Re: How ‘alive’ are paintings?

[Josephine]

No: HPFGUIDX 69799

Colin:
>  But
> now, in book five, the paintings seem very lifelike.  Phineas
> particularly comes to mind.  Are the paintings like ghosts?  Can
> wizards choose to leave themselves behind in that form, or are they
> copies of the wizard's personality?  Can a painting be done while
> the
> person is alive, or postmortem?  (I'm thinking about Sirius here)
> 
> Anyway, I would like to hear what others think on this topic.


- This crossed my mind, too, when I read OoP. I don't remember and I 
don't have a copy at hand, but wasn't there some mention towards the 
end, of how the former Headmaster of Hogwarts was "assigned" to two 
paintings and could move between them?
I think this is similiar to the photographs... I suppose JKR will 
explain it sooner or later; it seems to me she rarely leaves stuff 
unfinished. If it's there, it has a meaning. Put a gun in the 
beginning of your story and someone has to fire it before the end...

Josephine