diff --git a/NEWS.md b/NEWS.md
index 7bcc32375c..3957042f3b 100644
--- a/NEWS.md
+++ b/NEWS.md
@@ -314,6 +314,8 @@
   (@teunbrand, #4335).
 * `ggsave()` can write a multi-page pdf file when provided with a list of plots 
   (@teunbrand, #5093).
+* (internal) When `validate_subclass()` fails to find a class directly, it tries 
+  to retrieve the class via constructor functions (@teunbrand).
 
 # ggplot2 3.5.1
 
diff --git a/R/layer.R b/R/layer.R
index 2cd10c447f..8ed938def6 100644
--- a/R/layer.R
+++ b/R/layer.R
@@ -458,18 +458,50 @@ validate_subclass <- function(x, subclass,
 
   if (inherits(x, subclass)) {
     return(x)
-  } else if (is_scalar_character(x)) {
-    name <- paste0(subclass, camelize(x, first = TRUE))
-    obj <- find_global(name, env = env)
+  }
+  if (!is_scalar_character(x)) {
+    stop_input_type(x, as_cli("either a string or a {.cls {subclass}} object"), arg = x_arg)
+  }
 
-    if (is.null(obj) || !inherits(obj, subclass)) {
-      cli::cli_abort("Can't find {argname} called {.val {x}}.", call = call)
-    }
+  # Try getting class object directly
+  name <- paste0(subclass, camelize(x, first = TRUE))
+  obj <- find_global(name, env = env)
+  if (inherits(obj, subclass)) {
+    return(obj)
+  }
+
+  # Try retrieving class via constructors
+  name <- snakeize(name)
+  obj <- find_global(name, env = env, mode = "function")
+  if (is.function(obj)) {
+    obj <- try_fetch(
+      obj(),
+      error = function(cnd) {
+        # replace `obj()` call with name of actual constructor
+        cnd$call <- call(name)
+        cli::cli_abort(
+          "Failed to retrieve a {.cls {subclass}} object from {.fn {name}}.",
+          parent = cnd, call = call
+        )
+      })
+  }
+  # Position constructors return classes directly
+  if (inherits(obj, subclass)) {
+    return(obj)
+  }
+  # Try prying the class from a layer
+  if (inherits(obj, "Layer")) {
+    obj <- switch(
+      subclass,
+      Geom = obj$geom,
+      Stat = obj$stat,
+      NULL
+    )
+  }
+  if (inherits(obj, subclass)) {
     return(obj)
-  } else if (is.null(x)) {
-    cli::cli_abort("The {.arg {x_arg}} argument cannot be empty.", call = call)
   }
-  stop_input_type(x, as_cli("either a string or a {.cls {subclass}} object"))
+  cli::cli_abort("Can't find {argname} called {.val {x}}.", call = call)
 }
 
 # helper function to adjust the draw_key slot of a geom
diff --git a/tests/testthat/_snaps/layer.md b/tests/testthat/_snaps/layer.md
index 79b561b17d..c796c6a530 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/_snaps/layer.md
+++ b/tests/testthat/_snaps/layer.md
@@ -1,14 +1,14 @@
 # layer() checks its input
 
-    The `geom` argument cannot be empty.
+    `geom` must be either a string or a <Geom> object, not `NULL`.
 
 ---
 
-    The `stat` argument cannot be empty.
+    `stat` must be either a string or a <Stat> object, not `NULL`.
 
 ---
 
-    The `position` argument cannot be empty.
+    `position` must be either a string or a <Position> object, not `NULL`.
 
 ---
 
@@ -25,7 +25,13 @@
 
 ---
 
-    `x` must be either a string or a <geom> object, not an environment.
+    `environment()` must be either a string or a <geom> object, not an environment.
+
+---
+
+    Failed to retrieve a <Geom> object from `geom_foo()`.
+    Caused by error in `geom_foo()`:
+    ! This function is unconstructable.
 
 # unknown params create warning
 
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-layer.R b/tests/testthat/test-layer.R
index f901d3b62f..5e2dbf1d2b 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-layer.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-layer.R
@@ -10,6 +10,9 @@ test_that("layer() checks its input", {
 
   expect_snapshot_error(validate_subclass("test", "geom"))
   expect_snapshot_error(validate_subclass(environment(), "geom"))
+
+  geom_foo <- function(...) stop("This function is unconstructable.")
+  expect_snapshot_error(layer("foo", "identity", position = "identity"))
 })
 
 test_that("aesthetics go in aes_params", {
@@ -154,6 +157,22 @@ test_that("layer names can be resolved", {
   expect_snapshot(p + l + l, error = TRUE)
 })
 
+test_that("check_subclass can resolve classes via constructors", {
+
+  env <- new_environment(list(
+    geom_foobar = geom_point,
+    stat_foobar = stat_boxplot,
+    position_foobar = position_nudge,
+    guide_foobar = guide_axis_theta
+  ))
+
+  expect_s3_class(validate_subclass("foobar", "Geom", env = env), "GeomPoint")
+  expect_s3_class(validate_subclass("foobar", "Stat", env = env), "StatBoxplot")
+  expect_s3_class(validate_subclass("foobar", "Position", env = env), "PositionNudge")
+  expect_s3_class(validate_subclass("foobar", "Guide", env = env), "GuideAxisTheta")
+
+})
+
 test_that("attributes on layer data are preserved", {
   # This is a good layer for testing because:
   # * It needs to compute a statistic at the group level