All About the Solemn Painting in Animal Crossing 2024

Animal Crossing New Horizons Solemn Painting Museum

The Solemn Painting is one of many art pieces players can collect in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Each of these in-game items derives from a real-world counterpart. Paintings are used for decoration, whether hung on a wall or displayed on an easel. Artwork can also be donated to the island’s Museum. Most players make it a personal goal to complete the Museum’s art gallery. Here is all you need to know about the Solemn Painting.

What is the Solemn Painting?

The Solemn Painting is a piece of artwork that was first introduced in Animal Crossing: Wild World for the Nintendo DS. In New Horizons, the player must be careful when buying the piece as there is both a genuine and forged version. Of all the artworks in the game, the Solemn Painting has arguably the most subtle variation between its real and fake versions. In the forged version, the man standing in the doorway in the background will have a slightly more bent arm, as if pointing at the ceiling. The artwork can be bought for 4,980 Bells and sold for 1,245 Bells (assuming it’s authentic). When viewing the painting’s placard in the Museum, the following description is given:

“This famous piece by Velázquez, who served the Spanish court, shows us something about perspective. It depicts a young princess with her ‘ladies-in-waiting.’ The artist himself is seen to the left. The king and queen are reflected in the mirror to the artist’s right, so the perspective is that of the king. The king…watching the artist…paint the king and the queen..”

The Solemn Painting is based on Diego Velázquez’s renowned 1656 work Las Meninas. Velázquez was the leading artist of the Spanish Baroque period and Las Meninas is the most famous painting from his extensive portfolio. The oil on canvas portrait has spurred many discussions and interpretations regarding its complex composition. Velázquez was tampering with the viewer’s expectations, depicting himself as the artist inside his own painting. The painting’s central figure is infanta Margarita Teresa, the daughter of King Philip IV. She is flanked by courtiers, including dwarves and two ladies-in-waiting, the meninas invoked in the painting’s title. Las Meninas is an important, enigmatic work that straddles reality and illusion.

How to Obtain the Solemn Painting

Animal Crossing New Horizons Solemn Painting Real Fake
(Screenshot: Chase Martin)

To purchase the Solemn Painting, you must wait for Redd to appear in his black market boat, the Treasure Trawler. The Trawler will be moored at the northernmost beach on the player’s island. Inside, Redd will be selling an assortment of art pieces and other miscellaneous nicknames. Redd’s camper on Harv’s Island provides another opportunity to garner the item. It is random whether the Solemn Painting will be one of the choices available for purchase. Note that while Redd will attend events like the Fireworks Show, artwork cannot be bought from him during that time.

If Redd has yet to appear on your island, you must ensure you have made at least sixty donations to the Museum. Eventually, Redd will make a series of visits to the island that will result in him appearing at least bi-weekly. The player can only buy one piece of art from Redd at a time. This can be gamed somewhat by creating multiple Switch profiles and having 4 player characters. Once the Solemn Painting has been donated, the player can visit the Museum and admire it in its designated section. Sometimes the villagers on the island can also be found meandering the art gallery and gazing at the assortment of works you have assembled.

In Conclusion

Completing the artwork collection in the Museum is a laborious process. Redd’s appearances on the island are sporadic and the limitation of one piece per person makes it harder. Thankfully, the WiFi capabilities of Animal Crossing: New Horizons offer easier opportunities to meet other players. There are numerous communities where one can meet and exchange or buy artwork from others. This makes completing the art gallery a much more feasible task. The Solemn Painting is just one of these many pieces you will need to make that dream a reality.

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