Minecraft has added new paintings for the first time in over a decade

Mojang

From the outside, it may seem strange the things Minecraft fans get excited about, but those of us in the know will understand that new official paintings are a big deal for the latest update. Set to be added in an upcoming snapshot and made official in version 1.21, these five new paintings will let you add a bit more variety to your walls.

What’s more, is that there are some deep-cut references included here, so we’ll show you what every painting looks like and their origins.

Unpacked

Unpacked is a reference to a significant image to the Minecraft community. / Mojang

This is the one the community is most excited about, as it is a pixelated version of a very important image. The base image used, known as “pack.png”, was the cover image for the default Minecraft texture pack for many years.

This in-game screenshot of a grassy hill in front of a river was a fascination of the community for a long time, as an exhaustive search was conducted over the years to discover the seed that was used to take this screenshot and discover it in-game. Their efforts are now immortalized by this iconic image added as a painting.

Humble

These villagers don't quite have the same expressive range as Wood's original. / Mojang

This painting may be a bit unnerving to put on your wall, but that’s kind of the point. This painting featuring two Villagers in front of a house is a parody of the famous American Gothic painting by Grant Wood. While this isn’t the first painting in Minecraft to be based on a famous work of art, it is certainly the most direct parody the team has produced to date.

Baroque

A simple yet quite beautiful painting. / Mojang

There is no questioning the influences of this one, as it’s right there in the name. Baroque painting is a style that spans from the 17th to 18th century. While many Baroque paintings depict historical events or figures, this one instead goes for three simple objects: a decorated pot, a cake, and a yellow flower.

Prairie Horse

Just a man and his horse. / Mojang

This 1x2 painting will fit any narrow vertical spaces you have in your home and depicts a carefree adventurer strutting around the desert on their horse. This too is a parody of a famous painting by the name of The Cowboy, painted by Frederick Remington.

Meditative

A nod to a great artist and Minecraft's history. / Mojang

This small 1x1 painting is simultaneously a parody of a famous work of art, and a reference to Minecraft’s past. This painting shares a resemblance to Salvador Dali’s Meditative Rose but with one crucial change. Unlike Dali’s version, the rose in this painting has a stem, which serves as a reference to the Rose flower that used to exist in Minecraft but was replaced with the Red Poppy at a later date.