Thoughts on bottom weighted mounting/ matboard

So my mum asked me why I don't bottom weight my mounting board and I fell into a bit of a rabbit hole trying to work out the answer. So here be my ramblings on the subject:

So to start off: Bottom weighted mounting board( or mat board) is when the bit of board in front and around the painting that keeps it away from the glass and hides rough edges has a wider section at the bottom than the top.

From what I gather originally it started in the Victorian era due to a preference for paintings to be higher up on a wall and hung at an angle pointing slightly downwards. Due to the angle it made the painting look further down in the frame than it was in reality so they added a bit extra mounting at the bottom to fix the illusion.

Later when tastes changed and the paintings moved further down the wall to eye level the bottom weight actually increased in size due to the obsession at the time with the golden ratio, which the mounting board adjusted to fit.

( On a side tangent I'm frustrated with the golden ratio, there's nothing wrong with it exactly but it's over used and I've never been given a proper reason why I should use it other than that particular rectangle is better than all other rectangles. Habit does not make something better.)

Don't quote me though my research into the history wasn't that deep.

So, my thoughts on bottom weighting:

Firstly I do begrudgingly admit that bottom weighting is the professional norm. Whether I like it or not others can be judgmental about it, either thinking it's old fashioned or a sign the mounting's been done correctly. In many ways it is just a fashion trend, like the current constant use of white mounting board and frames.

There is also the theory it creates an illusion of balancing out a painting, that the eye is inclined to believe that the painting is actually further down on the mounting without it.

I personally chose not to bottom weight my paintings simply because currently both my paintings and mounting board feel too small for it.

Even my larger paintings at most are A3 in size so there's still the chance that people will think it's a mistake, even if people only notice it subconsciously.

There's also the problem that a really small painting may just sit on a table, in which case I'd be better to top weight it, or hung on the wall at eye level. Since I don't know which will be chosen I can't adjust for it.

If I did larger paintings, that required larger mounting boards then I'd probably bottom weight it.

Since I don't get my frames designed to fit the paintings, instead just finding a fame close in size, then most of the time my mounting board isn't even all the way around. Most of the time the sides are narrower than the top and bottom.

I feel like if I then added extra width to the bottom people would just assume it was done by eye rather than measured out, since three out of the four sides would all be different to each other.

However another case I would bottom weight is if I want a painting to come across as taller and narrower than it actually is. I'd add extra to both ends, though more to the bottom.

In the end it's up to you. I'd just suggest having a think about how you want your painting to come across each time, something I need to start thinking about myself.

If I want it to look traditional or modern I'd change it accordingly. I think I'll need to try to remember to include it on larger paintings.