Horizontal wall art: 12 wide paintings for above the sofa
Van Goyen’s Haarlem sky, a Venice canal, Courbet’s green valley and Kano Yasunobu’s horses: twelve wide masterworks for the long walls above sofas, beds and sideboards.
Most of the long walls in a home, above a sofa, a bed, a sideboard or a console, want a wide picture. A tall picture leaves empty space at its sides; a horizontal one echoes the furniture below it and makes the whole arrangement feel calm.
Here are twelve real masterpieces painted in landscape format, in three groups: wide skies and valleys, water and cities, and fields and gardens. Each is shown with its colour palette, and each can be ordered as a print.
Wide skies and valleys
Panoramas made for the space above a sofa.
1. View of Haarlem and the Haarlemmer Meer
Jan van Goyen, View of Haarlem and the Haarlemmer Meer, 1646. Oil on wood. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Jan van Goyen painted this view of Haarlem in 1646, giving almost the whole panel to the sky, as only the Dutch dared.
Silver greys for a calm, modern living room.
2. An October Day in the White Mountains
John Frederick Kensett, An October Day in the White Mountains, 1854. Oil on canvas. Cleveland Museum of Art.
John Frederick Kensett painted this October day in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in 1854, in the still, luminous style of the Hudson River School.
Warm sand and soft blue for above a sofa.
3. The Valley of Les Puits-Noir
Gustave Courbet, The Valley of Les Puits-Noir, 1868. Oil on canvas. Art Institute of Chicago.
Gustave Courbet painted the Puits-Noir valley near his home town of Ornans again and again. This view is from 1868.
Deep forest greens for a bedroom.
4. Mist Rising at Sunset in the Catskills
Sanford Robinson Gifford, Mist Rising at Sunset in the Catskills, c. 1861. Oil on canvas. Art Institute of Chicago.
Sanford Robinson Gifford painted light itself. In this view of about 1861, the Catskills dissolve in golden evening mist.
Soft, hazy tones for a calm bedroom.
Water and cities
Canals, harbours and city skylines.
5. The Church of Santa Maria della Salute, Venice
Michele Marieschi, The Church of Santa Maria della Salute, Venice, 1740–41. Oil on canvas. Art Institute of Chicago.
Michele Marieschi painted Venice for travellers on the Grand Tour. This view of the Salute dates from 1740 to 1741.
Soft blue and stone for above a sideboard.
6. Two Boys Watching Schooners
Winslow Homer, Two Boys Watching Schooners, 1880. Watercolor, with graphite, on moderately thick, rough-textured, ivory wove paper. Art Institute of Chicago.
Winslow Homer painted this watercolour at Gloucester in 1880, two boys dreaming of the sea.
Sand and warm grey for a coastal bedroom.
7. Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives
Charles-Théodore Frère, Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, by 1880. Oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Charles-Théodore Frère travelled widely in the Middle East. He painted this panorama of Jerusalem before 1880.
Golden sand and sky blue for a sunny living room.
8. The Oude Kerk, Delft
Cornelis de Man, The Oude Kerk, Delft, c. 1665. Oil on canvas. Art Institute of Chicago.
Cornelis de Man painted the Oude Kerk in Delft around 1665, the same years and the same town as Vermeer.
Warm stone tones for a dining room.
Fields and gardens
Long fields, gardens and grazing horses.
9. Reapers Resting in a Wheat Field
John Singer Sargent, Reapers Resting in a Wheat Field, 1885. Oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
John Singer Sargent painted these reapers resting at the English village of Broadway in 1885, among friends who spent their summers painting outdoors.
Golden wheat tones for above a bed.
10. The Poet's Garden
Vincent van Gogh, The Poet's Garden, 1888. Oil on canvas. Art Institute of Chicago.
Vincent van Gogh painted The Poet’s Garden in Arles in 1888, to decorate the room where Paul Gauguin would stay.
Fresh yellow green for a living room.
11. Bordighera
Claude Monet, Bordighera, 1884. Oil on canvas. Art Institute of Chicago.
Claude Monet spent the winter of 1884 at Bordighera on the Italian Riviera, painting palms, pines and Mediterranean light.
Green and Mediterranean blue for a sunny room.
12. Six Horses in a Field with Peach and Willow Trees
Kano Yasunobu, Six Horses in a Field with Peach and Willow Trees, c. 1683. Album leaf; ink, color, and gold on silk. Harvard Art Museums.
Kano Yasunobu painted these six horses around 1683 in ink, colour and gold on silk, with wide spaces of empty ground.
A light, airy picture for above a bed or console.
A horizontal picture above a sofa or bed should be about two thirds of the furniture’s width, hung 20 to 25 centimetres above it. Over a sideboard, it can be a little narrower. For a very long wall, hang two horizontal pictures side by side with a narrow gap. For more, see living room wall art and large wall art.
Questions
What size picture goes above a sofa?
About two thirds of the sofa’s width, hung 20 to 25 centimetres above the back.
Should art above a bed be horizontal?
Usually yes. A wide picture echoes the headboard and fills the space better than a tall one.
Which paintings are horizontal?
Landscapes, seascapes, city views and panoramas are usually horizontal, as are many still lifes and group scenes.
Can I hang two horizontal pictures together?
Yes. Two pictures of the same size side by side, with a gap of 5 to 8 centimetres, suit long walls and wide sofas.