Art That Was Never Finished

Artists have abandoned artworks for many reasons throughout history. Guest host John Green shares some of his favorite unfinished artworks and explains why they resonate with him so deeply. Featuring work by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Edgar Degas, Alice Neel, Kerry James Marshall, and very many presidential portraits.

Thanks to our Grandmasters of the Arts Divide By Zero Collection and David Golden, and to all of our patrons, especially Anthony Chivetta, Rich Clarey, Iain Eudailey, Tom Forwood, Patrick Hanna, Andrew Huynh, Eve Leonard, Audrey Mak Tung, David Moore, Jane Quale, Gabriel Civita Ramirez, Andrew Sheeler, Boris Silantiev, Josh Thomas, Constance Urist, and Roberta Zaphiriou.

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[SalamanderMagic]

Their unfinished art: heart wrenching reminder of mortality, the subject literally died
My unfinished art: I gave up when I got to the hands

[savecharlie]

"Art is never finished, only abandoned." - Leonardo da Vinci

[anuel]

why did this video not end abruptly that would've been great

[steepertree]

"Everyone leaves unfinished business. That's what dying is." Amos Burton, The Expanse

[TheCanvasArtHistory]

I love the originality of this video's topic (and I also love John's refreshing humour). Unfinished paintings are indeed humanizing. I feel like it's easy to deify artists when you're not an artist yourself. I look at, for example, the Sistine Chapel ceiling and I really feel like Michelangelo isn't human; he's more of an idea, or the force behind the artwork. Unfinished artworks are really humanizing; making idealized artists human.
Also, it's exciting to see a Kerry James Marshal painting show up! I published my own video on Marshall just before yesterday! What an amazing artist!

[MukMn]

Unfinished art seems to reflect reality in that we as humans are never finished... aging, learning, evolving... to the moment we die and the picture of who or what we are at our moment of death could be seen as unfinished

[Bee-nwdf]

There’s something delightfully petty & relatable about the British refusing to pose for a portrait memorializing their defeat u_u

[KunoichiNrd]

My aunt was an artist, and one of my favorite portraits she did was the one she was working on when she passed away. She loved painting children, especially children from the school/care facility where she taught. Her last painting was going to be a close-up of a girl playing with something, but all that was done was a rough outline of the face and hands with the beginnings of the background colors mixed in. Many of my aunt's students had serious disabilities and often did not live into their adulthood. It's a beautiful and sobering piece of art, and it reminds me that in my aunt's passing, she was reunited with several of her students she had to see die before her.

[blockyblender]

Presidents: Hey, paint me
Artists: Hold my paper

[rawjawbone]

I think this was mentioned before, but Keith Haring's last piece, the one he intentionally left unfinished to symbolize the destructiveness of the disease that was killing him, felt so much more powerful a statement.

[lorenabpv]

you know, i really appreciate John's approach to stuff he finds interesting. i know it's like his "thing", so not surprising, but still, i like how he seems to find something to pay longer attention to and look a bit deeper. i like to think that, through the years, it has inspired me to look deeper at things that catch my attention, however fleeting they are at the moment. on another note, this episode was hilarious and i love it :)

[dadisproud]

How to be a president 101.

1.hold a paper

[JK-bhxk]

I've got an unfinished painting of a portrait of my grandma when she was young. It bothers me every time I look at it; as if I've abandoned her. Now I don't feel so bad.

[catherinepapafilippou]

I love how beautifully explored the notion of unfinished is in this video. Honestly, my way of looking at the art and the world has shifted drastically, ever since i discovered this channel. I feel like I've learned to look at art not just as a raw idea in and of itself, but as if I'm questioning and interpreting the world through the lens of beauty.

[Swanky]

There is so much charm to unfinished pieces, I almost like them better sometimes

[muraduki]

This video actually healed me from me being hard at myself as an artist in doing so I have let go my guilt. This content does a lot, thanks.

[DoloresJNurss]

I'll just bet that Michaelangelo marked "The Pieta" as "unfinished" as a testament of faith, that the life of Christ didn't end with His death. Very clever of him!

[patrickburell]

John Green talking about art is always refreshing.

[kenster]

This made me think of La Sagrada Familia - under construction, perennially.

[cassandralyris]

I legitimately want some of these as prints. There's something about them.