London:
The rejected artworks of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, which were said to have fuelled his rage, got the brush-off from British art experts as mere "mediocre", nearly 65 years after his death.
The portfolio of work which Hitler put together as a 19-year-old student in a failed bid to join the Vienna Academy of Art was dismissed as "moderate GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) standard", the 'Daily Express' reported.
And one expert hinted that anger at being rejected back in 1908 could have shaped the young Hitler's character into becoming the Nazi dictator who slaughtered millions of Jews and sparked the Second World War.
After studying the paintings, including nudes and landscapes, Michael Liversidge, Emeritus Dean of Arts at Bristol University, said: "There's no latent genius here and not much beyond a moderate GCSE.
"Probably if the artist was at school today you would not encourage him to keep the subject up at A level. They just don't suggest he was more than pretty marginal and mediocre for a potential art school entrant then or now."
Richard Westwood-Brookes, who is selling the archive at auction in Shropshire next month, said: "We know Hitler was twice turned down by the Vienna Academy of Art. These works make up a collection that he would have submitted.
"It is possible that Hitler's rejection was something that helped turn him into the monster he became. But it's the first time the pictures have come to light and can be seen by the general public."
The portfolio of work which Hitler put together as a 19-year-old student in a failed bid to join the Vienna Academy of Art was dismissed as "moderate GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) standard", the 'Daily Express' reported.
And one expert hinted that anger at being rejected back in 1908 could have shaped the young Hitler's character into becoming the Nazi dictator who slaughtered millions of Jews and sparked the Second World War.
After studying the paintings, including nudes and landscapes, Michael Liversidge, Emeritus Dean of Arts at Bristol University, said: "There's no latent genius here and not much beyond a moderate GCSE.
"Probably if the artist was at school today you would not encourage him to keep the subject up at A level. They just don't suggest he was more than pretty marginal and mediocre for a potential art school entrant then or now."
Richard Westwood-Brookes, who is selling the archive at auction in Shropshire next month, said: "We know Hitler was twice turned down by the Vienna Academy of Art. These works make up a collection that he would have submitted.
"It is possible that Hitler's rejection was something that helped turn him into the monster he became. But it's the first time the pictures have come to light and can be seen by the general public."
