The Corridor Galleries of Disney’s Riviera Resort (An Art Lover’s Tour)

If you love art, you might want to take the time to explore the room corridors of Disney’s Riviera Resort on your next visit. As a whole, the European-inspired resort features original works of art, including over 40 original pieces created by both Disney and Pixar artists. During our last stay, I took the time to photograph the art that was available in the room corridors.

Unfortunately, the corridor paintings don’t have official titles or notes about the individual artists, so I’ve included what I know from my research. These paintings are sort of a hidden gem that you can enjoy while walking to and from your room. You can also purchase some of them (based on availability) at an art kiosk inside the resort’s gift shop, La Boutique. The kiosk offers guests the option to select a painting and order it in a variety of unique sizes. It will then be shipped to your home. 

We’ll start with a painting of Cinderella Castle, on the resort’s lobby floor. You’ll find it off the lobby in the hallway that extends past Le Petit Cafe and Voyageur’s Lounge.

I was today years old when I learned the castle hallways were represented in day and night styles. Unfortunately, I didn’t fully recognize the difference when I was taking photos. Therefore, I don’t have versions of each one. While I was taking photos, I remember that I kept thinking, “I already have that one.”

Anyway, in my research, I found that these paintings are called Castle Studies. Disney artists painted two versions of the castle. Each version shows how color palettes are affected by natural light. Below, I’ve added The Forest’s Edge, which is the castle in the opening scene of Beauty and the Beast. This first version of the castle is painted in daylight.

The second version, View Through the Clearing, shows the same castle at dusk as the sun sets. I found the information about this particular painting in a YouTube video here, created by Disney.

Unfortunately, I don’t have the names of the others. I believe this next one is the castle from Disney’s animated film, Sleeping Beauty. Here is the day version.

Here is the evening version.

Next, we have the daytime version of the Kingdom of Corona from Disney’s animated film, Tangled. If you’re a fan of the film or Rapunzel, we have a photo post of the Tangled Mosaic Mural that’s near the Skyliner.

We also photographed the evening version of the castle from the animated version of Cinderella.

I believe this next one is the castle from Snow White.

It’s followed by Castle DunBroch, featured in Disney Pixar’s Brave.

Next, we saw two of the four princess paintings. Usually, we see Ariel, Rapunzel, Cinderella, and Snow White all together. On this visit, I only saw Ariel and Rapunzel. The Rapunzel portrait is called Girl with the Lanterns. Here is the description: The dramatic hues of sunset inspired Disney artists in painting Rapunzel and Pascal as they watch the glowing lanterns illuminate the evening sky, creating a delightful pattern of shape and color.

We saw a few more character paintings on our walk, starting with Alice with her cat Dinah.

Belle is reading a book in front of a fountain.

Another favorite is Mary Darling reading a book to Wendy, John, Michael, and Nana.

Here we have Merida and her mother, Queen Elinor, from Brave.

This painting of Disney’s Riviera Resort is on the ground level near Primo Piatto.

The lobby also offers a couple of unique pieces of art, starting with the Mediterranean painting near the DVC kiosk.

These oversized pieces feature silhouettes of Disney characters.

If you love vintage posters, this display is almost hidden. When you run into the Cinderella Castle sunset painting on the lobby floor, you’ll take an immediate left. These are all down the hallway that leads to a cast member service area.

We enjoyed our stay at Disney’s Riviera Resort, and it was fun to take the time to see some of the art the resort has to offer. In case you missed it, I shared an article about our preferred room view at Disney’s Riviera Resort and whether or not it was worth the upgrade. We also shared an updated merchandise report of what was available during our visit.

If you would like to learn more about the resort, see our guide to Disney’s Riviera Resort. It contains access to the entirety of our resort coverage.

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