affected by the frame and that a highly understandable painting is harmonized only in a regular and symmetrical frame that does not impinge on the prototypicality of the painting.
