The Top Most Expensive Paintings In The World
It is through beautiful art that painters can show their creativity. Have you ever thought about how much those paintings cost? It might surprise you but some paintings come with a hefty price tag.
Here are some of the most expensive paintings created by renowned artists.
The Card Players
This is a beautiful and classic painting that you may have seen in luxury good magazines, coffee table books, art history curricula, and so on. The painting was considered the most expensive one before the sale of When Will You Marry' in the year 2015.
It was in 2011 that the painting was brought by a royal family in Qatar for a whopping 274 million dollars. This painting is one out of the five pieces that were painted by Paul Cezanne.
The Card Players painting is a part of his popular impressionist series that was completed between the mid-1980s. The image features two men sitting at a small table and playing cards.
The pastels used and the painting style depicts Cezanne's unique way of portraying things and it is evident by the subtle expressions on the faces of the players who are immersed in the game. In addition, the bottle of wine on the table adds more to the detail.
Interchange
It is an oil canvas painted by the famous painter William de Kooning who was associated with the school of abstract expressionism.
This painting was the painter's first abstract landscape drawing that was completed in the year 1955. The Interchange was created when the art community and the artist's popularity underwent a massive change.
Like other abstract artworks, Interchange appears nonsensical and vague at first glance.
However, a closer observation reveals that the painting consists of several layers. Besides, it symbolizes the transition in Kooning's life that was shaping at that moment. The painting was valued at 300 million dollars.
Salvator Mundi
Saviour of the World or Salvator Mundi was painted by the famous Leonardo da Vinci. The painting represented Jesus Crist dressed in garbs while bestowing benediction.
Apart from that, he was holding a crystal ball in his left hand whereas the other hand was raised with two fingers crossed.
Many people claim that the painting was a conscious attempt on the part of the painter as he tried to bridge the gap between the spiritual and physical worlds together.
Even art enthusiasts claim that are about 20 variants of this artwork and the original one was lost. Salvador Mundi has an interesting story as well.
The current owners acquired this piece a long time back in a worse condition where the wooden panel was broken into two pieces.
The painting was even painted to hide the repair work. Besides, Salvador Mundi is Leonardo's last work and is valued at 450 million dollars in the art community.
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When Will You Marry
It is a 1982 painting made by another renowned artist Paul Gaugin and is considered one of the most expensive paintings.
Gaugin's painting of the two Tahitian girls broke records when it was bought by the Qatar Museum from the private collection of a Swiss collector named Rudolf Staechelin in 2015 at 300 million dollars.
The painting is all about two women standing amidst a natural landscape, while one woman wore a native dress, the other one was dressed in a missionary style that symbioses fusion of European and Polynesian cultures.
The artist completed this painting when he was 43 years of age. This painting was on loan with the Basel Art Museum for more than sixty years before it was pulled down by the seller and sold simultaneously.
Valued at 210 million dollars, this impressive artwork illustrates the beauty of a rooted culture.
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Les Femmes d'Alger
This amazing painting is one of the fifteen pieces that Picasso worked on the Women of Algiers. Moreover, the painting was inspired by Eugene Delacroix during the 19th century.
This painting is another remarkable work that showcases Picasso's tendency toward producing work that has a vintage style yet remains fresh in presentation and approach.
The brilliant painting boasts vibrant colors that Picasso created in 1995 as the last work from the series of fifteen variations.
Apart from that, the series was conceived as an elegy to the artist's rival and friend Matisse who died in 1954. This piece was sold for 179.4 million dollars.
Water Serpents II
The so-called allegorical painting by Gustav Klimt, Water Serpents II came into existence in 1907. Many people were convinced that the artist got inspiration from his earlier work to paint these two water serpents'.
The work that many would like to mention is "Moving Water". So, what is remarkable about the painting?
Typically, the painting represents women who are linked somehow to nymphs. Other than that, Klimt's painting was sold for 187 million dollars in 2013.
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No. 6 - Violet, Green & Red
Mark Rothko was an American painter who was born in Russia and a pioneer of abstract arts as well.
The artist's unique style is characterized by horizontal bright color bands and large canvases. In addition, the name of the colors allows the viewers to form their impression.
Also, the artist made good use of a Spartan palette that included a dark shade on top and symbolizes the agony and depression that might have plagued him.
Besides, the use of vibrant colors in the simplest pattern tends to exemplify the artist's signature style of conveying an intimate message. However, this piece was bought by a Russian businessman for 186 million dollars.
Number 17A
Jackson Pollock is another famous abstract expressionist of all time and his painting Number 17A is no different.
This painting is made from drip artwork that is created by spraying paint over the surface while oil paint is scattered on fiberboard.
The painting was drawn after Pollock's drip method was introduced a year earlier. It was sold for 200 million dollars in 2015, to a hedge fund investor that he further loaned it to the Chicago Art Institute.
