mural; fresco; wall painting
Refers to any painting or artwork directly applied to a wall or ceiling, including ancient frescoes and modern murals.
教会の壁画はとても美しかった。
The church's mural was very beautiful.
The artist painted a mural on the church wall.
この洞窟には古代の壁画が残っている。
Ancient wall paintings remain in this cave.
Ancient murals still remain in the cave.
Experts restored the cracked mural.
The murals of the Sistine Chapel are world-famous.
絵画 is the general word for a painting on any surface (canvas, paper, etc.), while 壁画 specifically means a painting done directly on a wall or ceiling.
壁紙 is wallpaper (a manufactured covering), whereas 壁画 is an artistic painting created on a wall; the two share 壁 but differ completely in nature.
「面」 can be used for 壁画 when counting them as flat surfaces painted on a wall, like murals covering a wall panel.
rock painting; cave painting; pictograph
paintings on room partitions; sliding-door paintings; screen paintings
cave painting
From 壁 (wall) + 画 (picture, painting).