I JUST FIGURED OUT THE PAINTINGS
I think I have actually progressed moderately far with the game, but to keep my sanity I've been sort of taking notes on some things and moving on from them planning to figure them out later, and I swear to God I thought it was an anagram. I've been just doing notes on it, and today I decided to actually try to tackle it, and I'm pretty sure I realized now what it is. My jaw literally dropped when I realized it.
THIS IS SO MUCH SIMPLER LOL