A living room at the end of the day. On the facing wall, framed in black, the face of an Art Deco woman looks slightly to one side. You sit down, and without thinking, you follow that gaze. This is what makes a portrait different in decorating: it is not a motif you contemplate, it is a presence that occupies the room. A landscape dresses a wall. A face keeps you company.

That strength is also a risk. Badly placed, hung too high or under harsh light, a portrait turns heavy, almost intrusive. Well placed, it anchors a whole room. Everything comes down to three decisions: the height of the gaze, the number of posters, and the light that falls on them.

Placing the portrait at eye level

The rule comes from museum hanging and allows no exception: center the poster so the subject's eyes fall around 1.55 meters off the floor, at the eye level of a standing person. A portrait whose eyes sit too high makes you tilt your head, and the subject seems to look down on you. Too low, it slips out of view and loses all presence. Above a sofa or a console, keep about 25 centimeters between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the frame, so the poster breathes without floating.

Single piece or pair: finding the right rhythm

  • Single piece, assertive format: one large portrait, 50 by 70 or 70 by 100, becoming the declared center of the room. The boldest choice, ideal above a bed or facing the entrance.
  • The pair, two faces meeting: two portraits of the same format, spaced 8 to 10 centimeters apart, create a dialogue. Orient them so the gazes converge inward.
  • The aligned trio: three portraits side by side, identical frames, aligned by their centers, for a hallway or a run of wall. The repetition creates an almost photographic rhythm.
  • To avoid: mixing four or five faces from different eras and styles on one wall, which turns presence into a cacophony of stares.

Frame and warm light

A portrait calls for soft light, never frontal. Warm lighting set to one side models the face and gives it depth, while a direct spotlight flattens it and hardens the features. Avoid direct sun, which fades skin tones within a few seasons. As for the frame, matte black remains the safe value: it cuts out the face and concentrates attention on the gaze. Light oak warms a portrait in sepia or terracotta tones. White suits photographic portraits on a light ground, with a wide mat that isolates the face as in a gallery.

A portrait does not decorate a wall. It places someone in the room, and it is that presence you must give the right height and the right light.

At Montmartre Poster, the portrait collection brings together Art Deco faces, painted figures and flat-color silhouettes, printed on 275 gsm art paper. Enough to invite a gaze into the room, at the right height, under a light that does it justice.