Chapel Above the Valley Christian Wall Art

What is painted

On the right, a rocky spur climbs out of the mist. At its summit stands a little stone chapel with a round-arched door, a small bell gable and a cross, flanked by tall dark cypresses and a low wall. A pale figure in a long robe, leaning on a staff, walks up the last stretch of a worn path toward it.

To the left the ground falls away into a wide valley where a river winds between fields and poplars, veiled in white fog, with layers of blue mountains behind. Olive shrubs and boulders fill the foreground. The painting uses sage, ochre and cloud gray in soft washes that fade into the paper. There are no words.

The Bible's songs of the road

Scripture is full of people going up to worship. Psalms 120 to 134 each carry the title “A Song of degrees”, often understood as songs of ascents sung by pilgrims climbing toward Jerusalem for the feasts. One of them begins, “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD” (Psalm 122:1).

Another, Psalm 84, speaks of those in whose heart are the ways of them, who go from strength to strength until they appear before God in Zion. The effort of the climb is part of the prayer.

Christians have kept the habit, walking to hill shrines and chapels across the world. The painting does not show the arrival, only the last steps, which is where most of us live: nearly there, still walking.

A picture for the way home

This religious wall art often hangs where people come and go: an entryway, a staircase, a hallway leading to the bedrooms. It is a fitting housewarming gift, a present for someone starting a new chapter, or a reminder in an office that the path has a destination.

As Christian wall art it has the look of a classic European landscape, and its muted greens and golds suit traditional or farmhouse interiors. Each Christian poster is printed to order in the US on thick archival matte paper, shipped free within the US with no frame, and bordered by clean paper. Sizes range from 5x7 to 24x36, plus metric and A sizes, and a digital file exists as well.