Yellow wall art: 12 paintings in gold, ochre and mustard

Sharaku’s actors, Harunobu’s readers, Rembrandt’s Flora, Pissarro’s summer path and Carl Larsson’s study: twelve paintings in buttercup, ochre and mustard.

Yellow is light you can hang on a wall. A yellow picture brightens a dark hallway, warms a north facing room and makes a kitchen feel like a sunny morning. The trick is choosing the right yellow: lemon and buttercup are lively, ochre and honey are calm, and mustard is rich and grown up.

Here are twelve paintings in three groups: lemon and buttercup, ochre and honey, and mustard and golden light.

Lemon and buttercup

Bright yellows for kitchens and dark hallways.

1. The Courtesan Takao

The actor Iwai Kumesaburō II as the courtesan Takao, in a kimono of lemon yellow.

Utagawa Kunisada I, The Courtesan Takao, c. 1827. Color woodblock print; uchiwa-e. Art Institute of Chicago.

Utagawa Kunisada made this print around 1827 for a fan, cut in the rounded uchiwa shape.

Lemon, crimson and violet.

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2. Musashibo Benkei Kneeling by a Plum Tree

The warrior monk Benkei kneels by a flowering plum tree.

Utagawa Kunisada, Musashibo Benkei Kneeling by a Plum Tree, c. mid or late 1810s. Color woodblock print. Cleveland Museum of Art.

Utagawa Kunisada made this print in the 1810s, setting the giant monk beside delicate blossom.

Primrose, charcoal and red.

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3. The Actor Ichikawa Yaozo III

The kabuki actor Ichikawa Yaozō III, his face and hands full of drama.

Toshusai Sharaku, The Actor Ichikawa Yaozo III, 1794. Color woodblock print; hosoban. Art Institute of Chicago.

Toshusai Sharaku made this print in 1794, in the ten months in which he made all his actor portraits.

Mustard, ink black and cream.

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4. Two Young Women Reading Books

Two young women read together, one leaning over the other’s shoulder.

Suzuki Harunobu, Two Young Women Reading Books, c. 1767/68. Color woodblock print; chuban. Art Institute of Chicago.

Suzuki Harunobu made this print around 1767, when his gentle readers and lovers filled the print shops of Edo.

Buttercup, sage and peach.

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Ochre and honey

Soft, earthy yellows for living rooms and bedrooms.

5. Tobias and the Angel

Tobias and the angel walk along a country path in golden evening light.

Jean Charles Cazin, Tobias and the Angel, 1878. Oil on canvas. Art Institute of Chicago.

Jean Charles Cazin set this Bible story in the French countryside in 1878, as a quiet walk at dusk.

Ochre, olive and honey.

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6. Autumn River Scene, The Brook

A brook winds through a wood of turning leaves.

David Bates, Autumn River Scene, The Brook, 1889. Oil on canvas. Art Institute of Chicago.

David Bates painted this English autumn in 1889, all dappled light and gold.

Honey, ochre and moss.

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7. Flight of Geese

A flock of wild geese rises over a reedy marsh.

Chinese painter, Flight of Geese, Late Yuan (1279–1368) or early Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk. Art Institute of Chicago.

This Chinese hanging scroll was painted in the late Yuan or early Ming dynasty, more than six hundred years ago.

Antique ochre, olive and ink.

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8. Brown and White Norfolk or Water Spaniel

A brown and white spaniel stands alert on a sunlit bank.

George Stubbs, Brown and White Norfolk or Water Spaniel, 1778. Oil on canvas. Yale Center for British Art.

George Stubbs, the greatest animal painter of his age, painted this Norfolk spaniel in 1778.

Straw, sky blue and chestnut.

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Mustard and golden light

Rich, deep yellows for studies and living rooms.

9. Flora

A young woman as Flora, goddess of flowers, holds out blossoms in her lap.

Rembrandt, Flora, ca. 1654. Oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Rembrandt painted Flora around 1654, perhaps with Hendrickje Stoffels as his model.

Mustard, cream and umber.

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10. Esbjörn at the Study Corner

A boy reads in a high backed chair at a bright red desk.

Carl Larsson, Esbjörn at the Study Corner, 1912. Nationalmuseum, Stockholm.

Carl Larsson painted his son Esbjörn in the study corner at Sundborn in 1912.

Mustard, cream and cornflower.

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11. Glade jul (Happy Christmas)

A family joins hands around a candlelit Christmas tree.

Viggo Johansen, Glade jul (Happy Christmas), 1891. Oil on canvas.

Danish painter Viggo Johansen painted his own family dancing around the tree in 1891.

Candle gold and forest green.

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12. Landscape, Eragny

A sunlit path leads past slender trees through fields near Éragny.

Camille Pissarro, Landscape, Eragny, 1890. Transparent watercolor and graphite on off-white wove paper. Harvard Art Museums.

Camille Pissarro painted the fields around his home at Éragny in watercolour in 1890.

Pale ochre, sage and cream.

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Yellow loves grey, navy, cobalt, sage, white and charcoal. Mustard is gorgeous with teal and plum; soft ochre suits linen and oak. For more, see gold wall art, orange wall art and art for grey walls.

Questions

What colours go with yellow art?

Grey, navy, cobalt blue, sage, white and charcoal; mustard also loves teal and plum.

Is yellow art good for a dark room?

Yes. Yellow reflects light and makes a dim hallway or north facing room feel sunnier.

What is the difference between mustard and ochre?

Mustard is a deeper, slightly greenish yellow; ochre is an earthy, brownish yellow.

What frame goes with yellow art?

White and oak keep it fresh; black or walnut make mustard look rich.