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Minecraft paintings: complete gallery of all 51 paintings

Paintings are decorative items you can hang on walls in Minecraft. The game has 51 unique paintings in 9 sizes, from a tiny 1x1 block to an impressive 4x4 blocks. Most of them were painted by the Swedish artist Kristoffer Zetterstrand, and many reference real works of art, classic video games and pop culture.

Paintings by the numbers

51
Paintings in total
47
Standard
9
Sizes
3
Artists

Paintings first appeared in Indev in February 2010, and the collection has since grown to an impressive 51 works. The biggest expansion came with the 1.21 Tricky Trials update (June 2024), which added 20 new paintings to celebrate Minecraft's 15th anniversary. Version 1.21.7 added one more, Dennis, a reference to A Minecraft Movie.

How to craft a painting

To craft a painting in Minecraft you need 8 sticks and 1 wool of any color:

Stick
Stick
Stick
Stick
Wool
Stick
Stick
Stick
Stick

The wool color doesn't affect the result: you always get the same item.

How to place and choose a painting

To hang a painting on a wall, right-click a wall block while holding the painting. The game automatically picks a random painting from the largest ones that fit the available space.

Placing by hand (all versions)

  1. Prepare a wall of the right size (for example 4x4 blocks for the biggest paintings).
  2. Right-click the wall with the painting in your hand.
  3. If you got the wrong painting, hit it to break it and try again.
  4. Repeat until the painting you want shows up. A bigger wall means bigger paintings.

Placing a specific painting

To get a particular painting, summon it with a command (see Painting commands). Replace burning_skull in the command with the ID of any painting from the gallery below.

Tip: controlling the size

Frame the wall with item frames, stairs or other blocks to limit the available space. Less space means smaller paintings. On a wall of exactly 2x2 blocks, only paintings of size 2x2 or smaller can appear.

Artists

Three credits cover the look of Minecraft's paintings:

Kristoffer Zetterstrand

40 paintings

Swedish artist known for surreal paintings that mix video game elements, classical art and digital renders. Author of most of the original paintings in Minecraft, plus 15 new ones added for the game's 15th anniversary in the 1.21 update.

Sarah Boeving

6 paintings

Artist on the Mojang Studios team, author of 5 new paintings added in the 1.21 (Tricky Trials) update and of Dennis in 1.21.7. Her work refers to classic art, reinterpreted in the world of Minecraft.

Mojang

5 paintings

Five paintings are credited to Mojang in game: the four elemental paintings (Earth, Wind, Fire, Water), made for a promotional MINECON map and available only through commands, and Wither, made by Jens Bergensten (Jeb_), the game's lead developer, in version 1.4.2.

Kristoffer Zetterstrand is by far the most important artist in Minecraft's history. His surreal paintings, which combine classical painting with the pixel aesthetic of retro games, became one of the most recognizable visual elements of the game. Many of his works are reinterpretations of real paintings, from Caspar David Friedrich to Gustave Courbet, set in a pixelated gaming context.

Painting placement mechanics

Placing paintings in Minecraft follows precise rules. Understanding the mechanics helps you decorate your builds more effectively.

Basic rules

  • Random choice: the game picks a random painting from the largest ones that fit the available space. A bigger wall means bigger paintings.
  • Collision: paintings don't collide with the blocks behind them, so they can cover torches, buttons, levers and other small elements.
  • Breaking: you can break a painting by hitting it or by shooting it with an arrow. It drops as an item you can pick up.

Table of sizes and requirements

Size Pixels Number of paintings Wall required
1x1 blocks 16x16 8 At least 1x1 blocks of free space
1x2 blocks 16x32 3 At least 1x2 blocks of free space
2x1 blocks 32x16 5 At least 2x1 blocks of free space
2x2 blocks 32x32 8 At least 2x2 blocks of free space
3x3 blocks 48x48 9 At least 3x3 blocks of free space
3x4 blocks 48x64 2 At least 3x4 blocks of free space
4x2 blocks 64x32 5 At least 4x2 blocks of free space
4x3 blocks 64x48 2 At least 4x3 blocks of free space
4x4 blocks 64x64 5 At least 4x4 blocks of free space

Advanced techniques

  • Map decorations: map makers often use paintings as interior decoration and place them with commands that use specific IDs.
  • Item frames: if you need a smaller decoration than 1x1, use an item frame instead of a painting. It takes up only 1 block.

References to real works of art

Minecraft's paintings are a treasure trove of cultural references. Here are the most interesting nods to the worlds of art, video games and pop culture:

Classical art

  • Wanderer - a reference to Wanderer above the Sea of Fog (1818) by Caspar David Friedrich, one of the most famous paintings of the Romantic era.
  • Bonjour Monsieur Courbet (courbet) - inspired by The Meeting (1854) by Gustave Courbet, an icon of French realism.
  • Humble - a parody of American Gothic (1930) by Grant Wood, with Minecraft villagers in place of the farmers.
  • Bust - a bust of the emperor Marcus Aurelius surrounded by pixel fire.
  • Cotán (cotan) - in the style of the still lifes of Juan Sánchez Cotán (1560-1627), the Spanish master of the bodegón.
  • Backyard - domestic scenes in the style of Pieter de Hooch, a 17th-century Dutch painter.
  • Pond - the Death and the Maiden motif from the European painting tradition.
  • Meditative - a reference to Meditative Rose (1958) by Salvador Dalí.
  • Orb - inspired by Saint Francis in Ecstasy (c. 1480) by Giovanni Bellini.
  • Prairie Ride - a reference to The Cowboy (1902) by Frederic Remington.

Video games

  • de_aztec (aztec, aztec2) and Target Successfully Bombed (bomb) - three references to Counter-Strike maps (de_aztec and de_dust2).
  • Graham - King Graham from the King's Quest series (Sierra Entertainment, 1984).
  • The Stage Is Set (stage) - scenery from Space Quest I (Sierra, 1986).
  • Mortal Coil (skeleton) - Manny Calavera from Grim Fandango (LucasArts, 1998). The title is a quote from Hamlet.
  • Kong (donkey_kong) - the 100m level of the classic arcade game Donkey Kong (Nintendo, 1981).
  • Fighters, Pointer - characters from the game International Karate+ (System 3, 1988).

Minecraft and pop culture

  • Wither - the only painting made by Jens Bergensten, showing the Wither boss in the style of ancient sand paintings.
  • Unpacked - a reference to the legendary pack.png, one of the most recognizable images in Minecraft for years.
  • Dennis - a portrait of Dennis the wolf from the film A Minecraft Movie (2025).
  • Pigscene - a girl pointing at a painted pig, a meta-painting: a work of art within a work of art.
  • Skull On Fire (burning_skull) - the background resembles one of the earliest Minecraft screenshots.

Painting commands

Here are the most useful commands for working with paintings in Minecraft:

Summoning a painting as an entity

/summon minecraft:painting ~ ~ ~ {variant:"minecraft:burning_skull",facing:2}

Painting ID table

Here is the complete list of IDs to use in commands:

minecraft:kebabminecraft:aztecminecraft:albanminecraft:aztec2minecraft:bombminecraft:plantminecraft:wastelandminecraft:meditativeminecraft:wandererminecraft:grahamminecraft:prairie_rideminecraft:poolminecraft:courbetminecraft:sunsetminecraft:seaminecraft:creebetminecraft:matchminecraft:bustminecraft:stageminecraft:voidminecraft:skull_and_rosesminecraft:witherminecraft:baroqueminecraft:humbleminecraft:bouquetminecraft:cavebirdminecraft:cotanminecraft:endbossminecraft:fernminecraft:owlemonsminecraft:sunflowersminecraft:tidesminecraft:dennisminecraft:backyardminecraft:pondminecraft:fightersminecraft:changingminecraft:findingminecraft:lowmistminecraft:passageminecraft:skeletonminecraft:donkey_kongminecraft:pointerminecraft:pigsceneminecraft:burning_skullminecraft:unpackedminecraft:orbminecraft:earthminecraft:windminecraft:fireminecraft:water

Trivia

  • Paintings were added to Minecraft in February 2010, during the Indev phase.
  • The Wither painting is the only one not painted by a professional painter: it was made by Jens Bergensten (Jeb_), Minecraft's lead developer.
  • The Meditative painting pays tribute to the rose that was removed from Minecraft.
  • The four elemental paintings (Earth, Wind, Fire, Water) were originally made for a special MINECON map.
  • The Unpacked painting refers to pack.png, an image that was one of the best-known in Minecraft for years.
  • Dennis from version 1.21.7 is a painting that references the film A Minecraft Movie, where the wolf Dennis is one of the characters.
  • Three paintings (de_aztec twice and Target Successfully Bombed) are drawn from Counter-Strike maps, all by Kristoffer Zetterstrand.
  • The Pigscene painting is a meta-painting: it shows a girl pointing at a painted pig, so it is literally a work of art within a work of art inside a game.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

How many paintings are there in Minecraft?

There are 51 paintings in Minecraft. 47 of them can be obtained normally, while the 4 elemental paintings (Earth, Wind, Fire, Water) are available only through commands. The 1.21 update (Tricky Trials) added 20 new paintings, and version 1.21.7 added the Dennis painting.

How do I place a specific painting in Minecraft?

To get a specific painting, summon it with a command, for example /summon minecraft:painting ~ ~ ~ {variant:"minecraft:burning_skull",facing:2}. When you hang paintings by hand, the game picks one at random, so keep placing and breaking the painting until the one you want appears. The free space on the wall limits which paintings can show up: on a wall that is 4x4 blocks, for example, the largest paintings can appear.

How do I make a painting in Minecraft?

You craft a painting from 8 sticks and 1 wool of any color. Place the sticks around the edge of the 3x3 crafting grid and the wool in the middle. The wool color doesn't affect how the painting looks.

Who painted the paintings in Minecraft?

Most of the paintings (40 of them) were painted by the Swedish artist Kristoffer Zetterstrand, known for surreal works that combine video games, classical painting and digital renders. Sarah Boeving of Mojang Studios made 6 paintings. The 4 elemental paintings and Wither are credited to Mojang in game.

How do I choose the size of a painting in Minecraft?

A painting's size depends on the free space on the wall. Minecraft randomly picks one of the largest paintings that fit the free space. To get a big painting (for example 4x4), you need a wall at least 4 blocks wide and 4 blocks high with no obstructions.

Do the paintings in Minecraft reference real works of art?

Yes! Many paintings reference famous works of art and video games. For example, Wanderer is inspired by a painting by Caspar David Friedrich, Humble parodies American Gothic by Grant Wood, Kong recreates a level from a classic arcade game and Mortal Coil shows a character from Grim Fandango. The paintings also reference Counter-Strike, King's Quest, Space Quest and International Karate+.

What new paintings were added in Minecraft 1.21?

The 1.21 update (Tricky Trials) added 20 new paintings: 15 by Kristoffer Zetterstrand (Bouquet, Cavebird, Cotán, Endboss, Fern, Owlemons, Sunflowers, Tides, Backyard, Pond, Changing, Finding, Lowmist, Passage and Orb) and 5 by Sarah Boeving (Meditative, Prairie Ride, Baroque, Humble and Unpacked). Version 1.21.7 added one more painting, Dennis.

See also