The climactic ending to the series,Layers Of Fearbrings together the stories of The Painter, The Actor, and The Writer, each in their own tales of woe and trauma. What you make of these stories is largely up to you, but the sights you see are horrible, to be sure.
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One such sight that purveys the entirety of the stories are the paintings. Not all of them are from the warped mind of The Painter; some are taken from the real world. Historical paintings with dark undertones and eerie content appear throughout the games in the halls of the manor, lighthouse,and ocean liner, respectively.
10Artemisia Gentileschi - Judith Slaying Holofernes
A well-known painting of a well-known story, the violent nature of this painting feels like an easy choice for this game.
While it is more straightforward with its violent depiction, it makes the player wonder what sort of violence they, too, will see as the game continues. Each of the protagonists has hurt those around them or at least themselves. Maybe not in such an obvious way as a beheading, but in some cases in ways that have caused the deaths of others, to be sure.
9Francisco de Goya - Saturn Devouring His Son
A graphic painting, and one that Goya is well known for. There’s a reason that Saturn Devouring His Son is almost a household name in classic paintings.
It isn’t all that surprising that this painting made its way into Layers Of Fear. It is one of the darkest well-known paintings out there. The dark nature and gore of the painting reminds you of so many scenes and hallucinations the characters have through their journeys and theviolence they bring on the people around them.
8Herri met de Bles - Inferno
A depiction of Dante’s traveling into hell itself. Bles did a miraculous job depicting the chaos and darkness that one would imagine hell entails.
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It seems fitting to have this painting in the game, as each of the main protagonists, and even the daughter of The Painter in her DLC, all travel into their own personal hells. The illusions and visions they see feel like a scene straight out of this painting—especially the creature in The Writer’s tale.
7Francisco de Goya - El Tio Paquete
At first seemingly a normal painting of a man’s face. Although, as you look at it, there is something eerie about it.
The man’s blurred features are disheartening, to say the least. It is incredibly similar to The Painter’s magnum opus of him painting his wife. Seeing another blurred face in the halls just brings the player back to all those choices they made and how it turned out for The Painter and his family, good or bad.
6Caspar David Friedrich - Abbey in the Oakwood
A painting that connects with the tale of The Writer really well once you get a sense of the settings involved in both.
Abbey In The Oakwood is striking in the way that the abbey is the only standing structure around in the dark wilderness, much like the lighthouse that The Writer finds himself in. Both tall and foreboding structures stand in the middle of seemingly nowhere, with clouds and a particularly dark feel surrounding them.
5Francisco de Goya - Brigand Murdering a Woman
A dark piece, to be sure, but what more could you expect from Goya? It’s not a subtle painting, but the violence it depicts sets a powerful tone.
The lighting of the game and the color of the painting go hand-in-hand. While there is no brigand hunting down any of the characters, the story of The Writer and the monster that hunts him feels all too similar to what happens when the brigand catches up to his prey in the painting. It’s violent and dark, but those themes are found everywhere in the game itself.
4Domenico Fetti - The Repentant St. Mary Magdalene
St. Mary staring down at a skull with sadness painted on her face is a subtle yet very emotional painting to be added to the game.
There’s a big connection between this painting and the family of The Painter. Both his daughter and wife are heavily affected by his actions, and often his lack of action. Both are altered forever by what he does, and his daughter especially is left to pick up the pieces after his slip into madness. The player gets a sense of their sadness in the face of Mary when looking at this painting.
3Augustus Leopold Egg - Past and Present No. 1 - Misfortune
A dark painting for sure, and one that fits the theme of the first game incredibly well thanks to its depicted content.
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Misfortune is well-named. Whatever caused the happenings in the painting to occur, it is nothing good. The plight of the female figure and the noncommittal stare by the male figure feels all too much like how The Painter viewed his own wife so often, especially with the kids right there, which just ties into the DLC for the first game so well.
2Anthoni Schoonjans - Self-Portrait
Schoonjans paints a striking image of himself in this painting, one that may be overlooked with so many others being so odd or graphic.
However, it fits the narrative and atmosphere of the game quite well. It has an air of wealth and aristocracy to it. In addition, the colors are rather dark and brooding. You can imagine this is how The Painter saw himself in his heyday too, or at least Schoonjans was someone he modeled himself after.
1Francisco de Goya - The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters
It’s easy to see the creators of the game were somewhat fans of Goya’s work, and it’s easy to see why with paintings like these.
The Sleep Of Reason has the same feel as a lot of the games' content does. It depicts a nightmare, which so much of the games feel akin to. Creatures harass the relaxing figure, as they do with the games' protagonists, who as well, have let reason escape them all in one way or another.
