Harry Potter: Magical Portraits, Explained (2024)

Within the wizarding world of Harry Potter lies a peculiar form of magic that continues to interest and intrigue fans decades after, magical canvases that capture the essence of people and bring them to life in vibrant, animated portraits. These portraits can be found adorning the walls of Hogwarts and other wizarding residences. Behind this enigmatic art form, besides a fascinating history, there’s a debate about its mechanics that raises the question: are the people in the portraits sentient?

Magical portraits have been around for many centuries, long before the events of the Harry Potter saga take place. Just like muggles, throughout history, wizards and witches have looked for ways to capture the likeness of their loved ones and esteemed figures through paintings and, later on, photographs. In the wizarding world, there is a way to bring these paintings to life. Certain spells and potions can share the subject’s essence onto the painted canvas. This gives the portraits an ability to move, talk, and even interact with people.

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How Do Magical Portraits Work?

The mechanics behind these portraits are just as fascinating as the people they immortalize. The enchantment is made when a witch or wizard paints the subject using a special blend of magical spells and charms. This process infuses the canvas with an essence that allows the painting to recreate the living person’s movements and expressions as they appear to the painter.

However, these works of art, unlike pictures, are not merely observers. They have the ability to interact with each other and with the living. This allows them to communicate, creating walls with living history and knowledge in many wizarding spaces. However, what they can say and do is limited; they often say some of the subject’s favorite phrases and imitate their behavior. Something curious about magical paintings is the fact that a portrait person can move from one portrait to another, and even visit other portraits of themselves somewhere else in the world.

A portrait and its subject are connected. However, portraits in the wizarding world know very little about their subjects or their lives, as they are representations of what the artist sees, with only a few exceptions, such as the portraits of Hogwarts Headmasters, which are taught to teach like their subject after their death in order to teach their successors.

The People Inside the Portraits

Although magical portraits are capable of retaining some memories and personality traits of their subjects, they are not conscious beings in the truest sense. While they can engage in conversations and offer some insights, for the most part they do not possess self-awareness or free thought. This, however, does not negate the comfort they can bring to those who seek their departed loved ones, or the guidance they can provide to future generations.

Like magical portraits, witches and wizards can also create magical photographs after using a special potion on them. Many of these are just images animated in a continuous loop, but others are capable of reacting to their surroundings, although they can’t talk or interact with the outside world like portraits do. On The Chamber of Secrets, Gilderoy Lockhart has many pictures of himself in his office and when the Golden Trio are sent to his office, the pictures of Lockhart nod in agreement as he speaks.

Another iconic portrait in the walls of Hogwarts is the Fat Lady, who guards the Gryffindor Tower. Not much is known about her life as a person, but it is believed that she attended Hogwarts somewhere before the 1890s and was sorted into Gryffindor. As a portrait, she is known for being dutiful and refusing entry to those who don’t know the password. During The Prisoner of Azkaban, the Fat Lady’s portrait was ruined by Sirius Black. She was temporarily replaced by Sir Cardogan as the guardian of the Gryffindor Tower. She eventually agreed to return to her location and her duties in exchange for protection. After this, security was hired to watch the hallways and prevent vandalism and intruders.

Wizards and witches with exceptional talents, notable achievements, or important contributions to the magical world are often chosen to be the subjects of these portraits, as these works of art serve as windows into the past and immortalize the spirit of those who get painted. Albus Dumbledore, the beloved Hogwardts headmaster, stands as another one of the wizards with a painting in the Hogwarts castle. His portrait, located in the Headmaster’s office, captures his wise persona, and smiles upon countless students. In times of crisis, magical portraits can offer some advice and guidance to the living, passing down invaluable wisdom through the generations. In a way, a portrait can make a person live forever.

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