What art goes with blue walls? 12 paintings that glow
Gold, honey, amber and coral are blue’s natural partners. Twelve paintings by Turner, Böcklin, Blake, Rubens and Guardi that glow against a blue wall.
A blue wall is a gift to a painting. Blue sits opposite orange on the colour wheel, so anything golden, amber or coral seems to light up in front of it. That is why museums so often hang old masters on deep blue walls.
Here are twelve paintings chosen for blue rooms, in three groups: gold against blue, honey and amber, and coral, rust and red. Most carry a little blue of their own, which ties them to the wall.
Gold against blue
Golden light that glows on a blue wall.
1. Rembrandt's Daughter
Joseph Mallord William Turner, Rembrandt's Daughter, 1827. Oil on canvas. Harvard Art Museums.
J. M. W. Turner painted this homage to Rembrandt in 1827, imagining the Dutch master’s daughter caught with a love letter.
Gold and crimson that blaze against navy.
2. Idyll (fragment of a screen)
Arnold Böcklin, Idyll (fragment of a screen), 1872.
Arnold Böcklin painted this panel in 1872 as part of a decorative screen.
Burnished gold against a deep blue sky.
3. The Baptism of Christ
William Blake, The Baptism of Christ, c. 1799-1800.
William Blake painted this around 1800 for his patron Thomas Butts, one of a long series of Bible pictures.
Ochre and teal: pure gold in front of a blue wall.
4. Manfred and the Alpine Witch
John Martin, Manfred and the Alpine Witch, 1837.
John Martin painted this scene from Lord Byron’s poem Manfred in 1837, as the Witch of the Alps appears in the spray.
Honey and stone with a hint of alpine blue.
Honey and amber
Warm, mellow pictures for blue living rooms.
5. A Dance in the Country
Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, A Dance in the Country, ca. 1755. Oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo painted this scene around 1755, in the warm, light filled manner of his family’s Venetian workshop.
Honey, straw and cream.
6. The Triumph of the Church
Peter Paul Rubens, The Triumph of the Church, after 1628. Oil on wood. Cleveland Museum of Art.
Rubens designed this triumph for a famous set of tapestries ordered by the Infanta Isabella in Brussels.
Ochre and blue grey: perfect on a slate blue wall.
7. The Sacrifice of Isaac
Francesco Guardi, The Sacrifice of Isaac, 1750s. Oil on canvas. Cleveland Museum of Art.
Francesco Guardi, best known for his shimmering views of Venice, painted this biblical drama in the 1750s.
Umber and amber with a cool blue sky.
8. The Brierwood Pipe
Winslow Homer, The Brierwood Pipe, 1864. Oil on canvas. Cleveland Museum of Art.
Winslow Homer painted this camp scene in 1864, from what he saw while following the Union army as an artist.
Rust, tobacco and blue grey: handsome in a study.
Coral, rust and red
Bold warm accents for navy and teal rooms.
9. Interior: A Sultana taking Coffee in the Harem
Giovanni Antonio Guardi, Interior: A Sultana taking Coffee in the Harem, 1742–43. Oil on canvas. Art Institute of Chicago.
Giovanni Antonio Guardi painted this Turkish interior in 1742–43, one of a series of scenes of Ottoman life.
Vermilion, gold and slate blue.
10. The Return of Ulysses (cassone panel)
Sienese artist close to Liberale da Verona, The Return of Ulysses (cassone panel), ca. 1475. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
This panel from Siena, around 1475, once decorated a cassone, the painted wedding chest of a Renaissance bride.
Brick red and lapis blue, rich and storied.
11. The Holy Family
Peter Paul Rubens, The Holy Family, c. 1615. Oil on panel. Art Institute of Chicago.
Peter Paul Rubens painted this tender family scene around 1615, at the height of his powers in Antwerp.
Deep red and warm flesh tones.
12. Painted panel
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Painted panel, ca. 1860. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, named after the poet, painted these scenes from Dante’s Vita Nuova around 1860.
Vermilion and plum: a jewel box for a navy wall.
On pale blue walls, choose soft gold and honey pictures; on navy or teal walls, go bolder with deep gold, amber or crimson. A gold or warm wood frame strengthens the glow. For more, see blue wall art, gold wall art and calming bedroom colours.
Questions
What colour art goes with blue walls?
Warm colours: gold, ochre, amber, terracotta and coral. They sit opposite blue on the colour wheel and glow against it.
What art goes with navy walls?
Pictures with strong golds and warm light, such as candlelit scenes, sunsets and gilded subjects, in gold or warm wood frames.
What frames go with blue walls?
Gold, brass and warm oak frames are the most flattering; white frames look crisp on pale blue.
What art goes in a blue bedroom?
Calm, warm toned pictures: golden landscapes, soft interiors and quiet figures, hung above the bed.