53 disappointing photos that testify what famous fine art is really like

Starry Night Van Gogh

It can be difficult to encounter the painting when so many phones are blocking the view.
Phil Roeder/Flickr/Attribution License
  • From iconic paintings in the Louvre to fan-favorite sculptures in New York Urban center, notable artwork can be found all beyond the world.
  • Merely while famous art frequently looks stunning in photographs, information technology doesn't always expect the same in real life.
  • We've rounded upwardly 53 disappointing photos that bear witness what famous artwork actually looks like.
  • The photos reveal everything from large museum crowds to smaller-than-expected paintings and weather-affected fine art.
  • Visit INSIDER's homepage for more than stories.

Over the years, paintings such equally "Mona Lisa" and "The Scream" have become iconic pieces of history. Similarly, creative landmarks like Chicago's Cloud Gate — amend known as the Bean — have become pop-civilisation staples. Just the images we constantly see of these famous artworks don't ever stand for reality.

Photos of famous paintings rarely show the massive crowds that line upwards to see them. And photographs of outdoor sculptures don't oftentimes bear witness what it's like to visit in poor weather conditions.

Below, nosotros've rounded up 53 photos that prove the disappointing reality of what famous art really looks like.

The Little Mermaid is a staple landmark in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Many artists take taken inspiration from The Niggling Mermaid.
Jeremy A.A. Knight/Flickr/Attribution License

The bronze statue was created by Edvard Eriksen and has been a favorite attraction among tourists since it was first displayed in 1913.

It can also be pretty difficult to go close to the art.

Visitors usually stand correct next to the statue to take photos with it.
John Robinson/Flickr/Attribution License

Considering that The Little Mermaid is ane of the nigh pop tourist attractions in Copenhagen, Denmark, information technology'south almost e'er blocked by large crowds.

Manneken Pis is a humorous landmark found in Brussels.

The statue, which is a copy of the original art, spouts water.
Jose Antonio Navas/Flickr/Attribution License

The bronze sculpture, which was made by Jerôme Duquesnoy and installed in 1619, is meant to await similar a urinating kid.

The original statue is currently stored in the Museum of the Urban center of Brussels, but tourists can even so visit a copy of the landmark, which has been around since 1965.

But if you're hoping to go a close-upwardly selfie with the figure, you might accept to rethink your photo.

The fence is likely in identify to protect the statue from vandalism.
Mike Kemp/Getty Images

In that location's a gate separating travelers from Manneken Pis.

That's not to mention that the statue is always surrounded by people taking selfies.

You'll have to wait for others to take their photos before you lot can become one.
NurPhoto/Getty Images

Even then, Mannekin Pis' background isn't always picture perfect. When structure is taking identify, large sheets are used to cover the majority of its surrounding stone walls.

But photos of the portrait can be pretty misleading, then you might be surprised by its actual size.

"Mona Lisa" is the unmarried painting hanging on the far wall.
Chris Waits/Flickr/Attribution License

Measuring 30 inches tall and 21 inches wide, "Mona Lisa" is surprisingly modest compared to other paintings, especially those that are hung in the same room at the Louvre.

And in that location are always tons of people crowded effectually the portrait.

Most people who visit the Louvre are eager to get a glimpse of the painting.
Jose Luis Hidalgo R./Flickr/Attribution License

Not only will you have to battle a crowd of eager museumgoers to see the "Mona Lisa," but you'll also have to view the roped-off portrait from far abroad.

Vincent van Gogh created the whimsical "Starry Night" in 1889.

A couple hugged as they view the romantic painting.
Victor Fraile Rodriguez/Getty Images

The painting has been kept in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City since 1941.

In reality, the room that houses "The Starry Night" is always extremely crowded.

It can be difficult to see the painting when and so many phones are blocking the view.
Phil Roeder/Flickr/Attribution License

The painting has become a popular Instagram photo op, so you'll often find tons of people crowding it.

So you might be surprised to learn that the mountain is really just a small, spray-painted hill in the desert.

To keep up with the harsh desert environment, the mountain is constantly refurbished.
Chris M. Morris/Flickr/Attribution License

The artwork measures but 150 feet broad and 50 feet alpine.

As with about famous art, Aphrodite of Milos constantly draws a crowd.

A group admiring the Aphrodite of Milos statue at the Louvre.
NurPhoto/Getty Images

The marble statue has less security than other famous pieces, so y'all tin get pretty close to information technology.

The Bang-up Sphinx of Giza is a favorite destination amongst travelers.

The Dandy Sphinx of Giza is known as the oldest monument in Egypt.
Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters

In the evening, the monumental sculpture is illuminated by the sunset, making for a stunning view.

But in the daytime, the monument blends in with the vast surrounding desert.

Khafre's pyramid sits backside the Sphinx.
Lyn Gateley/Flickr/Attribution License

From up close, the Neat Sphinx of Giza looks massive. But when viewed next to large pyramids in the eye of a arid desert, the monument appears to be much smaller.

Regardless, thousands of people flock to the monument every solar day.

One ticket allows you to see the Great Sphinx of Giza and Khafre's pyramid.
Lyn Gateley/Flickr/Attribution License

If yous're not a fan of crowds, you might want to rethink a trip to the landmark.

Candy Chang'due south interactive art showroom "Earlier I Die" took on a life of its own afterward its initial installation.

It only took one day for locals to beginning writing on the wall.
Kevan/Flickr/Attribution License

Candy Chang created "Earlier I Die" subsequently a loved i died. She covered an outside wall of an abased house in New Orleans with chalkboard paint and used a stencil to make spaces for passerby to write their goals.

The original wall was somewhen taken downward, but replicas began popping up in other cities.

Heartwarming letters cover "Before I Die" walls in tons of cities.
Tony Webster/Flickr/Attribution License

The art installation is at present global, with walls all over the world meant to inspire others to "contemplate bloodshed and share their personal aspirations in public," according to the "Before I Die" website.

Only depending on when you visit your local wall, there might not be much infinite left to write.

Withal, the art is meant to be temporary, and so y'all're allowed to erase.
Roman Boed/Flickr/Attribution License

Some people choose to write over existing goals, while others cull to putter and cover the wall in graffiti.

The Deject Gate sculpture, which was inspired by liquid mercury, sits in the middle of Chicago's Millennium Park.

Cloud Gate was constructed between 2003 and 2004.
Lara Farhadi/Flickr/Attribution License

The art piece was designed by Anish Kapoor and is oft referred to as the Bean.

But the site is always surrounded past tourists.

Some people take photos in front of the art, while others take photos of their reflections.
Kenneth Lu/Getty Images

If you take a photo of yourself in front of the Bean, yous can wait to meet tons of other vacationers in the reflection of its shiny surface.

And if you lot visit Cloud Gate in the winter, you might non be able to meet your reflection at all.

Some tourists didn't seem to mind the snow.
Francisco Antunes/Getty Images

Chicago is known to feel harsh atmospheric condition in its winter months, and the Bean oftentimes gets covered in snow.

Artist Sandro Botticelli created "The Birth of Venus" in the mid-1480s.

Visitors flock to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, every year to view the painting.
Andrés Gómez García/Flickr/Attribution License

The image was inspired by the goddess Venus, who is depicted emerging from the sea upon her birth.

In person, the painting is usually surrounded by large crowds.

If you're not a fan of crowds, you might want to avoid this gallery.
moving-picture show alliance/Getty Images

But because the painting is pretty large, you should exist able to encounter at least some of it from a distance.

Many people dream of visiting S Dakota to run across Mount Rushmore.

Sculptor Gutzon Borglum created the monument with the help of his son, Lincoln Borglum.
J. Pat Hodges/Shutterstock

The memorial, which depicts onetime Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln, was carved into the granite confront of the mountain.

"Season's Greetings," a mural painted past Banksy, depicts a young boy seemingly playing in falling snow. The other side of the wall reveals that he'due south actually animate in ashes from a dumpster fire.

The fine art looks completely dissimilar depending on the angle from which y'all wait at it.
Matt Cardy/Stringer/Getty Images

The landscape appeared unexpectedly on a garage wall in Port Talbot, Wales, and Banksy confirmed it was his work on December nineteen, 2018.

Visitors have to take photos of the mural through a wire fence.

Most visitors don't seem to mind the fencing.
Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Ian Lewis, the owner of the garage where the landscape was painted, wasn't prepared for the onslaught of art lovers who take since visited his property. He likewise wasn't prepared for the vandalism attempts that ensued.

Every bit a issue, he put up fencing effectually the painting, and security remained on watch 24/7. Simply past the start of the new year, protective measures were no longer needed.

In January 2019, Banksy collector John Brandler told the BBC that he purchased "Seasons Greetings" for more than £100,000 ($129,000). Lewis received higher offers for the artwork, according to Brandler, but turned them downward in guild to keep the mural in Port Talbot.

So you might be disappointed to find out that non every version of the painting is so colorful.

Munch created unlike versions, including lithographs.
picture alliance/Getty Images

As it turns out, Munch created four versions of the painting, all of which are currently on display at different museums. He also created up to 45 different lithographs of the design.

Each version of "The Scream" is like, simply some lack the vibrancy of the most well-known version.

While some appreciate the slice'due south history, others might exist disappointed by the differences.
Oli Scarff/Getty Images

Some versions' colors are more than washed out.

One of Munch's final versions of "The Scream" is missing key parts of the before versions.

Most 20 years afterward creating the original painting, Munch recreated his work in 1910.
Chesnot/Getty Images

The bailiwick's eyeballs are missing in the 1910 version, and far fewer colors are used throughout.

Many travelers visit the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Kingdom of spain to run into the bronze spider sculpture that sits outside.

Artist Louise Conservative used spiders as a symbol of motherhood throughout her career.
Tim Adams/Flickr/Attribution License

Louise Bourgeois created the sculpture, chosen Maman, every bit a tribute to her mother.

Upwards close, the sculpture's environs aren't all that inspiring.

The spot is always crowded by visitors who are eager to snap a photo with the sculpture.
Tim Graham/Getty Images

A pool of murky green water surrounds the museum and sculpture, making for a less-than-perfect photo op.

Tourists dearest to visit New York Metropolis's Financial District to encounter the Charging Bull sculpture.

The statue is a form of guerrilla art and was created without being commissioned.
Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

Artist Arturo Di Modica installed the sculpture without permission in 1989.

Merely thousands of people visit the spot every solar day.

Yous'll have to expect your plow to become a photo with the artwork.
Hugo Cadavez/Flickr/Attribution License

Charging Bull was relocated subsequently its initial installation, and the new spot is relatively small in relation to the mass corporeality of tourists information technology attracts.

And because New York is prone to snowfall in the winter, the balderdash isn't always statuary.

Even in March, when this photograph was taken, the city was still battling inclement weather.
Richard Drew/AP

Though the statue is usually still visible in the snow, visitors might be disappointed by the change.

Even with the help of a selfie stick, you might take trouble getting a photo with the art.

One visitor attempted to take a photo with the statue while in the snow.
Brazil Photo Printing/Getty Images

Many locals and visitors are eager to snap photos with the bull.

Pablo Picasso painted "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" in 1907.

The paradigm is a permanent slice in New York Metropolis'south Museum of Modern Art collection.
Allie_Caulfield/Flickr/Attribution License

Though the painting originally received harsh criticism for its sexual theme, "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" is at present considered a famous piece of work. Information technology's even sometimes deemed the beginning of modernism.

In person, large museum crowds tin can make information technology difficult to appreciate the painting.

A group of museum goers relax in forepart of "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon."
Santi Visalli/Getty Images

While benches placed in the room requite visitors an opportunity to sit down with the painting, the view is oft blocked by people taking photos.

Spoonbridge and Cherry is a quirky touch to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.

It remains the centerpiece of the garden.
Justin Ladia/Flickr/Attribution License

The sculpture was installed by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen in 1988 and has remained a favorite among visitors e'er since.

Just in the winter, the sculpture seems out of place.

The ideal times to visit this slice are in the leap and summer.
Jim Winstead/Flickr/Attribution License

The common cold snow contrasts strangely with the sculpture, which spouts water from the reddish'due south stem on warmer days.

Just like many sculptures installed in cold climates, yous might find it covered in snowfall.

Travelers would likely be disappointed to discover the sculpture in this state.
Vincent Desjardins/Flickr/Attribution License

During bad storms, Ballon Flower becomes barely visible.

The Louvre is stunning to look at from the outside.

The museum is located in Paris.
edwin.11/Flickr/Attribution License

Fifty-fifty if yous don't go within to view the artwork, the museum'southward structure is worth a visit in and of itself.

Nevertheless, many visitors of the Louvre have a tough time seeing the painting upwards close.

Groups of people stand in front of the painting using their phones to take photos of it.
brownpau/Flickr/Attribution License

"Liberty Leading the People" draws large crowds, making information technology difficult for travelers to admire the iconic piece of work.

Some people believe "Salvator Mundi" was painted by Leonardo da Vinci around the 1500s — only not everyone agrees.

People view the "Salvator Mundi" painting.
Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

Christie's, an art sale firm, saysthe painting was created past Leonardo da Vinci around the 1500s for Rex Louis XII of France and his consort, Anne of Brittany. Withal, non everyone agrees.

Artnet, which cited a new book from fine art critic Ben Lewis titled"The Last Leonardo," said the painting was "more than than likely painted by Leonardo's studio, so perchance touched upwards by the chief before information technology was brought to market place."

Regardless of when and by whom it was created, the painting is still highly regarded. It'south been sold to various owners, showcased in museums, and gone missing on multiple occasions.

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