To obtain The Artist Arcana, find Brauner’s hidden atelier in Dracula’s Castle’s Main Hall, open the gear-operated gate, and use Smash from above on the large sculpture with golden cracks. Smash comes from Talos, the Builder. Reaching the room without that ability does not let ordinary weapon hits break Brauner’s stone prison.
This page covers the atelier route and release. The Artist is only one part of the separate Notre-Dame entrance check: you also need Brauner’s Paintbrush from the Observatory. For the painting interaction itself, use the Notre-Dame entrance guide.
Check Smash before returning to the sculpture
If the sculpture is your current obstacle, confirm that Rose has Smash from the Talos encounter. The move is a downward impact used from above, and the golden cracks identify the obstacle it is meant to break.
You can locate the atelier before completing this check. The distinction matters when backtracking: being able to enter the area and being able to release its occupant are separate milestones. Repeatedly striking the sculpture with a weapon does not replace the required ability.
The route and the release condition are documented in S4G’s Brauner guide. No additional damage threshold or weapon upgrade is established by that route.
Follow Alucard’s portrait into the hidden route
Start in the Main Hall; the recorded route begins in the sub-area labeled Grand Hall. Look for the passage lined with paintings, a large portrait of Alucard beside a doorway, and a narrower gold-framed magical painting nearby. The sword in Alucard’s portrait points toward the hidden route.
Use the Main Hall map to orient yourself before following the portrait route. This is not a full collectible map.
- Use the whip to enter the magical painting beside the portrait.
- Let the painting propel Rose to the left, in the direction indicated by Alucard’s sword.
- Follow the left-hand passage rather than treating the portrait as a normal decorative wall.
- Work upward through the connecting floors until you reach the upper passage into the atelier route.
The useful landmark is the portrait-and-painting pair. A different painting elsewhere in the Main Hall is not automatically this entrance. If you are unsure which branch you are following, return to those visible landmarks rather than relying on an unverified room count.
Strike the gear before attempting the stone prison
The next section spans several floors. Find the large gear beneath Alucard’s portrait and strike the mechanism several times. This opens the gate leading toward the sculpture.
The gear is a separate obstacle from the sculpture: strike it to open the gate.
If the gate remains closed, check the mechanism before searching for another key. This is a local gear-operated obstacle; the later Paintbrush requirement belongs to the Notre-Dame entrance and does not replace this interaction.
After opening the way, continue into the large hall containing the cracked sculpture. Save the ability check for the sculpture itself: hitting the gear and using Smash solve different parts of the route.
Climb above the golden cracks, then use Smash
Use the magical paintings and grapple anchors around the large sculpture to reach the platforms above it. The aim is to approach from sufficient height for the downward impact, not to attack the golden cracks from the floor.
The golden cracks identify the sculpture that must be struck with Smash from above.
From above the sculpture, jump and use Smash. The impact breaks the prison and frees Brauner. If your attempt did not break it, check both the ability and the approach: have you unlocked Smash, and are you actually using it from above the marked sculpture?
| What is blocking you | Check this part of the route |
|---|---|
| Cannot find the hidden passage | Return to Alucard’s portrait and the narrow magical painting; follow the leftward launch |
| Gate before the sculpture is closed | Strike the large gear under the portrait |
| Weapon hits do not break the sculpture | Use Smash from above; ordinary strikes are not the release method |
| Sculpture reached before obtaining Smash | Complete Talos’s ability unlock, then return to the atelier |
Collect The Artist and keep the Paintbrush separate
The Brauner guide records a brief encounter after the release, in which he concedes. The progression reward is The Artist Arcana and its Masterpiece spell, which summons an attacking gargoyle.
For Notre-Dame, S4G’s painting guide lists a second requirement: Brauner’s Paintbrush, obtained in the Library’s Observatory after Carmilla. Owning The Artist does not mean that item has also been collected.
Once both are available, the painting check requires The Artist to be equipped. You do not need to cast Masterpiece or summon a gargoyle to make the entrance respond. The complete location and interaction steps remain in the dedicated Notre-Dame page.
Follow the next relevant route
- Return to the Main Hall branches if you need to reorient inside the castle.
- Use the Library and planetarium route for the Observatory branch.
- Check the Notre-Dame painting requirements when The Artist is already unlocked but the entrance still does not respond.