Traditional home decor: 12 classic paintings for a timeless room
Canaletto’s Warwick Castle, Ruisdael’s Bentheim, Dutch flower pieces, a Lawrence portrait and a Stubbs spaniel: twelve classic paintings for traditional rooms.
A traditional room is built on things that last: good wood, rich fabrics, books, lamps and pictures that look as if they have always hung there. The classic choices are the same as they were two centuries ago: landscapes of great houses, flower pieces, portraits and faithful dogs.
Here are twelve real masterpieces for that kind of room, in three moods: great houses and landscapes, flowers in the Dutch manner, and portraits and interiors. Each is shown with its colour palette, and each can be ordered as a print.
Great houses and landscapes
Castles, country houses and old villages.
1. The South Front of Warwick Castle
Canaletto, The South Front of Warwick Castle, 1748. Oil on canvas. Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid.
Canaletto spent nine years in England, painting its great houses with the same clear light he gave Venice. He painted Warwick Castle in 1748.
Soft blue and stone for a classic living room.
Create your portrait in this style
2. Bentheim Castle
Jacob van Ruisdael, Bentheim Castle, 1653. Oil on canvas. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
Jacob van Ruisdael painted Bentheim Castle, just over the Dutch border in Germany, several times. This version of 1653 makes the small hill look like a mountain.
Deep earth tones for a study or library.
Create your portrait in this style
3. The Quarters behind Alresford Hall
John Constable, The Quarters behind Alresford Hall, 1816. Oil on canvas. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.
John Constable painted this summerhouse on an English country estate in 1816, the year of his marriage.
Quiet greens and silver for a traditional sitting room.
Create your portrait in this style
4. Village Street under Trees
Meindert Hobbema, Village Street under Trees, 1663. Oil on canvas. Gemäldegalerie, Berlin.
Meindert Hobbema painted this village street in 1663, with travellers dwarfed by great old oaks.
A timeless landscape for above a sofa or sideboard.
Flowers in the Dutch manner
Bouquets painted petal by petal.
5. A Vase of Flowers
Margareta Haverman, A Vase of Flowers, 1716. Oil on wood. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Margareta Haverman, one of the few women admitted to the French Academy, painted this bouquet in 1716. Look for the butterfly and the snail.
A rich focal point over a chest or console.
6. A still-life with a spray of flowers
Rachel Ruysch, A still-life with a spray of flowers, ca. 1685-1700. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Rachel Ruysch was the most famous flower painter of her day, and one of the best paid. She painted this spray of flowers around 1685 to 1700.
Ivory and orange against dark green, beautiful in a dining room.
7. Flower Piece
Simon Verelst, Flower Piece, ca. 1700. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Simon Verelst, a Dutch painter who worked in London, painted flower pieces so admired that he became a celebrity of the court of Charles II.
Crimson and pink for a traditional bedroom.
8. Flowers and Fruit in a Porcelain Bowl
Juan de Zurbarán, Flowers and Fruit in a Porcelain Bowl, c. 1645. Oil on canvas. Art Institute of Chicago.
Juan de Zurbarán, son of the great Spanish painter Francisco, painted this still life around 1645 with the stillness of his father’s art.
Warm golds and cream for a kitchen or dining room.
Portraits and interiors
Faces, rooms and a faithful dog.
9. The Letter in the Entrance Hall
Pieter de Hooch, The Letter in the Entrance Hall, 1670. Oil on canvas. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
Pieter de Hooch painted this quiet exchange in a Dutch entrance hall in 1670, with light falling across the chequered floor.
A classic interior for a hallway or study.
10. Portrait of Mrs. Leneve
Peter Lely, Portrait of Mrs. Leneve, c. 1657. Oil on canvas. Cleveland Museum of Art.
Peter Lely, court painter to Charles II, painted Mrs Leneve around 1657 in soft light and shimmering silk.
A gracious portrait for above a fireplace.
11. Portrait of Catherine Grey, Lady Manners
Thomas Lawrence, Portrait of Catherine Grey, Lady Manners, 1794. Oil on canvas. Cleveland Museum of Art.
Thomas Lawrence was only twenty five when he painted Lady Manners in 1794. He would become the leading portrait painter in Europe.
White, green and sky blue for a light traditional room.
12. A Clumber Spaniel
George Stubbs, A Clumber Spaniel, 1784. Oil on canvas. Usher Gallery, Lincoln.
George Stubbs painted this Clumber spaniel in 1784, every feather of its coat lit by a warm, raking light.
A classic dog portrait for a study, hall or library.
Create your portrait in this style
Traditional rooms suit gilt or dark wood frames and pictures hung at eye level, centred over furniture: a landscape over the sofa, a flower piece over a chest, a portrait over the fireplace. A pair of matching pictures either side of a mirror or doorway is a classic touch. For more, see Victorian decor and farmhouse wall art.
Questions
What art suits a traditional home?
Classic landscapes, flower still lifes, portraits and animal paintings by the old masters, in gilt or dark wood frames.
What colours are traditional decor?
Warm creams, deep greens, navy, burgundy, gold and wood tones.
How do I hang art in a traditional room?
Centre pictures over furniture at eye level, use pairs for symmetry, and choose gilt or dark wood frames.
Can old master paintings work in a modern room?
Yes. A single classic painting in a simple frame gives a modern room warmth, history and a strong focal point.