Architecture
Architecture in Art: Painted Buildings and Ruins
Soaring cathedrals, crumbling ruins, sunlit courtyards — architecture gives a painting its stage and its scale. This gallery zooms into the columns, arches, and rooftops painters built from pigment, from precise perspective studies to romantic fantasy. Click any detail to see the full view.
24 details · cropped from original museum images
Rustic wooden bower structure
Louis Prang & Co. · Rustic Bower, from the series, Views in Central Park, New York, Part 3
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Central ruined archway
Francesco Guardi (Italian, 1712–1793) · Ruined Archway
Art Institute of Chicago
church main facade
William Frome Smallwood · Church of St. John the Baptist at the Béguinage, Brussels
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Santa Maria della Salute Church
Michele Marieschi (Italian, 1710–1743) · The Church of Santa Maria della Salute, Venice
Art Institute of Chicago
overall structure of Waterloo Bridge
Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926) · Waterloo Bridge, Gray Weather
Art Institute of Chicago
Large country house and tower by the water
Jan van Goyen · Country House near the Water
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Rialto Bridge
Francesco Guardi · Venice: The Rialto
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Apse of Notre-Dame Cathedral
Charles Meryon · The Apse of Notre-Dame, Paris
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Main structure of Porta Angelica
Joseph Mallord William Turner · St. Peter’s Seen Through the Porta Angelica
Art Institute of Chicago
The Pelkus Gate tower
Jan van Goyen · The Pelkus Gate near Utrecht
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
main structure of the white bridge
John Henry Twachtman · The White Bridge
Art Institute of Chicago
Large dome of Santa Maria della Salute
Francesco Guardi (Italian, 1712–1793) · The Grand Canal, Venice
Art Institute of Chicago
overall floor plan of the church
Anonymous, Italian, 16th century · Plan for a Church with a Nave (recto); Framing Outlines (verso)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Main block of Warwick Castle
Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) · Warwick Castle
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Main wooden woodshed
John Singer Sargent · Woodsheds, Tyrol
Art Institute of Chicago
horizontal line of Charing Cross Bridge
Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926) · Charing Cross Bridge, London
Art Institute of Chicago
Cliveden House (Chew's House)
Edward Lamson Henry · The Attack on Chew's House during the Battle of Germantown, 1777
Art Institute of Chicago
Central meetinghouse
John Ritto Penniman (American, c. 1782–1841) · Meetinghouse Hill, Roxbury, Massachusetts
Art Institute of Chicago
Massive fortress ruins
Attributed to Domenico Gargiulo (Micco Spadaro; Italian, 1609–1675) · Landscape with Rock and Fortress
Art Institute of Chicago
Salisbury Cathedral Spire
John Constable · Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Grounds
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
giant stone arch
Hubert Robert (French, 1733-1808) · The Fountains
Art Institute of Chicago
Brick pigeon house (tower)
Roelof van Vries · The Pigeon House
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
main stepped-gable tower
Rembrandt van Rijn · Kostverloren Castle in Decay
Art Institute of Chicago
Joseph Bonaparte's mansion (Point Breeze)
Attributed to Charles Lawrence (American, active 1813–1837) · Point Breeze, the Estate of Joseph Napoleon Bonaparte at Bordentown, New Jersey
Art Institute of Chicago