Skip to content
ArnisWeb

Java & Bedrock guide

Minecraft Paintings

Minecraft has 51 paintings: 47 appear at random when you place a painting, and Java Edition has 4 more that only commands can place. Craft a painting from 8 sticks around 1 wool of any colour. Below is every painting with its picture, size, artist and version, from the 2010 originals to Orb and the other 1.21 paintings.

See all paintingsPainting recipeOrb painting
  • 51 paintings: 47 placeable + 4 by command
  • 21 added since 1.21
  • Recipe: 8 sticks + 1 wool
  • Largest: 4 × 4 blocks

All Minecraft paintings by size

The 47 paintings that can appear when you place one come in nine sizes, from 1 × 1 to 4 × 4 blocks (width × height). The four Java command-only paintings follow at the end. Each one is shown with its in-game picture.

1 × 1 blocks

8 paintings

1 × 2 blocks

3 paintings

2 × 1 blocks

5 paintings

2 × 2 blocks

8 paintings

4 × 2 blocks

5 paintings

3 × 3 blocks

9 paintings

3 × 4 blocks

2 paintings

4 × 3 blocks

2 paintings

4 × 4 blocks

5 paintings

Command-only paintings (Java)

4 paintings

Earth, Wind, Fire and Water are 2 × 2 and never chosen when you place a painting. Only commands, or the Operator Utilities tab in Creative, can place them.

All the paintings in Minecraft: full list

The full list of Minecraft paintings with their resource ID, which you need for commands. Paintings marked 1.21 arrived with Tricky Trials in June 2024; Dennis followed in Java 1.21.7.

PaintingSizeArtistAdded (Java)ID
Kebab med tre pepperoni1 × 1Kristoffer ZetterstrandIndev–Alpha (2010)kebab
de_aztec1 × 1Kristoffer ZetterstrandIndev–Alpha (2010)aztec
Albanian1 × 1Kristoffer ZetterstrandIndev–Alpha (2010)alban
de_aztec (2)1 × 1Kristoffer ZetterstrandIndev–Alpha (2010)aztec2
Target Successfully Bombed1 × 1Kristoffer ZetterstrandIndev–Alpha (2010)bomb
Paradisträd1 × 1Kristoffer ZetterstrandIndev–Alpha (2010)plant
Wasteland1 × 1Kristoffer ZetterstrandIndev–Alpha (2010)wasteland
Meditative1 × 1Sarah Boeving1.21meditative
Wanderer1 × 2Kristoffer ZetterstrandIndev–Alpha (2010)wanderer
Graham1 × 2Kristoffer ZetterstrandIndev–Alpha (2010)graham
Prairie Ride1 × 2Sarah Boeving1.21prairie_ride
The Pool2 × 1Kristoffer ZetterstrandIndev–Alpha (2010)pool
Bonjour Monsieur Courbet2 × 1Kristoffer ZetterstrandIndev–Alpha (2010)courbet
sunset_dense2 × 1Kristoffer ZetterstrandIndev–Alpha (2010)sunset
Seaside2 × 1Kristoffer ZetterstrandIndev–Alpha (2010)sea
Creebet2 × 1Kristoffer ZetterstrandIndev–Alpha (2010)creebet
Match2 × 2Kristoffer ZetterstrandIndev–Alpha (2010)match
Bust2 × 2Kristoffer ZetterstrandIndev–Alpha (2010)bust
The Stage Is Set2 × 2Kristoffer ZetterstrandIndev–Alpha (2010)stage
The Void2 × 2Kristoffer ZetterstrandIndev–Alpha (2010)void
Skull and Roses2 × 2Kristoffer ZetterstrandIndev–Alpha (2010)skull_and_roses
Wither2 × 2Jens Bergensten1.4.2wither
Baroque2 × 2Sarah Boeving1.21baroque
Humble2 × 2Sarah Boeving1.21humble
Bouquet3 × 3Kristoffer Zetterstrand1.21bouquet
Cavebird3 × 3Kristoffer Zetterstrand1.21cavebird
Cotán3 × 3Kristoffer Zetterstrand1.21cotan
Endboss3 × 3Kristoffer Zetterstrand1.21endboss
Fern3 × 3Kristoffer Zetterstrand1.21fern
Owlemons3 × 3Kristoffer Zetterstrand1.21owlemons
Sunflowers3 × 3Kristoffer Zetterstrand1.21sunflowers
Tides3 × 3Kristoffer Zetterstrand1.21tides
Dennis3 × 3Sarah Boeving1.21.7dennis
Backyard3 × 4Kristoffer Zetterstrand1.21backyard
Pond3 × 4Kristoffer Zetterstrand1.21pond
Fighters4 × 2Kristoffer ZetterstrandIndev–Alpha (2010)fighters
Changing4 × 2Kristoffer Zetterstrand1.21changing
Finding4 × 2Kristoffer Zetterstrand1.21finding
Lowmist4 × 2Kristoffer Zetterstrand1.21lowmist
Passage4 × 2Kristoffer Zetterstrand1.21passage
Mortal Coil4 × 3Kristoffer ZetterstrandIndev–Alpha (2010)skeleton
Kong4 × 3Kristoffer ZetterstrandIndev–Alpha (2010)donkey_kong
Pointer4 × 4Kristoffer ZetterstrandIndev–Alpha (2010)pointer
Pigscene4 × 4Kristoffer ZetterstrandIndev–Alpha (2010)pigscene
Skull On Fire4 × 4Kristoffer ZetterstrandBeta 1.2_01burning_skull
Orb4 × 4Kristoffer Zetterstrand1.21orb
Unpacked4 × 4Sarah Boeving1.21unpacked
Earth2 × 2Mojang1.19 (command)earth
Wind2 × 2Mojang1.19 (command)wind
Fire2 × 2Mojang1.19 (command)fire
Water2 × 2Mojang1.19 (command)water

Four paintings you can only get with commands

Java Edition also has Earth, Wind, Fire and Water, four 2 × 2 canvases added in 1.19. They are never chosen when you place a painting; only commands, or the Operator Utilities tab in Creative, can place them.

New Minecraft paintings in 1.21

The 1.21 update added 20 paintings at once, the first new paintings you could place since Wither in 2012. Kristoffer Zetterstrand, who painted the originals, made 15 of them; Sarah Boeving made the other five. Dennis, a 3 × 3 painting by Sarah Boeving, came later in Java 1.21.7 and Bedrock 1.21.90.

Orb Minecraft painting

Orb painting in Minecraft

Orb is a 4 × 4 painting by Kristoffer Zetterstrand, added in 1.21. It shares the largest painting size with Pointer, Pigscene, Skull On Fire and Unpacked, so it can only appear on a wall with at least 4 × 4 blocks of free space.

Placing a painting on a 4 × 4 space gives one of those five at random, a 1 in 5 chance of Orb. In Java Edition you can skip the luck: pick the Orb painting from the Creative inventory or use /give @s painting[painting/variant="orb"].

Build Orb as Minecraft pixel art, block by block

Minecraft painting recipe

The painting recipe is the same in Java and Bedrock: put 1 wool in the centre of a crafting table and surround it with 8 sticks. It makes one painting.

StickStickStickStickAny woolStickStickStickStick
Painting
  1. 1

    Make 8 sticks

    One log gives 4 planks, and 2 planks make 4 sticks, so a single log is enough for the 8 sticks.

  2. 2

    Get 1 wool

    Shear a sheep or craft wool from 4 string. Any colour works: wool colour does not change the picture.

  3. 3

    Craft the painting

    Open a crafting table, put the wool in the middle square and fill the eight squares around it with sticks.

No crafting table? Master-level shepherd villagers sell 3 paintings for 2 emeralds in both editions.

How to make paintings in Minecraft show the one you want

A painting item has no fixed picture. When you place it on a wall, the game measures the free space around the spot you clicked and picks a canvas that fits.

The largest size that fits wins

In Java Edition the painting keeps every canvas that fits the free wall space, then only those with the largest area, and picks one of them at random.

Walls only

Paintings go on the side of a block. They cannot be placed on floors or ceilings, and they cannot cover a gap in the wall or overlap another painting or an item frame.

Frame the space to choose a size

Build blocks around an exact area, for example 3 wide and 4 tall, then place the painting inside it. Only canvases of that size can appear.

Reroll by breaking it

Not the picture you wanted? Hit the painting to drop it and place it again. Each placement is a new random pick from the same size.

Which painting will you get?

Choose how much wall is free and see which paintings can appear. This follows the Java Edition rule; in Bedrock, framing an exact space works the same way.

Free width
Free height

You get a 4 × 4 painting

5 possible paintings, 20% chance each

How to get a specific painting

Placing at random is the only way in survival. Java Edition has two shortcuts for Creative and commands.

Java Creative inventory

Since 1.19.4 every painting has its own item in the Functional Blocks tab. Hover it to see the name, artist and size; it always places that canvas if the space is large enough.

Java /give command (1.21.5 and later)

Give yourself one painting by ID. Swap orb for any ID in the list above.

/give @s painting[painting/variant="orb"]

Java /give command (1.21 to 1.21.4)

Older 1.21 versions store the picture in the entity data instead.

/give @s painting[entity_data={id:"minecraft:painting",variant:"minecraft:orb"}]

Java /summon command

Place a painting straight onto a wall next to you. facing is 0 for south, 1 west, 2 north and 3 east.

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

Bedrock Edition

Bedrock has a single painting item and no command or component that picks the picture. Frame an exact space and break and replace the painting until the one you want appears.

Paintings on Minecraft Bedrock vs Java

Both editions have the same 47 random paintings and the same recipe. The differences are in how you can choose one.

FeatureJava EditionBedrock Edition
Paintings placed at random4747
Recipe8 sticks + 1 wool8 sticks + 1 wool
Pick a painting in CreativeYes, one item per paintingNo
Pick a painting by command/give and /summonNo
Earth, Wind, Fire, WaterBy command onlyNot available
1.21 paintingsJava 1.21Bedrock 1.21.0
DennisJava 1.21.7Bedrock 1.21.90
Custom paintingsData packs add new onesResource packs restyle them

Do paintings break in Minecraft?

Paintings never break by themselves, despawn or wear out, in Bedrock or Java. A painting is an entity hanging on a wall, and it only breaks when something removes it. In survival it always drops as a painting item you can place again.

A painting breaks when

  • A player or mob hits it
  • The block behind it is removed and not replaced within a second
  • You place a block on its face
  • An explosion reaches it
  • An arrow, snowball, trident or other projectile hits it
  • A piston pushes it

A painting is safe from

  • Fire: paintings are not flammable
  • Lightning strikes
  • Water flowing through its space
  • TNT exploding in water (Java 1.21.2 and later)
  • Time: it never despawns

Paintings have no collision, so you can walk through one placed over a doorway. It makes a good secret door for players, but mobs path through paintings too.

Minecraft paintings IRL

Most Minecraft paintings are pixel versions of real paintings. Kristoffer Zetterstrand is a Swedish artist whose oil paintings mix classical painting with video game scenes, and Notch used small versions of his work for the first in-game canvases in 2010. He returned in 2024 to paint 15 of the 1.21 canvases.

Several titles point to other works: Bonjour Monsieur Courbet nods to Gustave Courbet’s 1854 painting of the same name, Wanderer to Caspar David Friedrich’s wanderer above a sea of fog, and de_aztec to the Counter-Strike map.

Checked against Java 1.21.7 and Bedrock 1.21.90 and later.

Minecraft paintings FAQ

How many paintings are in Minecraft?

There are 47 paintings that can appear when you place a painting, in both Java and Bedrock. Java Edition has four more, Earth, Wind, Fire and Water, that only commands can place.

How do you craft a painting in Minecraft?

Put 1 wool of any colour in the middle of a crafting table and 8 sticks around it. The recipe makes one painting and is the same in Java and Bedrock.

Do paintings break in Minecraft Bedrock?

Not on their own. Paintings in Bedrock never despawn or burn. They break and drop as an item when they are hit, when the block behind them is removed, or when an explosion, projectile or piston reaches them.

How do I choose which painting I get?

Surround an exact area with blocks so only one size fits, then place the painting there; break and replace it to reroll. In Java Edition you can also take the painting you want from the Creative inventory or use /give @s painting[painting/variant="orb"].

What is the biggest painting in Minecraft?

The largest paintings are 4 × 4 blocks: Pointer, Pigscene, Skull On Fire, Orb and Unpacked. Mortal Coil and Kong are 4 × 3, and Backyard and Pond are 3 × 4.

What are the new Minecraft paintings?

The 1.21 update added 20 paintings, including Orb, Backyard, Pond, Bouquet, Cavebird and Unpacked. Dennis, a 3 × 3 painting, was added in Java 1.21.7 and Bedrock 1.21.90.

Does the wool colour change the painting?

No. Any wool works in the painting recipe, and the picture is chosen only when you place the painting, based on the free wall space.

Can you put a painting on the floor or ceiling?

No. Paintings can only hang on the side of a block. For a picture on the floor, build it from blocks or use item frames, which can face up and down.

Can you add your own paintings?

In Java Edition a data pack can add new painting variants up to 16 × 16 blocks, with a resource pack for the image. In Bedrock a resource pack can only replace the pictures of existing paintings.

Want your own picture on the wall?

Paintings only show the built-in artwork. To put your own picture in Minecraft, build it from blocks: the pixel art generator turns any image into a block grid, a material list and Litematica, WorldEdit or Bedrock files.

Open the Minecraft pixel art generator

Build something bigger

Want your own city on the wall?

Turn any real place into a Minecraft world, then hang your favourite paintings in it.

Generate a world