Zazzle Blog

In case you’re looking to redecorate a little at this time of year, an idea would be to start with your walls.

Our art department has hundreds of thousands of posters ranging from vintage to funny to artistic — with thousands of classical paintings that you can search for by country, era and movement. In their honor, we’re starting a series of posts on the great artists whose work you can choose from to enliven your home, office and more.

First we’ll “exhibit” the French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, whose depictions of landscapes, flowers and urban life have been beloved for decades.

Paul Cézanne, one of the most influential Western artists, is celebrated for his still lifes, portraits and landscapes, including “Sous-bois (près du Jas de Bouffan)” from the 1890s:

Sous-bois 1890-94 print by bridgemanart

Jas de Bouffan was Cézanne’s family estate in Provence, and he painted often on the grounds and on the walls of the house’s grand salon.

Many of us also love Claude Monet’s paintings, for their bright color palette and striking light (fun fact: the Impressionists were among the first painters to depict light using color, because scientists had discovered in the early-1800s that light refracts into the colors of the rainbow). Several of Monet’s works show the gardens of Giverny, his former home outside Paris, such as “The Artist’s Garden at Giverny” (1900):

The Artist’s Garden at Giverny, 1900 Poster by bridgemanart

You can see the real thing in-person at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

And for anyone who likes ballet, Dégas is a dream. His paintings of ballerinas capture the drama and thrill of dance — waiting in the wings, performing onstage, taking a bow. “The Star, or Dancer on the Stage” (c.1866-67) is a stunning example:

The Star, or Dancer on the stage, c.1876-77 Posters by bridgemanart

For our next “exhibit” in the series, we say ¡Viva España!

This entry was posted on February 20, 2013 at 11:28 am and is filed under General News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.