Portrait

Portrait
Object information
Location	Various
Manufacturer	Various
Made	Various
Usage	Depict individuals Guard passageways Communicate
Owners	Various

"Hogwarts portraits are able to talk and move around from picture to picture. They behave like their subjects. However, the degree to which they can interact with the people looking at them depends not on the skill of the painter, but on the power of the witch or wizard painted."

— Description

Portraits were paintings made of certain individuals, namely witches and wizards. The subject of a magical portrait was sentient due to enchantments placed on the portrait by the painter. The portrait would be able to use some of the subject's favourite phrases and imitate their general demeanour based on how the subject appeared to the painter; however, they were limited in what they could say or do. A portrait could also move from portrait to portrait, or else visit a portrait of them elsewhere in the world.

Bimp, Oliver Cartwright, John Homme, Luxo Karuzos, Pablo Picasso and Leonardo Da Vinci were all expert painters. Magenta Comstock was an experimental painter whose subjects' eyes followed their viewers home.

Depiction

A witch or wizard could go to a wizarding painter to have themselves painted. This was usually done so that the portraitist could enchant the portrait to have some characteristics of the subject. The portrait would be able to use some of the subject's favourite phrases and imitate their general demeanour. Private individuals might place their portrait in their home, while prominent figures in the magical community might get a portrait mounted on the wall of prestigious institutions such as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries and the British Ministry of Magic to commemorate them for some public service or accomplishment.

Portrait person

"Dumbledore is dead, Harry. And I've told you before, portraits don't represent even half of their subjects."

— Minerva McGonagall warning Harry Potter not to mistake a portrait for the living person in 2020

Sir Cadogan's portrait was forever challenging people to a fight, falling off its horse and behaving in a fairly unbalanced way, which was how the subject appeared to the poor wizard who had to paint him, while the portrait of the Fat Lady continued to indulge her love of good food, drink, and tip-top security long after her living model passed away.

The individuals depicted in the paintings fleeing in preparation for the Battle of Hogwarts

A portrait knew little if anything of its subject's life, and therefore could not hold a very interesting conversation about its subject, as they were only representations of the living subjects as seen by the artist. The exception to this was of the portraits of Hogwarts Headmasters, which were kept in a cupboard from the time of their painting, which was usually very old, until the subject died. The Headmaster could therefore teach their portrait to act and speak like them so that they could teach their successors. Despite this, the people in the portraits were considered a sort of memoir; a support mechanism that could cousel and inform - to an extent - the decisions of the current headteacher. Prior to taking up the post of Headmistress of Hogwarts on a permanent basis, Minerva McGonagall was advised to not mistake those in the paintings for actual people. The depth of knowledge and insight contained in some of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' portraits was unknown to any but the incumbents of the office and the few students who had realised, over the centuries, that the portraits' apparent sleepiness when visitors arrived in the office was not necessarily genuine.

The person depicted in a portrait could therefore live indefinitely, although a portrait did have reason to fear for their life or well-being.

Magical photographs

A witch or wizard might also produce a magical photograph that had been put through a special potion. While some of these might simply be animated images occurring in a continuous loop, some reacted to their surroundings. Gilderoy Lockhart had "countless framed photographs" of himself in his office. When Harry, Ron, and Hermione were taken to his office to be interviewed by Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape in the Chamber of Secrets, pictures of Lockhart (with his hair now in rollers) dodged out of sight. A few moments later, the photographs were nodding in agreement as Lockhart spoke.

This technique also allows the subjects of the photo to be given the appearance of their current biological age, such as the magical war criminal Gellert Grindelwald, despite the fact that the photos were taken about 6 years before those events.

Known portraits

Portrait	Known locations	Notes
Albus Dumbledore	Headmaster's office	During Severus Snape's time as Headmaster the painting hid the Sword of Gryffindor, to keep it safe from Lord Voldemort. He later provided advice to Harry Potter.
	British Ministry of Magic Headquarters
Ambrose Swott	Headmaster's office
Anne Boleyn	Grand Staircase near the 2nd floor landing
Ariana Dumbledore	Aberforth's room at the Hog's Head Inn	In the 1997–1998 school year, her portrait concealed a secret passage to the Room of Requirement.
Armando Dippet	Headmaster's office
Barnabas the Barmy	7th floor, Hogwarts Castle
Professor Basil Fronsac	Headmaster's office	Secret passages: 1995–1996 school year Grand Staircase to the 2nd floor corridor near the Library 1996–1997 school year Dungeons to the Grand Staircase
	Grand Staircase
	Library
	Dungeons
Bloody Baron	Near the Potions Classroom	Slytherin House Ghost
Brian Gagwilde III	Entrance Hall
	Grand Staircase
Brutus Scrimgeour	Hogwarts Trophy Room	Concealed a secret passage between the Trophy Room and the 4th floor.
Circe	Grand Staircase	Concealed a secret passage between the Grand Staircase and the Entrance Hall side room.
	Entrance Hall side room
Damara Dodderidge	Grand Staircase	1995 to 1997. Her portrait concealed a secret passage from the Grand Staircase to the Clock Tower.
	Clock Tower
	Gryffindor Tower
Daryle	Unknown
Dexter Fortescue	Headmaster's office
Dilys Derwent	Headmaster's office
	St Mungo's main admitting area
Edgar Stroulger	Sixth floor of Hogwarts Castle	Guards a secret passage in 1993
Elfrida Cragg	British Ministry of Magic Headquarters
Elizabeth Burke	1991 to 1995 Grand Staircase 1995 to 1996 Entrance Dungeon Near the entrance to the Potions Classroom*The 7th floor corridor	1995 to 1996 her portrait concealed two secret passageways: Entrance Dungeon to the Main Dungeons Near the entrance to the Potions Classroom to the 7th floor corridor 1997 Malfoy Manor
Emeric Switch	Hogwarts Castle
Edessa Sakndenberg	Headmaster's office
	East Wing
	Grand Staircase
	Other Halls
Everard	Headmaster's office
	British Ministry of Magic Headquarters
Fat Friar	One of the Hogwarts Castle's corridors	Hufflepuff House Ghost
Fat Lady	Guards the Gryffindor Tower
George von Rheticus	1995–1996 school year Grand Staircase 7th floor corridor Viaduct Entrance Next to the Second-floor girls' lavatory 1996–1997 school year Entrance Hall	Secret passages: 1995–1996 school year Between the Grand Staircase and the 7th floor corridor Between the Viaduct Entrance and the Grand Staircase 1996–1997 school year Between the Entrance Hall and the Portrait Room
Giffard Abbott	Grand Staircase, below the first landing	1995 to 1997 guarded two short-cuts: Grand Staircase to the Transfiguration Courtyard Clock Tower to the corridor outside the library
	Transfiguration Courtyard
	Clock Tower
	Corridor outside the library
Gilderoy Lockhart	DADA office and classroom.	Only during the 1992–1993 school year.
Glanmore Peakes	6th floor Glanmore Peakes' Corridor	Concealed a secret passage between the Grand Staircase and the Entrance Hall side room.
	6th floor landing of the Grand Staircase
	Entrance Hall side room
Godric Gryffindor	7th floor landing of the Grand Staircase	Guarded a secret passage between the Grand Staircase and the Entrance Hall side room. One of the founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
	Entrance Hall side room
Google Stump	Viaduct Entrance	Concealed a secret passage to the 1st floor corridor.
Greta Catchlove	Grand Staircase	Concealed a secret passage between the Grand Staircase and the Entrance Hall side room.
	Entrance Hall side room
Günther der Gewalttätige ist der Gewinner	Unknown	Depicts Gunther the Violent
Harry Potter Sketch	Probably now in the rubbish bin	Drawn by Draco Malfoy and given to Harry to unnerve him about the upcoming Quidditch match.
Helena Ravenclaw	Near the Library	Her portrait was non-speaking
Heliotrope Wilkins	Headmaster's office
	Grand Staircase
Hengist Rawkes	Near the 1st floor landing of the Grand Staircase
Iris Pius	Hogwarts Castle
Merlin	Grand Staircase
Merwyn the Malicious	3rd floor landing of the Grand Staircase	Concealed a secret passage between the Grand Staircase and the Entrance Hall side room.
	Entrance Hall side room
Mirabella Plunkett	1st floor landing of the Grand Staircase	Concealed a secret passage between the Grand Staircase and the Entrance Hall side room.
	Entrance Hall side room
Newton Scamander	Headmaster's office
Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington	Hogwarts Castle
Norvel Twonk	5th floor landing of the Grand Staircase	Concealed a secret passage between the Grand Staircase and the Entrance Hall side room.
	Entrance Hall side room
Oraclitus Spheer	Gryffindor Reading Room
Percival Pratt	Grand Staircase	1995–1996 school year Concealed a passage to the Boathouse
	Boathouse
Phineas Nigellus Black	Headmaster's office
	12 Grimmauld Place
People watching Quidditch	Oxford Corridor, Hogwarts Castle
Professor Walter Aragon	Grand Staircase
	Headmaster's office
Quentin Trimble	Headmaster's office
Rowena Ravenclaw	Hogwarts Castle	Rowan Khanna took the portrait to History of Magic classes on several occasions between 1988 and 1990. One of the founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Salazar Slytherin	Dungeons antechamber	Concealed a secret passage between the Dungeons antechamber and the Entrance Hall side room. One of the founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
	Entrance Hall side room
Sidley Smirk Platter	Hogwarts Castle
Severus Snape	Headmaster's office
Sir Cadogan	7th floor, Hogwarts Castle	In 1993, he was temporarily the guard to the Gryffindor Tower while the Fat Lady's portrait was being repaired.
Timothy the Timid	1995–1996 school year 5th floor corridor Herbology Corridor Transfiguration Courtyard 5th floor 1996–1997 school year Grand Staircase Quidditch Gate Portrait Room	Secret passages: 1995–1996 school year Between the 5th floor and the Herbology Corridor Between the Transfiguration Courtyard and the 5th floor 1996–1997 school year Between the Grand Staircase and the Quidditch Gate Between the Quidditch Gate and the Portrait Room
Tobias Manlethorpe	Hogwarts Castle
Temeritus Shanks	1992–1993 school year Grand Staircase below the ground-floor landing 1995–1996 school year Hogwarts Library Grand Staircase Clock Tower Courtyard	Secret passages: 1995–1996 school year Between the Library and the 4th floor corridor Between the Grand Staircase and the Clock Tower Courtyard 1996–1997 school year Library to the Grand Staircase Library to the 2nd floor corridor
Tom Riddle	Borgin and Burkes
Unidentified red-haired witch	Grand Staircase
Valeria Myriadd	1991–1992 school year Main halls of Hogwarts Castle Grand Staircase Gryffindor Tower 1992–1993 school year Main halls of Hogwarts Castle Grand Staircase In the Library	Secret passage between the Gryffindor Tower to a Disused seventh floor bathroom
Vindictus Viridian	Grand Staircase	Concealed the entrance to the Room of Rewards.
Violet	A small chamber off of the Great Hall	Is friends with the Fat Lady.
Vulpus	Headmaster's office
Walburga Black	12 Grimmauld Place	Magically fixed to the wall with a Permanent Sticking Charm.
Woman in the hospital wing	Hospital Wing, Hogwarts Castle

Behind the scenes

• In the LEGO Harry Potter games, portraits are shown to be far more interactive than in any other media, with objects able to move from the portrait out to the real world and vice versa. Many puzzles in both games revolve around getting a portrait to give you a necessary object, or bringing a real world object into the portrait to assist its occupants.
• J. K. Rowling once claimed in an interview that all of the portraits seen at Hogwarts depict deceased individuals. This is not strictly true, however; Gilderoy Lockhart owned several portraits of himself which he hung in his classroom and office.
• In a scene in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, a portrait features someone that resembles Lord Voldemort. This may be a coincidence, or the director's idea.
  • In the same film, Draco Malfoy enchants his sketch of a stupid-looking Harry Potter flying on a broomstick, crashing into things, to make Harry uneasy about the Quidditch Tournament.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (play)
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - The Original Screenplay
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore - The Complete Screenplay
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
• The Tales of Beedle the Bard
• J. K. Rowling's official site (Mentioned only)
• Pottermore
• Harry Potter (website)
• The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
• The Making of Harry Potter
• Harry Potter Trading Card Game
• Harry Potter: A Pop-Up Book
• LEGO Harry Potter
• LEGO Harry Potter: Building the Magical World
• LEGO Harry Potter
• LEGO Creator: Harry Potter
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
• Wonderbook: Book of Spells
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
• Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened
• Hogwarts Legacy