Unfinished artwork has often been viewed critically by both the artist themselves and viewers throughout history, with the very definition of unfinished denoting a lack/deficiency, thus rendering artworks imperfect if they are not completed to certain standards. However, is it fair to categorise unfinished artwork as lesser, or should we revere unfinished works with the same esteem as finished pieces? What is it that gives unfinished artworks beauty and significance? Undoubtedly, these unfinished works, whether incomplete incidentally or by design, are profuse with visual interest, historical revelations and meaning and are therefore just as significant, if not more so, than finished masterpieces.

 

Firstly, unfinished artworks may be greatly significant in that they reveal the artist’s techniques, providing insight into their ways of thinking and artistic process. Curator Kelly Baum comments, ‘an unfinished picture is almost like an X-ray, which allows you to see beyond the surface of the painting to what lies behind’ and ‘gives profound insight into the creative process’. This is certainly evident in traditional artwork where the underpainting becomes visible, such as Michelangelo’s ‘Manchester Madonna’ in which we can see how he built up each figure one by one using a green pigment (terra verde) as his base flesh tone. Similarly, in Perino de Vaga’s ‘Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist’ we see a contrast between some figures painted to completion and others left as a faint initial drawing, leaving a blank ochre space indicative of an almost ghostly existence. This destroys assumptions of the whole painting being worked up to the same level simultaneously, revealing a method of working which would otherwise be unknown to us if the paintings were complete.

 

Unfinished works such as these were therefore useful teaching tools, securing their significance as examples of technique. Preparatory sketches too, unfinished works in themselves, are important for both the artist’s own reference when creating final pieces, and they reveal to us the initial groundwork of the creative stages. Therefore, the state of unfinishedness becomes essential to understanding the creative process, as art historians can discover the techniques, colour palettes and preparations that are normally disguised or effaced beneath a pristine finished painting. Unfinished works are valuable in a way that finished artworks can never be, for they are a visual journey not only a final outcome; they reveal the invisible.