Witcher Wiki
Secondary quest
"A Portrait of the Witcher as an Old Man"
Tw3 baw a portrait of the witcher as an old man
Details
Type
Secondary quest
Expansion
Blood and Wine
Suggested level
43
Location(s)
One square south of The Gran'place
Rosetree Hill and cave under it
Duchaton Crest
Region(s)
Toussaint
Source
Painter at wine festival square south of The Gran'place.
Reward
500 – 600 XP earned based on the Story and Swords! difficulty level / -700 – 300 crown(s)
Portrait of Geralt (possibly)
Related
The Warble of a Smitten Knight defines heraldry on painting.

A Portrait of the Witcher as an Old Man is a secondary quest in the Blood and Wine expansion.

The quest does not become available immediately, it did appear after finishing The Warble of a Smitten Knight, though.

Journal entry[ | ]

One day Geralt got an unusual proposition. A portrait artist, inspired and delighted by the witcher's singular appearance, asked if he would pose for a painting. Largely open to the varied experiences life offers, the witcher agreed to model for the painter. Though he later claimed he was driven primarily by a desire to support the arts (an impulse laudable in and of itself!), I suspect plain old vanity might also have come into play.
The witcher and the artist set off together for the countryside, where the beautiful landscape was to serve as the backdrop for the portrait.
Once they arrived at their destination, it turned out that some picnickers had occupied the vista the artist had chosen. To make matters worse, the artist's painting tools had disappeared, and the witcher had to find them.
In the end he could finally get down to posing and was pained to learn that a portrait takes much longer to produce than he had supposed. He did not manage to grow thoroughly bored, however, thanks to a griffin that swooped in unannounced. Geralt had to defeat the beast to save both the painter and his emerging work. He received payment for posing and learned he would be able to view the finished portrait the next day in the main town square.
Geralt finally saw the work that generated quite a lot of interest from the inhabitants of Beauclair. As it turned out, in the portrait the painter had rendered the witcher in the nude. Though explicit, the representation was flattering. To this day I remember the sheepish grin on Geralt's face as he related the tale to yours truly!

Walkthrough[ | ]

  • Meet the painter around noon by the western gate of the palace.
  • Follow the painter.
  • Find the painter's paints.
  • Give the painter the paints.
  • Follow the painter.
  • Considering the pose for the painting:
    • On horseback. (×)
    • Heroic.
    • Reclining.
  • Kill the griffin. (250 XP earned based on the Story and Swords! difficulty level)
  • Immortalize the griffin in the painting?
    • Yeah. Paint it in. (×)
    • Rather not have the griffin in the painting.
  • For the work done. (150 XP earned based on the Story and Swords! difficulty level, 300 crown(s))
  • Wait one day to see your painting.
  • Go see your painting at the market.
  • Is the painting to your liking?
    • Not quite what I expected.
    • Don't know much about art.
    • It's... good.
  • Buy the painting at a special price?
    • (1000) Gladly. (×) (100 XP earned based on the Story and Swords! difficulty level)
    • No, thanks.

Gallery[ | ]

Notes[ | ]

The name of this quest is a nod to the James Joyce novel "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man".