Paintings in Minecraft do not use the space given.
Steps to reproduce
Put a 4x4 block structure
Get a painting
Place it on the 4x4 wall
What I observed
You will get a smaller painting than what you given
What I expected (for the 4x4 example)
You will get 'pigscene', 'burning_skull', or 'pointer'
Thank you for your report!
However, this issue has been temporarily resolved as Awaiting Response
Is this still an issue in the latest version?
If it is, please be sure to include steps to reproduce the problem:
If your ticket does not look like the example given here, then it's likely to be closed as incomplete.
This ticket will automatically reopen when you reply.
Quick Links:
📓 Issue Guidelines – 💬 Mojang Support – 📧 Suggestions – 📖 Minecraft Wiki