The canvases and the worst thing. The creepiest paintings by famous artists

1. "Crying Boy"- painting Spanish artist Giovanni Bragolina. There is a legend that the boy’s father (who is also the author of the portrait), trying to achieve brightness, vitality and naturalness of the canvas, lit matches in front of the baby’s face. The fact is that the boy was deathly afraid of fire. The boy was crying - his father was drawing. One day the kid couldn’t stand it and shouted at his father: “Burn yourself!” A month later, the child died of pneumonia. And a couple of weeks later, the artist’s charred body was found in his own house next to a painting of a crying boy that had survived the fire. It all could have ended there, but in 1985, from the stripes British newspapers There were persistent statements that in almost every burnt room firefighters found reproductions of “ Crying boy"who were not even touched by the fire. 2. "The hands resist him"- painting American artist Bill Stoneham. The author says that the painting depicts himself at the age of five, that the door is a representation of the dividing line between the real world and the world of dreams, and the doll is a guide that can guide the boy through this world. Hands represent alternative lives or possibilities. The painting became a famous urban legend in February 2000 when it was put up for sale on eBay with a backstory saying that the painting was "haunted." According to legend, after the death of the first owner of the painting, the painting was discovered in a landfill among a pile of garbage. The family that found her brought her home, and already on the first night the little four-year-old daughter ran into her parents’ bedroom shouting that “the children in the picture are fighting.” The next night - that “the children in the picture were outside the door.” The next night, the head of the family installed a motion-sensitive video camera in the room where the painting hung. The video camera worked several times, but nothing was captured. 3. "Rain Woman"- painting by Vinnytsia artist Svetlana Telets. Even six months before the painting was created, she began to have visions. For a long time, Svetlana thought that someone was watching her. Sometimes she even heard strange sounds in her apartment. But I tried to push these thoughts away. And after some time an idea appeared for new painting. The image of the mysterious woman was born suddenly, but Svetlana felt as if she had known her for a long time. Facial features as if woven from fog, clothes, ghostly lines of a figure - the artist painted a woman without thinking for a minute. It was as if her hand was being guided by an invisible force. Rumor spread throughout the city that this painting was cursed after the third buyer returned the painting a few days later without even taking the money. Everyone who had this picture said that at night it seemed to come to life and walk like a shadow nearby. People began to have headaches and, even after hiding the painting in a closet, the sensation of presence did not go away. 4. During Pushkin’s time, the portrait of Maria Lopukhina, painted by Vladimir Borovikovsky, was one of the main “horror stories”. The girl lived a short and unhappy life, and after painting the portrait she died of consumption. Her father, Ivan Tolstoy, was a famous mystic and master Masonic lodge. That's why rumors spread that he managed to lure the spirit deceased daughter into this portrait. And that if young girls look at the picture, they will soon die. According to the salon gossips, the portrait of Maria destroyed at least ten noblewomen of marriageable age... 5. "Water lilies"- landscape by impressionist Claude Monet. When the artist and his friends were celebrating the completion of the painting, a small fire broke out in the workshop. The flame was quickly doused with wine and they did not attach any importance to it. The painting hung in a cabaret in Montmartre for just a month. And then one night the place burned down. But “Lilies” managed to be saved. The painting was bought by Parisian philanthropist Oscar Schmitz. A year later his house burned down. The fire started in the office, where the ill-fated painting hung. It miraculously survived. Another victim of Monet's landscape was the New York Museum of Modern Art. “Water Lilies” were transported here in 1958. Four months later, there was a fire here too. And the damned picture was heavily charred.
6. In a painting by Edvard Munch "Scream" a hairless suffering creature is depicted with a head resembling an inverted pear, with her palms pressed to her ears in horror and her mouth open in a silent scream. The convulsive waves of this creature’s torment, like an echo, disperse in the air around its head. This man (or woman) seems trapped in his own scream and has covered his ears in order not to hear it. It would be strange if there were no legends around this picture. They say that everyone who came into contact with her suffered from an evil fate. A museum employee who accidentally dropped a painting began to suffer from severe headaches and eventually committed suicide. Another employee, who apparently also had crooked hands, dropped the painting and had an accident the next day. Someone even burned a day after coming into contact with the painting. 7. Another canvas that constantly accompanies trouble is "Venus with a Mirror" Diego Velazquez. The painting's first owner, a Spanish merchant, went bankrupt, his trade deteriorating every day until most of his goods were captured by pirates at sea and several more ships sank. Selling everything he had by auction, the merchant also sold the painting. It was acquired by another Spaniard, also a merchant who owned rich warehouses in the port. Almost immediately after the money for the canvas was transferred, the merchant’s warehouses caught fire from a sudden lightning strike. The owner was ruined. And again the auction, and again the painting is sold along with other things, and again a wealthy Spaniard buys it... Three days later he was stabbed to death in own home during a robbery. After that, the painting could not find its new owner for a long time (its reputation was too damaged), and the canvas traveled around different museums, until in 1914 a madwoman cut her up with a knife.
8. "Demon Defeated" Mikhail Vrubel had a detrimental effect on the psyche and health of the artist himself. He couldn’t tear himself away from the picture, he continued to paint the face defeated Spirit and change the color. “The Defeated Demon” was already hanging at the exhibition, and Vrubel kept coming into the hall, not paying attention to the visitors, sat down in front of the painting and continued to work, as if possessed. Those close to him became concerned about his condition, and he was examined by the famous Russian psychiatrist Bekhterev. The diagnosis was terrible - tabes spinal cord, near madness and death. Vrubel was admitted to the hospital, but the treatment did not help, and he soon died.

Some works of art seem to hit the viewer over the head, stunning and amazing. Some draw you into thought and in search of layers of meaning, secret symbolism. Some paintings are shrouded in mystery and mystical riddles, and some surprise you with an exorbitant price.

Edvard Munch "The Scream"

1893, cardboard, oil, tempera, pastel. 91×73.5 cm

National Gallery, Oslo

"Scream" counts significant event expressionism and one of the most famous paintings in the world.
“I was walking along a path with two friends - the sun was setting - suddenly the sky turned blood red, I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned against the fence - I looked at the blood and flames over the bluish-black fiord and the city - my friends moved on, and I stood, trembling with excitement, feeling the endless scream piercing nature,” Edvard Munch said about the history of the painting.
There are two interpretations of what is depicted: it is the hero himself who is gripped by horror and silently screams, pressing his hands to his ears; or the hero closes his ears from the cry of the world and nature sounding around him. Munch wrote 4 versions of “The Scream”, and there is a version that this painting is the fruit of manic-depressive psychosis from which the artist suffered. After a course of treatment at the clinic, Munch did not return to work on the canvas.

Paul Gauguin "Where do we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?"

1897-1898, oil on canvas. 139.1×374.6 cm

Museum fine arts, Boston

Deep philosophical picture post-impressionist Paul Gauguin was painted by him in Tahiti, where he fled from Paris. Upon completion of the work, he even wanted to commit suicide, because “I believe that this painting not only surpasses all my previous ones, and that I will never create something better or even similar.” He lived another 5 years, and that’s what happened.
According to Gauguin himself, the painting should be read from right to left - three main groups of figures illustrate the questions posed in the title. Three women with a child represent the beginning of life; middle group symbolizes the daily existence of maturity; in the final group, according to the artist’s plan, “the old woman, approaching death, seems reconciled and indulged in her thoughts,” at her feet “a strange White bird...represents the futility of words.”

Pablo Picasso "Guernica"

1937, oil on canvas. 349×776 cm

Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid

The huge fresco painting “Guernica,” painted by Picasso in 1937, tells the story of a raid by a Luftwaffe volunteer unit on the city of Guernica, as a result of which the city of six thousand was completely destroyed. The painting was painted literally in a month - the first days of work on the painting, Picasso worked for 10-12 hours and already in the first sketches one could see main idea. This is one of best illustrations the nightmare of fascism, as well as human cruelty and grief.
Guernica presents scenes of death, violence, brutality, suffering and helplessness, without specifying their immediate causes, but they are obvious. It is said that in 1940, Pablo Picasso was summoned to the Gestapo in Paris. The conversation immediately turned to the painting. “Did you do this?” - “No, you did it.”

Jan van Eyck "Portrait of the Arnolfini couple"

1434, wood, oil. 81.8×59.7 cm

London National Gallery, London

The portrait supposedly of Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife is one of the most complex works Western school of painting of the Northern Renaissance.
The famous painting is completely filled with symbols, allegories and various references - right down to the caption “Jan van Eyck was here”, which turned it not just into a work of art, but into historical document, confirming a real event at which the artist was present.
In Russia recent years The picture gained great popularity thanks to portrait resemblance Arnolfini with Vladimir Putin.

Mikhail Vrubel "The Seated Demon"

1890, oil on canvas. 114×211 cm

Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

The painting by Mikhail Vrubel surprises with the image of a demon. The sad long-haired guy doesn’t at all resemble the common human idea of ​​what he should look like evil spirit. The artist himself spoke about his most famous painting: “The demon is not so much an evil spirit as a suffering and sorrowful one, at the same time a powerful, majestic spirit.” This is an image of the strength of the human spirit, internal struggle, doubt. Tragically clasping his hands, the Demon sits with sad, huge eyes directed into the distance, surrounded by flowers. The composition emphasizes the constraint of the demon’s figure, as if squeezed between the upper and lower crossbars of the frame.

Vasily Vereshchagin “Apotheosis of War”

1871, oil on canvas. 127×197 cm

State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Vereshchagin is one of the main Russian battle painters, but he did not paint wars and battles because he loved them. On the contrary, he tried to convey to people his negative attitude towards the war. One day Vereshchagin, in the heat of emotion, exclaimed: “More battle paintings I won’t write - that’s it! I take what I write too close to heart, I cry (literally) for the grief of every wounded and killed.” Probably the result of this exclamation was the terrible and bewitching painting “The Apotheosis of War,” which depicts a field, crows and a mountain of human skulls.
The picture is written so deeply and emotionally that behind each skull lying in this pile, you begin to see people, their destinies and the destinies of those who will never see these people again. Vereshchagin himself, with sad sarcasm, called the canvas a “still life” - it depicts “dead nature.”
All the details of the picture, including the yellow color, symbolize death and devastation. Clear blue sky emphasizes the deadness of the picture. The idea of ​​the “Apotheosis of War” is also expressed by scars from sabers and bullet holes on skulls.

Grant Wood "American Gothic"

1930, oil. 74×62 cm

Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago

"American Gothic" is one of the most recognizable images in American art XX century, the most famous artistic meme of the XX and XXI centuries.
The picture with the gloomy father and daughter is filled with details that indicate the severity, puritanism and retrograde nature of the people depicted. Angry faces, a pitchfork right in the middle of the picture, old-fashioned clothes even by the standards of 1930, an exposed elbow, seams on a farmer’s clothes that repeat the shape of a pitchfork, and therefore a threat that is addressed to everyone who encroaches. You can look at all these details endlessly and cringe from discomfort.
Interestingly, the judges of the competition at the Art Institute of Chicago perceived "Gothic" as a "humorous valentine", and the people of Iowa were terribly offended by Wood for portraying them in such an unpleasant light.

Rene Magritte "Lovers"

1928, oil on canvas

The painting “Lovers” (“Lovers”) exists in two versions. In one, a man and a woman, whose heads are wrapped in a white cloth, kiss, and in the other, they “look” at the viewer. The picture surprises and fascinates. With two figures without faces, Magritte conveyed the idea of ​​the blindness of love. About blindness in every sense: lovers do not see anyone, we do not see them true faces and we, and besides, lovers are a mystery even to each other. But despite this apparent clarity, we still continue to look at Magritte’s lovers and think about them.
Almost all of Magritte’s paintings are puzzles that cannot be completely solved, since they raise questions about the very essence of existence. Magritte always talks about the deceptiveness of the visible, about its hidden mystery, which we usually do not notice.

Marc Chagall "Walk"

1917, oil on canvas

State Tretyakov Gallery

Usually extremely serious in his painting, Marc Chagall wrote a delightful manifesto of his own happiness, filled with allegories and love. “Walk” is a self-portrait with his wife Bella. His beloved is soaring in the sky and will soon drag Chagall, who is standing on the ground precariously, into flight, as if touching her only with the toes of his shoes. Chagall has a tit in his other hand - he is happy, he has both a tit in his hands (probably his painting) and a pie in the sky.

Hieronymus Bosch "The Garden of Earthly Delights"

1500-1510, wood, oil. 389×220 cm

Prado, Spain

"Garden earthly pleasures"- the most famous triptych of Hieronymus Bosch, which got its name from the theme of the central part, is dedicated to the sin of voluptuousness. To date, none of the available interpretations of the painting has been recognized as the only correct one.
The enduring charm and at the same time strangeness of the triptych lies in the way the artist expresses the main idea through many details. The picture is filled with transparent figures, fantastic structures, monsters, hallucinations that have taken on flesh, hellish caricatures of reality, which he looks at with a searching, extremely sharp gaze. Some scientists wanted to see in the triptych an image of human life through the prism of its futility and images of earthly love, others - a triumph of voluptuousness. However, the simplicity and certain detachment with which individual figures are interpreted, as well as the favorable attitude towards this work on the part of the church authorities, make one doubt that its content could be the glorification of bodily pleasures.

Gustav Klimt "The Three Ages of Woman"

1905, oil on canvas. 180×180 cm

National Gallery contemporary art, Rome

“The Three Ages of a Woman” is both joyful and sad. In it, the story of a woman’s life is written in three figures: carelessness, peace and despair. The young woman is organically woven into the pattern of life, the old woman stands out from it. The contrast between the stylized image of a young woman and the naturalistic image of an old woman becomes symbolic meaning: the first phase of life brings with it endless possibilities and metamorphoses, the last - unchanging constancy and conflict with reality.
The canvas doesn’t let go, it gets into the soul and makes you think about the depth of the artist’s message, as well as the depth and inevitability of life.

Egon Schiele "Family"

1918, oil on canvas. 152.5×162.5 cm

Belvedere Gallery, Vienna

Schiele was a student of Klimt, but, like any excellent student, he did not copy his teacher, but looked for something new. Schiele is much more tragic, strange and frightening than Gustav Klimt. In his works there is a lot of what could be called pornography, various perversions, naturalism and at the same time aching despair.
"Family" is his last work, in which despair is taken to the extreme, despite the fact that it is his least strange-looking picture. He painted it just before his death, after his pregnant wife Edith died of Spanish flu. He died at 28, just three days after Edith, having painted her, himself, and their unborn child.

Frida Kahlo "Two Fridas"

The story of the difficult life of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo became widely known after the release of the film “Frida” with Salma Hayek in leading role. Kahlo painted mostly self-portraits and explained it simply: “I paint myself because I spend a lot of time alone and because I am the subject I know best.”
In not a single self-portrait does Frida Kahlo smile: a serious, even mournful face, fused thick eyebrows, a barely noticeable mustache above tightly compressed lips. The ideas of her paintings are encrypted in the details, background, figures appearing next to Frida. Kahlo's symbolism is based on national traditions and is closely related to the Indian mythology of the pre-Hispanic period.
In one of best paintings- “Two Fridas” - she expressed the masculine and feminine principles, connected in her by a single circulatory system, demonstrating her integrity.

Claude Monet "Waterloo Bridge. Fog effect"

1899, oil on canvas

State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

When viewing the painting at close range, the viewer sees nothing but the canvas, on which frequent thick oil strokes are applied. The whole magic of the work is revealed when we gradually begin to move further away from the canvas. First, incomprehensible semicircles begin to appear in front of us, passing through the middle of the picture, then we see the clear outlines of boats and, having moved away to a distance of approximately two meters, they are sharply drawn in front of us and line up in logical chain all connecting works.

Jackson Pollock "Number 5, 1948"

1948, fiberboard, oil. 240×120 cm

The strangeness of this picture is that the canvas of the American leader of abstract expressionism, which he painted by spilling paint on a piece of fiberboard laid out on the floor, is the most expensive painting in the world. In 2006, at Sotheby's auction they paid $140 million for it. David Giffen, a film producer and collector, sold it to Mexican financier David Martinez.
“I continue to move away from the usual tools of an artist, such as an easel, palette and brushes. I prefer sticks, scoops, knives and flowing paint or a mixture of paint and sand, broken glass or something else. When I'm inside a painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. Understanding comes later. I have no fear of changes or destruction of the image, since the picture lives its own own life. I'm just helping her out. But if I lose contact with the painting, it becomes dirty and messy. If not, then it’s pure harmony, the ease of how you take and give.”

Joan Miró "Man and Woman in Front of a Pile of Excrement"

1935, copper, oil, 23×32 cm

Joan Miró Foundation, Spain

Good name. And who would have thought that this picture tells us about the horrors of civil wars.
The painting was made on copper sheet during the week between October 15 and October 22, 1935. According to Miro, this is the result of an attempt to depict a tragedy Civil War in Spain. Miro said that this is a picture about a period of anxiety. The painting shows a man and a woman reaching out to embrace each other, but not moving. The enlarged genitals and sinister colors were described as "full of disgust and disgusting sexuality."

Jacek Yerka “Erosion”

The Polish neo-surrealist is known throughout the world for his amazing paintings in which realities combine to create new ones. It is difficult to consider his extremely detailed and, to some extent, touching works one at a time, but this is the format of our material, and we had to choose one to illustrate his imagination and skill. We recommend that you read it.

Bill Stoneham "Hands Resist Him"

This work, of course, cannot be ranked among the masterpieces of world painting, but the fact that it is strange is a fact.
There are legends surrounding the painting with a boy, a doll and his hands pressed against the glass. From “people are dying because of this picture” to “the children in it are alive.” The picture looks really creepy, which gives rise to a lot of fears and speculation among people with weak psyches.
The artist insisted that the painting depicted himself at the age of five, that the door represented the dividing line between the real world and the world of dreams, and the doll was a guide who could guide the boy through this world. The hands represent alternative lives or possibilities.
The painting gained notoriety in February 2000 when it was listed for sale on eBay with a backstory saying that the painting was “haunted.” “Hands Resist Him” was bought for $1,025 by Kim Smith, who was then simply inundated with letters with creepy stories and demands to burn the painting.

There are works of art that seem to hit the viewer over the head, stunning and amazing. Others draw you into thought and a search for layers of meaning and secret symbolism. Some paintings are shrouded in secrets and mystical mysteries, while others surprise with exorbitant prices.

We carefully reviewed all the main achievements in world painting and selected from them two dozen of the most strange paintings. Salvador Dali, whose works completely fall within the format of this material and are the first to come to mind, were not included in this collection on purpose.

It is clear that “strangeness” is a rather subjective concept and everyone has their own amazing paintings that stand out from other works of art. We will be glad if you share them in the comments and tell us a little about them.

"Scream"

Edvard Munch. 1893, cardboard, oil, tempera, pastel.
National Gallery, Oslo.

The Scream is considered a landmark expressionist event and one of the most famous paintings in the world.

There are two interpretations of what is depicted: it is the hero himself who is gripped by horror and silently screams, pressing his hands to his ears; or the hero closes his ears from the cry of the world and nature sounding around him. Munch wrote four versions of “The Scream,” and there is a version that this painting is the fruit of manic-depressive psychosis from which the artist suffered. After a course of treatment at the clinic, Munch did not return to work on the canvas.

“I was walking along the path with two friends. The sun was setting - suddenly the sky turned blood red, I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned against the fence - I looked at the blood and flames over the bluish-black fjord and city. My friends moved on, and I stood, trembling with excitement, feeling an endless scream piercing nature,” Edvard Munch said about the history of the creation of the painting.

“Where did we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?"

Paul Gauguin. 1897-1898, oil on canvas.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

According to Gauguin himself, the painting should be read from right to left - three main groups of figures illustrate the questions posed in the title.

Three women with a child represent the beginning of life; the middle group symbolizes the daily existence of maturity; in the final group, according to the artist’s plan, “the old woman, approaching death, seems reconciled and given over to her thoughts,” at her feet “a strange white bird ... represents the uselessness of words.”

The deeply philosophical painting of the post-impressionist Paul Gauguin was painted by him in Tahiti, where he fled from Paris. Upon completion of the work, he even wanted to commit suicide: “I believe that this painting is superior to all my previous ones and that I will never create something better or even similar.” He lived another five years, and so it happened.

"Guernica"

Pablo Picasso. 1937, oil on canvas.
Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid.

Guernica presents scenes of death, violence, brutality, suffering and helplessness, without specifying their immediate causes, but they are obvious. It is said that in 1940, Pablo Picasso was summoned to the Gestapo in Paris. The conversation immediately turned to the painting. “Did you do this?” - “No, you did it.”

The huge fresco painting “Guernica,” painted by Picasso in 1937, tells the story of a raid by a Luftwaffe volunteer unit on the city of Guernica, as a result of which the city of six thousand was completely destroyed. The painting was painted literally in a month - the first days of work on the painting, Picasso worked for 10-12 hours, and already in the first sketches one could see the main idea. This is one of the best illustrations of the nightmare of fascism, as well as human cruelty and grief.

"Portrait of the Arnolfini couple"

Jan van Eyck. 1434, wood, oil.
London National Gallery, London.

The famous painting is completely filled with symbols, allegories and various references - right down to the signature “Jan van Eyck was here”, which turned the painting not just into a work of art, but into a historical document confirming the reality of the event at which the artist was present.

The portrait, supposedly of Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife, is one of the most complex works of the Western school of Northern Renaissance painting.

In Russia, over the past few years, the painting has gained great popularity due to Arnolfini’s portrait resemblance to Vladimir Putin.

"Demon Seated"

Mikhail Vrubel. 1890, oil on canvas.
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.

"The hands resist him"

Bill Stoneham. 1972.

This work, of course, cannot be ranked among the masterpieces of world painting, but the fact that it is strange is a fact.

There are legends surrounding the painting with a boy, a doll and his hands pressed against the glass. From “people are dying because of this picture” to “the children in it are alive.” The picture looks really creepy, which gives rise to a lot of fears and speculation among people with weak psyches.

The artist insisted that the painting depicted himself at the age of five, that the door represented the dividing line between the real world and the world of dreams, and the doll was a guide who could guide the boy through this world. The hands represent alternative lives or possibilities.

The painting gained notoriety in February 2000 when it was put up for sale on eBay with a backstory saying that the painting was “haunted.” “Hands Resist Him” was bought for $1,025 by Kim Smith, who was then simply inundated with letters with creepy stories and demands to burn the painting.

Not all artists prefer to depict portraits and landscapes. Some people want to convey in their images a certain mystery, mysticism, and a sense of fear. For example, the most terrible picture in the world, which brings endless horror to all Internet users, was photographed from famous painting entitled “Hands Resist Him.” This truly creepy painting created such a stir around itself that many were afraid to even look at it through the monitor screen, thinking that it was cursed. They say that the artist poured all his dark sides souls and the most terrible nightmares. However, more details about everything in our interesting article.

"The hands resist him." Fiction or real curse?

This creepy painting was painted in 1972 by the famous It depicts a girl resembling a doll and a boy, approximately 5 years old. Children stand against the background of a glass door on which one can see great amount small palms.

The most terrible picture in the world was copied from a childhood photograph of the artist. Stoneham portrayed himself at age 5 and a little neighbor girl.

What did the artist want to say?

According to Stoneham, a door means nothing more than a wall between the world of the living and parallel world dreams The boy on the canvas is depicted as angry and dissatisfied. And this is no wonder, because he really wants to open the door and see what is outside. real world. But the children's hands resist this, blocking the boy's path. Doll, standing nearby, emotionless and empty. She sees and hears nothing, but is the only one who in this case can help a boy enter the world of dreams.

Which creepy stories related to the picture?

The first owner of “Hands Resist Him” was the famous American actor John Marley. After some time, the man died. No one still knows whether the ill-fated painting is really to blame for his death. The same thing happened with other owners of the mystical canvas. The young family who once owned this terrible picture told about the terrible things that happened in their house. They found the canvas in a landfill along with another pile. Delighted, the head of the family took it into the house and placed it in the most visible place. At night, their little daughter burst into her parents’ bedroom screaming that some children were quarreling in her room. The next day, the girl again reported that the image in the painting had changed somewhat - the children were outside the glass door. After this, the father decided to get rid of the “cursed” creation.

In 2000, an image of the canvas appeared on an online auction. Administrators warned Internet users that this was the most terrible picture in the world, because it was photographed from an analogue of the cursed canvas “Hands Resist Him,” which has already brought grief to many people. However, many looked closely at the image, showing their immense curiosity. And after some time, letters began to arrive at the administrator’s email address, indicating that after viewing the “ill-fated” image, many began to feel dizzy.

Despite the terrible letters, the most scary picture it was sold after all. Its owner was a brave art gallery owner named Kim Smith. After some time, letters also began to arrive at his address, saying that this was the most terrible picture. Smith was even offered the services of famous psychics who promised to exorcise demons from this terrible canvas. To date, the fate of the painting is unknown.

"Crying Boy"

The painting “The Crying Boy” was painted by Giovanni Bragolina. Many people viewing the image on the Internet claim that it is the scariest picture of the planet they have ever seen.

There are several versions of this painting. The first says that the artist had a little son, 4 years old. The boy was very afraid of fire and everything connected with it. Rumor has it that Giovanni deliberately lit a match and brought it to the baby’s face in order to more believably capture all his anger and fear. Rumor has it that because of this, the baby hated his cruel father so much that he wished with all his heart that he would burn. After some time, the boy died of pneumonia, and later a fire suddenly broke out in his father’s workshop. The fire burned everything in its path. Only the canvas remained untouched. It is no wonder that “The Crying Boy” is the most terrible picture in the world, the sight of which makes many people’s hearts tremble.

Later, an unexpected series of fires occurred throughout England, in which people died. No matter how strange it may sound, in all the rooms there were works by Giovanni, which remained absolutely untouched. People decided that the ghost of the offended boy, who had moved into the canvas, decided to take revenge on the whole world. It is known that the most terrible picture in the world still haunts the subconscious of many. The fear that is reflected in the eyes of a small, innocent boy will never be forgotten. The original "Crying Boy" has never been found.

"Red Dragon" by William Blake

One of the most controversial artists and poets painted this painting, receiving inspiration from the Book of Revelations. In the painting, William depicted the devil himself, who appeared to him in his dreams.

The author managed to portray the king of darkness quite believably. Many at that time did not even have any doubts about the fact that the artist could really meet with the devil himself in his dreams.

"The Scream" by Edvard Munch

As I wrote in my personal diary an artist himself, he depicted in his painting those feelings that he once experienced. "Scream" is undoubtedly on the list of "Scariest Pictures." Art Gallery, which houses this eerie painting within its walls, is located in the city of Oslo (Norway) and is called the National Gallery.

Many scientists are of the opinion that Munch was a mentally unbalanced person, because only a person with serious illnesses nervous system. The author created paintings of the same theme, which, as he himself claimed, tormented him for many years.

Many believe that the scariest picture in the world is the prototype of “Scream”. Few people know that the original of this famous painting caused many deaths. The owners of this creepy painting allegedly carried serious illnesses or became victims of terrible disasters.

"Venus with a Mirror" Diego Velasquez

There are other most terrible paintings and pictures, for example “Venus with a Mirror”, written by the artist Diego Velazquez.

This seemingly unremarkable painting has already brought a lot of grief to its owners.

Rumor has it that the one who purchased damn picture, quickly went bankrupt and died from That is why “Venus with a Mirror” for a long time I couldn't find a permanent owner. In 1914, the most terrible painting was destroyed, it was cut with a knife by an unknown woman.

"Saturn Devouring His Son" by Francisco Goya

He depicted in his painting a mythical character named Kronos, who was afraid that he would be overthrown by his own son, and in despair devoured the flesh of his children.

"Nightmare" by Henry Fuselli

"Nightmare" is the work of the famous English artist Henry Fuselli. The author's work leaned more towards mysticism and secrets. He drew his plots from mythology and literature (most often the master depicted the works of Shakespeare).

In Nightmare, Fuselli depicted a lying unconscious woman with an incubus (a demon indulging in sexual pleasures with lonely women) sitting on her chest. Her figure is curved and elongated. Between the curtains you can see the head of an eyeless horse, which personifies a contented demon.

Paintings by Zdzislaw Beksinski

The Polish artist most often depicted dying and deformed people, wars, collapsing worlds, apocalypses and eternal grief in his paintings.

Rumor has it that the artist depicted his death on the last canvas. The painting showed the body of a stabbed man. Such a terrible fate befell the artist. He was killed by the commandant's son because Zdislav refused to lend him money.

Theodore Gericault and his "Severed Heads"

For his works, the artist used real human limbs, which he found in morgues. Therefore, it is not in vain that, after looking at the image, many claim that this is the most terrible picture in the world.

Conclusion

The painting, like a sponge, absorbs all the positive and negative emotions artist. The fear, anger, negativity experienced - all this is certainly reflected on the canvas. This happened in the case of all the paintings listed in our article. Looking at them, we understand what a difficult fate haunted each artist.

As a rule, if we imagine pictures, then wonderful landscapes and portraits full of grandeur appear in our minds. However, fine art is multifaceted. Surely you will not have the desire to see such dark masterpieces in the living room of your home, like these terrible paintings, which we will talk about below, but they certainly deserve your attention. So, we present to your attention a list with photographs of the ten most terrible paintings in the world. We also recommend that you read the rating of the most famous artists in the world.

The Great Red Dragon and the Beast from the Sea

Artist : William Blake

These days, William Blake is a well-known figure in the visual arts for his engravings and romantic poetry. However, during his lifetime, the artist’s talent was never appreciated. His works are considered classics of the romantic style.

Blake wrote many watercolor paintings depicting the great red dragon from the Book of Revelation. This painting depicts a large red dragon, the personification of the devil, standing over a seven-headed sea monster.

Francis Bacon was one of the most important artists of the 20th century. His paintings have always amazed us with their coldness and boldness. Throughout his life, he kept returning to the portrait of Pope Innocent X, making different interpretations of this painting.

For example, Velazquez's work depicts the Pope in a detached state, while Bacon's depicts him screaming.

Dante's Inferno, with its depictions of torture, has inspired many artists since its publication. William-Adolphe Bouguereau was one of the most famous artists of that time, which could depict a classical scene very realistically. In this picture he moves from classical calm to the circles of hell, where the main characters of the picture constantly fight, stealing from each other with the help of a bite.

Artist : Edvard Munch

Edvard Munch is Norway's most famous artist. His painting “The Scream” is firmly entrenched in people’s minds. Write an artist this picture inspired by Jean-Paul Marat - one of the leaders French Revolution. Suffering from a skin disease, Marat spent most of his time in the bathroom, where he worked on his notes. And in it he was killed by Charlotte Corday. The moment of Marat's death was depicted several times, but Munch's painting is especially cruel.

Severed heads

The artist’s most popular work was the painting “The Raft of Medusa,” a huge canvas painted in romantic style. Géricault set himself the task of breaking the boundaries of classicism by moving to romanticism. These paintings marked the beginning of his work. For his works, he used real limbs and heads of people that he found in morgues and laboratories, but many recognized artists studied the dead with one single goal: to better depict the living.

Matthias Grunewald, portrayed religious subjects Middle Ages. According to the stories, Saint Anthony faced a test of his faith while praying in the desert. According to legend, the Saint was killed by demons living in a cave. Then he resurrected and destroyed them. This painting depicts Saint Anthony being attacked by demons.

Still life of masks

Emil Nolde was one of the early expressionist artists, although he was much less famous than other representatives visual arts. The essence of expressionism is the depiction of reality from a subjective point of view.

Nolde painted this painting after studying masks in Berlin Museum.

In Roman myths, usually based on Greek mythology, the father of the gods devoured his children in order to protect himself from the possibility of being overthrown from his rightful place. Goya depicted such deprivation of life on canvas. The artist who created this painting did not set himself the task of gaining popularity among the public, since it was painted on one of the walls in the house of Francisco Goya, along with the same gloomy “black” paintings.

This painting is a visual representation of the story described in the Book of Judith (young water). According to legend, Holofernes was the commander of Nebuchadnezzar's army, which invaded the territory of Judea. The Babylonians besieged the city of Bethulia, in which lived the modest and in all respects just young widow Judith. The townspeople no longer hoped for salvation, but Judith came up with a definite plan to save the city. Having dressed her camp in the most beautiful clothes and taking a maid with her, she went to the side of the enemy and earned the trust of the commander Holofernes. When one evening he fell asleep drunk, Judith cut off his head and returned to hometown. The expression of unshakable determination on the maid's face is balanced by the unreadable gaze of Judith and the cry of horror of Holofernes himself.

Artist : Hieronymus Bosch

For many art lovers, Bosch is a master of the brush, specializing in depicting religious and fantastical themes. The work “The Garden of Earthly Delights” seems to reunite into one whole: the Garden of Eden, the Garden of Earthly Delights and punishment for mortal sins. However, the real genius of this artist showed itself in displaying witty details. Bosch's creations are recognized as one of the most terrible and at the same time enchanting in their beauty in Western art.