Red wall art: 12 paintings with crimson at their heart

Hilma af Klint’s vermilion swans, Yoshitoshi’s rooftop duel, a Medici princess and a Christmas parlour: twelve paintings where red is the star.

Red is the boldest colour a picture can bring into a room. It warms a cool space, draws the eye down a long wall and makes a dining room feel like an occasion. It was also the most precious colour in old painting: vermilion, cochineal and madder were costly, so red was saved for what mattered most.

Here are twelve paintings with red at their heart, in three groups: vermilion and scarlet, crimson stories, and red with gold and green.

Vermilion and scarlet

Pure, bright reds that light up a white or grey wall.

1. The Swan, No. 9

Crescents and a circle of colour float on a flat vermilion ground.

Hilma af Klint, The Swan, No. 9, 1915. Oil on canvas. Hilma af Klint Foundation, Stockholm.

Hilma af Klint painted The Swan series in 1915, exploring opposites through two birds, one black and one white.

Vermilion, stone and ink.

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2. The Swan, No. 17

A circle split into black and white and rings of blue, gold and pink, on mottled red.

Hilma af Klint, The Swan, No. 17, 1915. Oil on canvas. Hilma af Klint Foundation, Stockholm.

In her later Swan paintings, Hilma af Klint reduced the two birds to pure geometry.

Scarlet with cerulean and gold.

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3. Landscape After Wu Chen

Misty mountains rise above pines and a pavilion, touched with red.

Yuan Yao, Landscape After Wu Chen, c. 1736-1795, Qianlong period. Album leaf; ink and color on silk. Harvard Art Museums.

Yuan Yao, an 18th century painter of Yangzhou, painted this album leaf in the manner of the 14th century master Wu Zhen.

Cinnabar red and rice paper cream.

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4. The Parrot's Tale

The lady Khujasta listens to a parrot in an ornate palace room.

Mughal painter, The Parrot's Tale, c. 1560. Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper. Cleveland Museum of Art.

This page comes from the Tuti-nama, the Tales of a Parrot, painted in the studio of the young emperor Akbar around 1560.

Scarlet, cream and emerald.

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Crimson stories

Deep reds that tell a story, for dining rooms and libraries.

5. Head of a Woman

A woman with auburn hair, painted in deep reds against a dark ground.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Painted panel, ca. 1860. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti painted this small panel around 1860, the year he married Elizabeth Siddal.

Crimson and auburn against near black.

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6. The Muse Euterpe

The Muse Euterpe rests against a rock beside a young deer, in a red dress.

Arnold Böcklin, The Muse Euterpe, 1872.

Arnold Böcklin painted Euterpe, the Muse of music, in 1872, with her flutes at her feet.

Scarlet, cobalt and moss.

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7. The Young Medici Princess

A small girl in crimson and black with a white lace collar.

The Young Medici Princess, 1613.

Maria Cristina de’ Medici, daughter of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, painted in 1613 when she was three or four years old.

Crimson, black and lace white.

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8. Fight on the Roof of the Hôryûkaku

Two warriors duel on the steep roof of the Hōryūkaku tower.

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, Fight on the Roof of the Hôryûkaku, 1887. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, the last great master of the Japanese woodblock print, made this dramatic print in 1887.

Lacquer red, ink and gold.

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Red with gold and green

Warm, lamplit reds for living rooms and Christmas.

9. Nanda and the elders, page from a Bhagavata Purana

Nanda and the village elders sit in council against flat fields of red and yellow.

Indian painter, Nanda and the elders, page from a Bhagavata Purana, c. 1525–40. Gum tempera and ink on paper. Cleveland Museum of Art.

This page from the Bhagavata Purana, the stories of Krishna’s childhood, was painted in north India around 1525–40.

Scarlet, saffron and leaf green.

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10. Sindhu Raga

A noblewoman sits on a terrace above a garden, in red, green and gold.

Rajput painter, Sindhu Raga, c. 1720. Gum tempera and ink on paper. Cleveland Museum of Art.

Ragamala paintings like this one, from around 1720, turn musical modes into pictures: each raga has its own scene and mood.

Deep red, green and saffron.

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11. Christmas-Time, The Blodgett Family

A family gathers around a red covered table by the fire at Christmas.

Eastman Johnson, Christmas-Time, The Blodgett Family, 1864. Oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Eastman Johnson painted the Blodgett family in their New York parlour at Christmas 1864.

Turkey red, walnut and firelight.

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12. By the Evening Lamp

A mother sews and a boy reads by the light of a hanging lamp.

Carl Larsson, By the Evening Lamp, 1908.

Carl Larsson painted this evening at home in 1908, all lamplight, red cloth and books.

Swedish red, cream and lamplight gold.

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One red picture is usually enough for a room: let it be the focal point and pick up its red once more in a cushion, a book spine or a lampshade. Red loves cream, ink black, navy, olive and gold. For more, see burgundy wall art, art for green walls and dining room wall art.

Questions

What colours go with red wall art?

Cream, warm white, black, navy, olive green and gold.

Where should I hang red art?

Where you want the eye to go first: above a fireplace, at the end of a hallway or in a dining room.

Does red art work in a bedroom?

Yes, in small doses: a deep crimson or red and gold picture adds warmth without overwhelming a calm room.

What frame goes with red art?

Black and gold are classic; natural wood softens a bright red.