Christmas mantel decor: 12 winter paintings to hang above the fire
Carl Larsson’s Christmas Eve, Queen Victoria’s tree, a Danish tree market and Courbet’s snowy village: twelve festive paintings for the season’s most important wall.
The simplest way to make a mantel feel like Christmas is to change the picture above it. Greenery, candles and stockings do the rest, but a winter painting sets the scene for the whole room, and it can stay up from Advent until Epiphany.
Here are twelve, in three moods: Christmas at home, markets and trees, and snow and winter light. Each is shown with its colour palette, so you can match ribbons, candles and greenery to it, and each can be ordered as a print.
Christmas at home
Family tables, candlelit rooms and trees indoors.
1. Christmas Eve
Carl Larsson, Christmas Eve, 1904.
Carl Larsson painted Christmas at his home in Sundborn many times. This Christmas Eve of 1904 is full of candlelight, a long laden table and the whole household gathered by the fire.
The perfect Scandinavian Christmas picture, beautiful with red ribbons and white candles.
2. Between Christmas and New Year (A Home)
Carl Larsson, Between Christmas and New Year (A Home), 1899. Watercolour. Nationalmuseum, Stockholm.
In this watercolour of 1899 from A Home, Larsson painted the quiet days between Christmas and New Year: a mother and child in a painted room, candles lit on the sideboard.
A gentle, cosy picture for a family living room.
3. Queen Victoria's Christmas Tree
William Corden the Younger, Queen Victoria's Christmas Tree, 1850–51. Oil on canvas.
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert made the Christmas tree fashionable in Britain. William Corden the Younger painted one of the royal trees in 1850 to 1851, glowing with candles among the gifts.
A rich, regal picture for a traditional mantel with gold and deep red.
4. Christmas-Time, The Blodgett Family
Eastman Johnson, Christmas-Time, The Blodgett Family, 1864. Oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Eastman Johnson painted the Blodgett family of New York at Christmas in 1864. Warm firelight, a red tablecloth and a new toy make it one of the warmest American Christmas pictures.
Deep reds and warm browns for a classic, cosy Christmas room.
5. Christmas Still Life
Eloise Harriet Stannard, Christmas Still Life, 1886. Oil on canvas.
Eloise Harriet Stannard of Norwich painted this festive still life in 1886, with holly, oranges and grapes on a rumpled white cloth.
A small, warm picture for a kitchen or dining room mantel, lovely with orange and green.
Markets and trees
The bustle of buying the tree and the presents.
6. Christmas Market
Georg Schöbel, Christmas Market, c. 1890–1891. Oil on canvas.
Georg Schöbel painted this Christmas market around 1890. Gas lamps and canvas stalls glow on wet cobbles as people carry home toys and a fresh tree.
A lively, atmospheric picture for a dark painted room with warm lights.
7. The Christmas Fair
Georg von Rosen, The Christmas Fair, 1872. Oil on canvas. Nationalmuseum, Stockholm.
The Swedish painter Georg von Rosen painted this Christmas fair in 1872, set in an old town of timbered houses. Townspeople buy bread, toys and trees in the snow.
Soft snow white and brick red for a traditional Christmas mantel.
8. Selling Christmas Trees
David Jacob Jacobsen, Selling Christmas Trees, before 1871. Oil on canvas.
The Danish painter David Jacob Jacobsen painted this tree market before 1871. Children pull a little pine on a sled through the snow under a pale winter moon.
Cool blue grey and green for a calm, elegant Christmas.
9. Felling the Christmas Tree
Hans Andersen Brendekilde, Felling the Christmas Tree, 1885. Oil on canvas.
The Danish painter Hans Andersen Brendekilde painted this outing in 1885. In a misty wood, boys in scarves watch as the family tree is cut down.
Rust, moss and frost for a rustic, woodland mantel.
Snow and winter light
Quiet snowy pictures that last from Advent to the end of winter.
10. Village Street in Winter
Gustave Courbet, Village Street in Winter, 1868. Oil on canvas.
Gustave Courbet loved painting snow and painted this village street in 1868. Thick snow, dark trees and deep tracks in the road capture the silence of winter.
A quiet winter picture that can stay up long after Christmas.
11. Christmas Day
William McTaggart, Christmas Day, 1898. Oil on canvas. Kirkcaldy Galleries.
The Scottish painter William McTaggart painted Christmas Day in 1898 with loose, quick brushwork. Children and a dog play in fresh snow in the low winter light.
Soft whites and pale blues for a light, modern mantel.
12. The Snowy Garden
Utagawa Hiroshige, The Snowy Garden, 1854. Triptych of color woodblock prints, ink and color on paper. Cleveland Museum of Art.
Utagawa Hiroshige and Utagawa Kunisada made this snowy garden together in 1854, Hiroshige the landscape and Kunisada the figures. Snow on pine and stone lantern makes a scene of quiet calm.
A minimal, graphic winter picture for a modern or Japandi room.
Hang or lean the picture first, then build the mantel around it. Use greenery along the shelf, and pick two colours from the painting’s palette for ribbons, baubles and candles. Keep the area just in front of the picture low, so nothing hides it. After the holidays, swap it back for your everyday painting; our mantel decor ideas have twelve to choose from.
Questions
How do I decorate a mantel for Christmas?
Start with one picture above it, then add greenery along the shelf, candles of different heights and a few ornaments in two colours taken from the painting.
What painting goes above a fireplace at Christmas?
A winter landscape, a Christmas interior or a festive market scene. Carl Larsson’s Christmas Eve and Queen Victoria’s Christmas Tree are classic choices.
Can I lean a picture on the mantel?
Yes. Leaning a framed print is easy to change with the seasons, and greenery can overlap its lower edge for a layered look.
When should I put up Christmas art?
Most people hang it at the start of Advent and take it down after New Year or Twelfth Night.