
One of the instructors, sympathetic to his situation and believing he had some talent, suggested that he apply to the academy's School of Architecture. The institute considered that he had more talent in architecture than in painting. It was noted that Hitler's works contained too few heads. The second portion was to provide a previously prepared portfolio for the examiners. In his first examination, he had passed the preliminary portion which was to draw two of the assigned iconic or Biblical scenes, in two sessions of three hours each. Hitler was rejected twice by the institute, once in 1907 and again in 1908. In his 1925 autobiography Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler described how, in his youth, he wanted to become a professional artist, but his dreams were ruined because he failed the entrance exam of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.

The two show similar subject matter and use of color. He called Rudolf von Alt his greatest teacher. He liked the technical ability of these artists, as well as the comprehensible symbolism. He claimed to be the founder of many artistic movements but drew primarily from Greco Roman classicism, the Italian Renaissance, and Neoclassicism. Instead of progressing, his works copied from nineteenth century and other artists. Hitler's style was very stilted when representing architecture in his paintings. General opinion of his works is overwhelmingly negative they have been described as cold and unfeeling, with many arguing that Hitler had some talent as an architect, but was lacking when describing natural elements such as trees or people.

Others were seized by the United States Army and are still held by its government. A number of his paintings were recovered after the Second World War and have been sold at auction for tens of thousands of dollars. He produced hundreds of works when he tried to sell his paintings and postcards to earn a living during his Vienna years (1908–1913), but had little commercial success. Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until his suicide in 1945, was also a painter.
