Eight Famous Reproduction Paintings Recommended for Fireplaces

A world of activity exists around a fireplace: dinner parties, conversations, quiet nights alone with a book. It represents a special place: the heart of the home where people gather and relax, read and contemplate, work and play.

Great art should not be taken for granted. It can add enchantment and meaning to any home. A mantelpiece presents a perfect frame for an image that will carve a niche into your life. It will hang above board games, movie marathons, and afternoon tea by the fire.

Presented here are eight famous oil paintings that would be particularly suited for a long life over a fireplace. Selected paintings are evocative with strong shapes and simple colors, exemplary works by masters, conversation starters that add to the atmosphere of a room, bold compositions that inspire the intellect, tranquil pieces that soothe the soul.

Few paintings capture the imagination like ships at sea; adventure, discovery, the mystery of a way of life now lost to us. Ships at Night by Thomas Moran suits the mantelpiece well due to its enigmatic aura and bold, straightforward design. The sunset behind the sails adds to the drama of great ships emerging from the misty twilight.

Vanitas Still Life with a Globe, a Book, Shells, and Butterflies by artist Carstian Luyckx, reflects the intransigence and meaninglessness of material goods. The painting reproduction would sit well in a cabinet of curiosities, inspiring conversation, and wild imaginings of traversing the planet on strange and wonderful adventures.

Starry Night Over the Rhone by world-renowned artist Vincent van Gogh is as enchanting as it is inscrutable. Two lovers stand together, arm in arm, on the quay. The yellow city lights of Arles reflect over the river in a fashion that mirrors the twinkling stars overhead.

For an atmosphere of dreamy fantasy, The Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse awakens the imagination. Based on the ballad of the same name by 19th-century English poet Alfred Tennyson, a maiden falls for Sir Lancelot when she sees him in a Mirror. Fleeing a curse, she then sets out for her doomed voyage to Camelot.

Coast Scene, Mount Desert is a stunning oil painting by artist Frederic Edwin Church that would add excitement to any nook. The waves crashing mercilessly into the rocks invokes the beauty and majesty of nature in all its terrible power.

A Dinner Table at Night, also known as Mr. and Mrs. Albert Vickers by John Singer Sargent, is a work created to appear as an impromptu, uncontrived moment during the end of a dinner party. It relays a moody and decadent atmosphere; suitable for fabricating late-night conspiracies while sipping absinthe and playing a loaded deck of cards.

For card players with a more humorous disposition, A Bold Bluff, also known as Judge St. Bernard Stands Pat on Nothing by artist Cassius Marcellus Coolidge might add a hilarious enhancement to a subterranean man cave. Relaxed, with his hand toward the viewer, St. Bernard appears the better card player as the other dogs are most keen on his disposition.

For those who want a unique and thought-provoking centerpiece, Beethoven Frieze by Gustav Klimt is an exemplary choice. Part of the 14th Vienna Secessionist exhibition in honor of Ludwig Van Beethoven, this image features Typhoeus the giant and his three daughters; the Gorgons, who represent the sins of mankind.

Just imagine sitting back on your couch, pipe in hand; while your guests laugh at how you resemble St. Bernard in A Bold Bluff or settle down with a romantic fantasy novel while The Lady of Shalott unconsciously sends you into worlds of fantasy and adventure. What better background for discussing esoteric mysteries than Carstian Luyckx’s quirky Vanitas piece?

HandmadePiece possesses an astounding collection of world-class art that fit magnificently above any mantelpiece. True texture is the top reason to buy a real painting reproduction instead of a cheap print. Each painting will be hand-painted by one of our expert artists, professionally packaged, and ready to add nuance and beauty to your home.