12 Hidden Mistakes in Famous Artworks You Can Only Notice When Pointed Out

Even great painters sometimes make mistakes. Botticelli, for example, seemingly didn’t know how to draw feet, Mignon was afraid of cats, and Claude Monet didn’t want to spend time on clouds. However, this in no way reduces the value of the paintings, especially since some of the errors appeared on the canvases for a reason. We decided to find mistakes of famous artists.

The man’s hands in Rembrandt’s “An Old Man in an Armchair”

The portrait of an elderly man, painted with careless, rough strokes, caused much controversy among art historians. Some researchers were sure that the painting was not painted by Rembrandt but by one of his imitators. For example, the columnist Huntley Dent writes that the painting looks very careless: the man’s hands are different in size, and the old man’s beard looks like tangled sheep’s wool.

However, experts of the National Gallery insist that the portrait really belongs to the brush of the great artist. In that period, he was experimenting with techniques and colors. Rembrandt had no idea what a storm his experiments would cause a few centuries later.

Clouds in Claude Monet’s “Cliff Walk at Pourville”

Monet’s famous painting breathes with sea freshness and charms with bright colors. It seems that a second more, and a light breeze will start to ruffle the viewers’ hair. And all would be nothing, but the artist Bill Inman was a little confused by the clouds in the upper left corner of the painting.

It seems that Monet didn’t want to spend time on them and just used a stencil. The 4 clouds make a perfect square. It might seem like a small thing, but when you notice this detail, you can’t unsee it.

The cat on Abraham Mignon’s “The Overturned Bouquet”

In his painting, the artist was able to depict flowers and insects in a surprisingly naturalistic way. But the poor kitty came out a bit frightening. Art historian Rachel Gould generally believes that the animal has bat ears, a human nose and a mouth that looks more like one of a monkey.

Perhaps Mignon was a dog person at heart and didn’t like cats. Either way, the combination of gorgeous colors and an ugly cat is stunning.

The horizon in the landscape “Little Pond, Appledore” by Childe Gassam

Gassam was primarily famous for his cityscapes, while his pastoral paintings were not always successful. The artist Bill Inman, studying his painting “Little Pond, Appledore,” noticed that the horizon cuts the landscape exactly in half. This leaves too much free space in the upper part, and the work seems unfinished.

Bill Inman suggested cropping the painting from the top. Maybe it’s a good thing that critics can’t get to paintings they find imperfect.

The background of the painting “The Fishing” by Edouard Manet

Not everyone would immediately understand that Manet painted this painting, as it is very different in style from his later works. The artist decided to depict himself and his bride in period costumes against a pastoral landscape. But, as art historian Rachel Gould rightly points out, Manet possibly lost interest in the painting midway through the work.

The figures of people and the plants in the foreground are carefully painted, but the meadow behind the pond seems flat and inexpressive. And the rainbow looks like some dull and gray arch. Perhaps Manet deliberately left the painting unfinished or simply abandoned it at some point to start another canvas.

The mysterious hand in Caravaggio’s “Supper at Emmaus”

Art historians never stop arguing about why the right hand of one of the characters in Caravaggio’s painting is so gigantic. Some believe that the artist was trying to show movement in this way. But researcher Susan Grundy suspects that this is a mistake: the maestro used the camera obscura incorrectly while working on the canvas.

In any case, as soon as you notice this detail, your eyes keep trying to return to it. And the basket with fruit also needs some adjustments so that it doesn’t fall off the table. According to the artist Trace Bradley, Caravaggio painted these utensils this way for a reason — he wanted to make the viewer look at the painting more attentively.

The faces in Van Gogh’s “The Potato Eaters”

If you look closely at the people depicted in this painting, you might be startled. The heads seem too big, and the faces resemble grotesque masks. But, as art historian Rachel Gould rightly notes, Van Gogh painted this canvas at the very beginning of his career. He was still searching for his unique style and learning the basics of painting.

Even with all the visible disadvantages, the scene turned out to be lively and atmospheric. So these mistakes rather work for the artist, helping him to show all the hardships of life of the potato eaters.

The mysterious leg in Diego Velázquez’s “The Maids of Honour”

Diego Velázquez was a true perfectionist, and it’s hard to believe that there can be even a tiny mistake in his paintings. But the artist was let down by his style of painting. María Álvarez Garcillán of the Prado Museum says that Velázquez worked very quickly to depict people in natural poses. Then he scrutinized the painting and corrected the faults.

For example, in the painting “The Maids of Honour,” he didn’t like the position of one character’s leg. He quickly repainted it. But over time, the top layers of paint thinned, and a strange shadow appeared on the canvas, showing the original position of the leg.

Chaos in the painting “Marcelle Aron” by Édouard Vuillard

Vuillard often used an unusual technique. Working on scenes from everyday life, he carefully drew the interior, but he depicted the figures of people deliberately simplified. However, in this painting, he slightly overdid it: the canvas turned out to be so overloaded with details, and there are so many colors that can make your eyes go blurry. According to art historian Rachel Gould, Vuillard clearly overdid it.

The magic mirror in Edouard Manet’s “A Bar at the Folies- Bergère”

Manet may not have realized that one of his most famous paintings would torment art historians for years, but that’s exactly what happened. More than 140 years have passed since the painting was created, and, according to Master of Arts Philip McCourt, researchers can’t agree on why the artist made a mistake in drawing the reflection in the mirror.

After all, you can see with the naked eye that the barmaid there is a little fuller, and her hair is sloppier. You also can’t see the client she is talking to. Manet’s contemporaries even teased the artist, pointing out these oversights. However, modern researchers believe that in the wrong reflection laid a deep meaning. We just need to find it out.

Feet in Sandro Botticelli’s paintings

Sandro Botticelli was undoubtedly a great painter, but there was one detail he couldn’t get right. Although, perhaps, the artist didn’t try too hard. Every time Botticelli depicted his characters in full height, their feet looked, to put it mildly, unnatural.

Artist and painting teacher Ruthie V. notes that the artist even managed to add extra phalanges to the toes of the models. Well, this is an excuse to enjoy the beautiful faces of Venus and Spring even more, without being distracted by other details.

St. Sixtus has an extra finger in Raphael’s painting “Sistine Madonna.”

At first glance, there is nothing wrong in Raphael’s great painting. But attentive viewers have long noticed that there is something wrong with the man’s left hand. It seems that the artist accidentally or deliberately added him another finger.

Some art connoisseurs even managed to build a whole theory on this small detail. However, art historian Andrey Zimoglyadov notes that the extra finger is just a piece of the palm, and there is nothing unnatural in the hand of St. Sixtus. It’s just a bad angle.

And here we unveiled the secrets of some mysterious paintings.