Landscape Paintings for the Staircase

Open country, mountains, rivers and the sea: views that give a wall distance and air. The stairwell is the one place where paintings should not hang level with each other. Here are 29 paintings for the staircase, each a landscape, seascape, mountain or river view, with works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Diego Velázquez and Gustave Courbet.

All 606 paintings for the staircase

By the Seashore, Pierre-Auguste Renoir 18 × 24 in portrait print (46 × 61 cm), centered 58 in above the stair line. Drawn to scale on a 12 × 8 ft wall.

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29 landscape paintings

By the Seashore, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1883, oil on canvas

Pierre-Auguste Renoir By the Seashore, 1883 The Met

Impressionist painting of two girls on balcony, bright flower hat, knitting basket.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Two Sisters (On the Terrace), 1881 Art Institute of Chicago

The Dreamer (La Rêveuse), Antoine Watteau, 1712–14, oil on panel

Antoine Watteau The Dreamer (La Rêveuse), 1712–14 Art Institute of Chicago

Study for "William Rush Carving His Allegorical Figure of the Schuylkill River", Thomas Eakins, 1876–77, oil on canvas mounted on board

Thomas Eakins Study for "William Rush Carving His Allegorical Figure of the Schuylkill River", 1876–77 Art Institute of Chicago

Mrs. Henry Hill (Anna Barrett), John Singleton Copley, c. 1765–70, pastel on paper mounted on linen

John Singleton Copley Mrs. Henry Hill (Anna Barrett), c. 1765–70 Art Institute of Chicago

Catherine Brooks Hall, William Sidney Mount, ca. 1830, oil on canvas

William Sidney Mount Catherine Brooks Hall, ca. 1830 The Met

The image is a portrait painting of a woman. She is seated with her body turned slightly to the right, while her head is facing forward towards the viewer. She has a gentle expression with slightly raised eyebrows.

Henry Raeburn Mrs. George Hill, c. 1790/1800 National Gallery of Art

Painting of a crowd of well-dressed light-skinned people in an open, snowy field surrounded by large rolling hills.

George Bellows Love of Winter, 1914 Art Institute of Chicago

Shown from the knees up, a pale-skinned, bearded man dressed in black gazes at us in this vertical portrait painting. His body is angled to our left, and he looks at us from the corners of his hazel eyes under thick brows.

Jacopo Tintoretto Portrait of a Man with a Landscape View, 1552/1556 National Gallery of Art

Portrait of Philip IV, Diego Velázquez, c. 1632, oil on canvas

Diego Velázquez Portrait of Philip IV, c. 1632 Art Institute of Chicago

Portrait of George Pitt, First Baron Rivers, Thomas Gainsborough, 1769, oil on canvas

Thomas Gainsborough Portrait of George Pitt, First Baron Rivers, 1769 Cleveland Museum of Art

Rêverie (Portrait of Gabrielle Borreau), Gustave Courbet, 1862, oil on paper, mounted on canvas

Gustave Courbet Rêverie (Portrait of Gabrielle Borreau), 1862 Art Institute of Chicago

An elegantly dressed man and woman ride horses toward us and to our right in a landscape with low, rolling hills, stone buildings, and trees in this horizontal painting. The two horses and riders take up the right half of the composition.

Aelbert Cuyp Lady and Gentleman on Horseback, c. 1655, reworked 1660/1665 National Gallery of Art

The Little Shepherdess, Jean-François Millet, 1868–72, oil on panel

Jean-François Millet The Little Shepherdess, 1868–72 Art Institute of Chicago

Jalais Hill, Pontoise, Camille Pissarro, 1867, oil on canvas

Camille Pissarro Jalais Hill, Pontoise, 1867 The Met

Saint Anthony the Abbot in the Wilderness, Sano di Pietro, ca. 1440, tempera and gold on wood

Sano di Pietro Saint Anthony the Abbot in the Wilderness, ca. 1440 The Met

Young Ladies of the Village, Gustave Courbet, 1851–52, oil on canvas

Gustave Courbet Young Ladies of the Village, 1851–52 The Met

Irises, Claude Monet, 1914–17, oil on canvas

Claude Monet Irises, 1914–17 Art Institute of Chicago

Ia Orana Maria (Hail Mary), Paul Gauguin, 1891, oil on canvas

Paul Gauguin Ia Orana Maria (Hail Mary), 1891 The Met

The Old Mill, George Inness, 1849, oil on canvas

George Inness The Old Mill, 1849 Art Institute of Chicago

Entrance to a Village, Meindert Hobbema, ca. 1665, oil on wood

Meindert Hobbema Entrance to a Village, ca. 1665 The Met

Landscape with a Village in the Distance, Jacob van Ruisdael, 1646, oil on wood

Jacob van Ruisdael Landscape with a Village in the Distance, 1646 The Met

Return from the Fields, Jean-François Millet, c. 1846–47, oil on fabric

Jean-François Millet Return from the Fields, c. 1846–47 Cleveland Museum of Art

Virgin and Child with Two Angels, Sandro Botticelli, 1485–95, tempera on panel

Sandro Botticelli Virgin and Child with Two Angels, 1485–95 Art Institute of Chicago

Saint John the Baptist Bearing Witness, Annibale Carracci, ca. 1600, oil on copper

Annibale Carracci Saint John the Baptist Bearing Witness, ca. 1600 The Met

Saint Martin and the Beggar, El Greco, c. 1597–c. 1600, oil on canvas

El Greco Saint Martin and the Beggar, c. 1597–c. 1600 Art Institute of Chicago

Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness, Diego Velázquez, c. 1622, oil on canvas

Diego Velázquez Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness, c. 1622 Art Institute of Chicago

A sinewy older man, his pale skin mostly exposed, sits on a stone low to the ground facing a table on our right in the center of this vertical painting. His gray hair is cropped short, and he has a graying, long beard.

Paolo Veronese Saint Jerome in the Wilderness, c. 1575/1585 National Gallery of Art

Landscape with the Flight into Egypt, Aelbert Cuyp, ca. 1650, oil on wood

Aelbert Cuyp Landscape with the Flight into Egypt, ca. 1650 The Met

More for the staircase

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Hallway & Entryway 366 shared
Apartment & Dorm 360 shared
Guest Room 75 shared
Dining Room 71 shared

More for the staircase

Guides

Rooms that share paintings