Victorian decor: 12 paintings for a Victorian room
Rossetti, Burne-Jones, Waterhouse, Millais and Landseer: twelve paintings from the age of Queen Victoria for period rooms, dark wallpapers and William Morris prints.
Victorian rooms were full of pictures, hung close together against rich wallpapers in green, red and gold. The painters of the age gave them legends of knights and enchantresses, faithful dogs and sentimental stories, all painted with extraordinary detail.
Here are twelve paintings from the reign of Queen Victoria, in three moods: Pre-Raphaelite legends, enchantresses, and Victorian dogs and stories. Each is shown with its colour palette, and each can be ordered as a print.
Knights and legends
The medieval dreams of the Pre-Raphaelites.
1. The Wedding of Saint George and the Princess Sabra
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, The Wedding of Saint George and the Princess Sabra, 1857. Watercolour on paper. Tate, London.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti painted this jewel like watercolour in 1857. Saint George, in gold armour, embraces the princess he has saved, in a chamber crowded with pattern.
Gold, crimson and blue, perfect against William Morris wallpaper.
2. The Fight: Saint George Kills the Dragon VI
Edward Burne-Jones, The Fight: Saint George Kills the Dragon VI, 1866. Oil on canvas. Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney.
Edward Burne-Jones painted the story of Saint George in seven canvases for the dining room of the painter Myles Birket Foster. This is the fight, painted in 1866.
A dramatic legend for a dining room or hall.
3. The Ransom
John Everett Millais, The Ransom, c. 1860. Watercolor and white gouache on cream card (paper-covered). Harvard Art Museums.
John Everett Millais made this watercolour around 1860. A knight hugs his daughters as the ransom is counted out on the table.
A tender legend for a family room.
4. The Day Dream
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, The Day Dream, 1880. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Rossetti painted The Day Dream in 1880, one of his last great pictures. Jane Morris sits lost in thought among sycamore leaves.
Lush greens for a room with green walls or Morris prints.
Enchantresses
Sorceresses and magic from Arthurian legend.
5. Morgan-le-Fay
Frederick Sandys, Morgan-le-Fay, 1864. Oil on panel. Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.
Frederick Sandys painted Morgan le Fay in 1864, weaving an enchanted robe for her brother King Arthur, in a chamber dense with gold and colour.
Gold, plum and deep green for a rich, dark room.
Create your portrait in this style
6. The Beguiling of Merlin
Edward Burne-Jones, The Beguiling of Merlin, 1872–77. Oil on canvas. Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight.
Burne-Jones worked on The Beguiling of Merlin from 1872 to 1877. Nimue reads the spell that traps the old wizard forever in a hawthorn tree.
Deep purple and slate blue for a moody Victorian room.
7. The Magic Circle
John William Waterhouse, The Magic Circle, 1886. Oil on canvas. Tate, London.
Waterhouse painted The Magic Circle in 1886, one of his first great successes. A sorceress draws a circle of protection in the dust.
Warm earth tones for a study or library.
Dogs and stories
The animal pictures every Victorian home loved.
8. Pride of Place
Briton Rivière, Pride of Place, 1891. Oil on canvas. Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter.
Briton Rivière painted Pride of Place in 1891, a gentle joke about rank: the little terrier on the wall looks down on the big dog in the street.
A witty picture for a hall or a dog lover’s study.
9. Fidelity
Briton Rivière, Fidelity, 1869. Oil on canvas. Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight.
Rivière painted Fidelity in 1869. A young man sits alone in a bare cell, and his faithful dog lays its head on his knee.
A moving picture in warm cream and brown.
10. The Old Gardener
Briton Rivière, The Old Gardener, 1863. Oil on canvas. Yale Center for British Art, New Haven.
Briton Rivière painted The Old Gardener in 1863, early in his career, before the animal pictures that made him famous.
Warm ochres for a traditional sitting room.
11. King Charles Spaniels (The Cavalier's Pets)
Edwin Landseer, King Charles Spaniels (The Cavalier's Pets), 1845. Oil on canvas. Tate, London.
Edwin Landseer painted The Cavalier’s Pets in 1845, two King Charles spaniels lying on a crimson cloth beside a plumed hat.
Crimson and cream, perfect for a Victorian drawing room.
Create your portrait in this style
12. Doubtful Crumbs
Edwin Landseer, Doubtful Crumbs, 1858. Oil on canvas.
Landseer painted Doubtful Crumbs in 1858: a little terrier wonders whether it dares take the great St Bernard’s bone while he sleeps.
A humorous picture for a kitchen, hall or family room.
Create your portrait in this style
For a Victorian look, hang pictures in gilt or dark wood frames, close together and at slightly different heights, perhaps from a picture rail on chains or cords. Rich wall colours like deep green, oxblood or ochre, and William Morris patterns, are the natural background. For a lighter version, mix one Pre-Raphaelite picture with plain walls and dark wood. See also dark academia decor.
Questions
What art was popular in Victorian homes?
Narrative paintings, Pre-Raphaelite legends, animal pictures, landscapes and portraits, usually in gilt frames hung close together from a picture rail.
What colours are Victorian?
Deep green, oxblood red, ochre, navy and plum, often with gold and rich patterned wallpapers.
How do I hang art in a Victorian style?
Use a picture rail with cords or chains, hang pictures close together and at varying heights, and choose gilt or dark wood frames.
Who are the main Victorian painters?
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Edward Burne-Jones, John Everett Millais, John William Waterhouse, Frederick Sandys and the animal painters Edwin Landseer and Briton Rivière.