Magical Paintings

• Type: Magical Artefact; Enchanted Object
• Function: Guardians, Messengers, Companions, Historical Records, Secret Passageways

Magical paintings are a common sight in the wizarding world, particularly at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and other significant magical locations. Unlike Muggle paintings, these are enchanted to be sentient. The subjects depicted within them can move, speak, reason, and interact with observers and the occupants of other paintings. They possess distinct personalities, memories, and opinions, which are typically an “imprint” of the original subject. The process of creating a fully sentient portrait is complex. According to Albus Dumbledore, the subjects of the Hogwarts Headmasters' portraits are painted and then spend considerable time instructing their likeness, imparting their memories and patterns of behaviour. This allows the portraits to serve as a repository of wisdom and offer counsel to future generations. One of the most significant properties of magical paintings is the ability of their subjects to travel. A person depicted in multiple portraits can move freely between their various frames, regardless of the physical distance between them. This ability makes them exceptionally effective messengers and spies. For instance, Phineas Nigellus Black could travel instantly between his portrait in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts and another hanging at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. Paintings are also frequently used for security. Many are enchanted to guard passageways, only opening for those who provide a correct password or perform a specific action.

Magical paintings play a continuous and multifaceted role throughout the *Harry Potter* series, serving as both background flavour and crucial plot devices. At Hogwarts, they are part of daily life, chattering from the walls and guarding locations like the Gryffindor common room. In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Fat Lady's portrait is attacked by Sirius Black, a key event that heightens security and fear within the castle. Their function as messengers is vital to the plot. Albus Dumbledore and later Severus Snape use portraits like that of Phineas Nigellus Black to gather information and relay messages. After his death, Dumbledore's own portrait provides critical guidance to Snape and, eventually, to Harry Potter. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, a portrait becomes a gateway. The painting of Ariana Dumbledore in the Hog's Head Inn conceals a secret passage into the Room of Requirement, providing a lifeline for the resisting members of Dumbledore's Army and allowing Harry to re-enter Hogwarts for the final battle. Conversely, the portrait of Walburga Black at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix acts as a screeching, cursed alarm system that the members must constantly work to silence.

• The Fat Lady: The guardian of the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower. She requires a correct password to grant entry and is known for her friendship with a witch named Violet in another painting.
• Sir Cadogan: A short, excitable knight in armour who temporarily guarded the Gryffindor Tower after The Fat Lady was attacked. He was known for his absurdly complex passwords and eagerness for a challenge.
• Phineas Nigellus Black: A former Hogwarts Headmaster and the great-great-grandfather of Sirius Black. His portraits in the Headmaster's office and at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place allowed him to travel between the two locations, making him a reluctant but vital messenger for Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape.
• Portrait of Ariana Dumbledore: Located in the Hog's Head Inn, this portrait concealed a secret passage into the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts. It was instrumental in allowing Harry Potter and his allies to enter the castle during the Battle of Hogwarts.
• Portrait of Albus Dumbledore: After his death, Dumbledore's portrait appeared in the Headmaster's office. It offered cryptic but crucial advice to Severus Snape and later to Harry Potter from its frame.
• Portrait of Walburga Black: A life-sized, permanently-stuck portrait of Sirius Black's mother at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. When disturbed, it would shriek insults and curses, protected by a Permanent Sticking Charm.
• Kitchens Portrait: A painting of a large bowl of fruit guards the entrance to the Hogwarts kitchens. It opens when the pear in the bowl is tickled, causing it to giggle and transform into a doorknob.
• Prime Minister's Portrait: A small, ugly portrait of a frog-like man in a silver wig hangs in the office of the Muggle Prime Minister. It is enchanted to announce the arrival of the Minister for Magic.

The process of creating a magical painting involves more than just skill with a brush. The artist uses magical paints and enchants the canvas. Afterwards, the subject of the painting typically spends a great deal of time with their portrait, teaching it to act and think like them. This is how the portraits of former Hogwarts Headmasters are able to offer such wise counsel. (Pottermore) This process makes a painted portrait a much deeper and more complex magical imprint than a magical photograph, in which the subjects are merely re-enacting a brief moment in time. (Pottermore) In the film adaptations, the walls of Hogwarts, particularly around the Grand Staircase, are shown to be densely populated with hundreds of active magical paintings, greatly emphasizing their prevalence in the wizarding world. (film)