Sometimes geniuses make mistakes. A talented sculptor may end up with an unsightly statue, but a great landscape painter will miss the mark with proportions. Things happen. But if no one notices the mistake of an unknown artist, then the unsuccessful work of a brilliant creator will be remembered, pulled out into the world and criticized for a long time and with relish.

Failed works of geniuses. Michelangelo and “Night”

The tomb of Giuliano de’ Medici is decorated with the magnificent sculpture “Night”. Like many of Michelangelo’s “women,” the sleeping beauty has a muscular, masculine body, but viewers are usually surprised not by the texture of the impeccable male torso, but by the breasts, the realistic execution of which the master neglected. Oncologist James J. Stark published an article in 2000 in which he suggested that the misproportion and incorrect placement of Night’s breasts were influenced by the sitter’s breast cancer. But it is known that the homosexual Michelangelo preferred to work exclusively with male sitters. This fact prompted many art historians to hypothesize that the master was unable to depict the correct female forms simply because he was not familiar with the structure of the female body.

Rembrandt and “Stone Operation”. Unsuccessful works of artists.

In this rough work it is difficult to recognize the hand of a great master. However, the painting was painted by Rembrandt, and it belongs to the allegorical “Series of the Five Senses”, created by the artist at the age of 18. The painting depicts a trinity – a woman holds a candle over the head of a sitting man, in which a third character is trying to get something with a scalpel. Clumsy figures, faces distorted with grimaces, unkemptly drawn hands. But it is thanks to this painting that we can see where Rembrandt started and to what heights he rose.

Angry Dog by Edvard Munch

Edvard Munch was known as an artist capable of very subtly and accurately capturing the deepest emotions of a person, and it is all the more unexpected to see his work “Angry Dog”, more like a “children’s scribble”. Munch developed a very strange relationship with his neighbor’s dog, under the influence of which the master even made several drawings and lithographs with Roll. As the dog’s owner, Mr. Gunnerud, said, the previous owner raised Rolla as a misanthrope with aggressive inclinations, and it just so happened that it was Munch who became the main victim of the wrath of the dog, who was angry with the whole world.

Failed works of geniuses. Rene Magritte and “Hunger”

In 1948, Rene Magritte deviated slightly from his traditional style of painting and went towards the “vacuum” or vache period. In French vernacular slang, vache means “fat woman” or “lazy man.” Being in a “lazy” mood, Magritte created things that were completely different from portraits of gentlemen in hats and moonlit landscapes. A striking example is the cartoonish painting “Hunger,” which depicts people gnawing each other in a fit of manic hysteria. Teeth bite into pink flesh, tearing off noses and tongues, tearing faces. Strange objects, unexpected plots and a rough brush.

Van Gogh and The Potato Eaters

A peasant family eats potatoes in the dim light of a lamp. The most complex composition, as conceived by the self-taught artist, was supposed to show the level of skill and bring success and money. But it didn’t work out. Too gloomy, dark and rough work, awkward and unrealistic people with huge eyes and too large heads. Venerable artists criticized the painting for anatomical errors and unbalanced composition. During his lifetime, Van Gogh never managed to sell the painting profitably, alas.