What do Paintings do in Elden Ring?

The Lands Between is filled with things to do. There are areas to explore, weapons to find, dungeons to clear, bosses to defeat, and sometimes, mysteries to solve. These mysteries, though, are often more open-ended in nature and rarely (if ever) come with a clear indication of your objective. Among these mysteries are the Paintings you’ll often come across in otherwise empty buildings.

When you come across these, your objective is to find the place where the Painting was painted. Note that this doesn’t mean the place depicted in the Painting, but the place where the painter would have actually been situated. You’re looking for the painter’s point of view, so to speak. If during your journey, you need a refresher on a Painting you’ve interacted with, you can inspect it at any point by looking in the “Info” section of your inventory, where tutorials and notes are also stored.

As you approach the location, look for a shimmering gold specter of the painter in the position where they would have viewed the scene. Once you get close enough, the specter will disappear, leaving behind one or more items. In our experience, these items also tend to be rare or unique equipment, which is all the more reason to find it for yourself.

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