There are experts who are somewhat skeptical about art as, although it is a material asset that does not disappear, a work is not exempt from losing value, since it does not generate interest or dividends, such as gold.
However, in times of , if there is something that increases, it is desire. For collectors, the essential motor is not to obtain a capital gain, but to satisfy a pleasure, and for this, works of art are a unique object.
From the classical to the contemporary world, the history of art is as long as it is extraordinary. Currently, there are works by great masters such as Van Gogh or Picasso that are revalued every year, and in each auction they break new records. And it is that, the best paintings continue to reach stratospheric valuations every time they change hands. Here is a tour of the 10 most expensive paintings in the world.
1. ‘Salvator Mundi’, attributed to Leonardo Da Vinci – $450,300,000
Salvator Mundi is a painting of Christ as Salvator Mundi (Christ as Savior of the World) by Leonardo da Vinci, dated to around 1500. The painting features Jesus Christ dressed in Renaissance garb and bestowing blessing, with his right hand raised with two fingers crossed while holding a crystal ball in his left hand. The glass globe in his hand symbolizes the crystalline spheres of the heavens: Christ is shown to be the savior of the world and the master of the cosmos. Around 20 other versions of the work exist, which are attributed to students and followers of Leonardo.
The painting was sold at auction by Christie’s in New York on November 15, 2017 for $450,312,500, making it the most expensive painting ever sold. According to its current owners, the work is not in good condition, since the wood is somewhat damaged and the canvas has been repainted to try to hide the failed repair work. However, the fact that it is Da Vinci’s last work gives it unrivaled value for experts in the art world.
Salvator Mundi.
2. ‘Exchange’, Willem De Kooning – $300,000,000
Interchange, also known as Interchanged, is an oil on canvas painting by the Dutch-American abstract expressionist painter Willem de Kooning (1904-1997). It measures 200.7 by 175.3 centimeters (79.0 by 69.0 in) and was completed in 1955. It was one of de Kooning’s first abstract landscapes, and marked a change in his style under the influence of the artist Franz Kline. In September 2015, it was sold by the David Geffen Foundation to Kenneth C. Griffin for $300 million, making it the most expensive painting in the world, which was not surpassed until 2017 by Salvator Mundi.
‘Exchange’.
3. ‘The Card Players’, Paul Cezanne – $250,000,000
The Qatari royal family purchased The Card Players from Greek shipping magnate George Embiricos for a whopping $274 million in 2011.
It constitutes one of five pieces painted by Paul Cezanne as part of his Post-Impressionist series, completed in the early to mid-1890s. This iconic image features two men with a look of concentration on their faces sitting at a small coffee table. wood playing cards.
‘The card players’.
4. ‘Nafea faa ipoipo’ (‘When are you getting married?’), Paul Gauguin – $210,000,000
Nafea faa ipoipo is a painting by Paul Gauguin made in 1892 during his first stay in Tahiti. His painting of two Tahitian girls broke the world record in February 2015, when it was purchased by Qatari museums from private Swiss collector Rudolf Staechelin for $300 million.
The painting depicts two women in a natural landscape, one in native dress and the other in colonial-style missionary dress symbolizing the fusion of Polynesian and European cultures.
Gauguin completed this painting when he was around 43 years old, having gone to Tahiti to escape all European conventions. This painting had been on loan to the Basel Art Museum for more than 60 years, before it was removed from display by the seller and sold.
‘When are you marrying?’
5. ‘N. 17A, 1948’, Jackson Pollock – $200,000,000
Jackson Pollock’s work belongs to the Abstract Expressionist school of painting, a post-World War II art movement that emphasizes subconscious and spontaneous creation.
In 2016 the painting was the fourth most expensive painting ever sold, when it was purchased by billionaire art collector Kenneth C. Griffin for approximately $200 million.
‘NO. 17A’, 1948
6. ‘NO: 6. Violet, Green and Red’, Mark Rothko – $186,000,000
Mark Rothko was a Russian-born American painter and a pioneer of Abstract Expressionism. Rothko’s style is characterized by the use of large canvases and brightly colored horizontal bands.
This piece was bought for 186 million dollars by the Russian businessman Dmitry Rybolovlev from the Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier, in 2014. Although the purchase was later involved in legal disputes, this piece is still one of the most expensive of the world.
‘NO: 6. Violet, green and red’
7. ‘Les femmes d’alger’ (O version), Picasso – $179.4 million
In 2015, Les Femmes d’Alger, Version O sold for $179.4 million, breaking a world record as the most expensive painting ever sold at auction.
This painting is the culmination of a series of 15 works on Women of Algiers completed by Picasso, inspired by the great 19th-century Spaniard Eugene Delacroix. This work perfectly exhibits the malagueño’s tendency to produce works that are vintage in style, yet remain completely fresh in approach and presentation. This piece is considered the most important Picasso in the hands of a private owner today.
‘Les femmes d’alger’
8. ‘Nu couche,’ Amedeo Modigliani – $170.4 million
Nu Couché, also known as the Red Nude or the Reclining Nude, is a 1917 oil on canvas painting by Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani. Considered the artist’s most important work, it is a perfect fusion of classical idealism and modern sensuality.
The image of the naked woman lying on the sofa seems erotically realistic but has a surreal, almost sublime beauty that surprises the viewer.
This nude was sold in 2018 at Sotheby’s in New York for $157.2 million, making it the fourth most expensive work of art sold at auction.
‘Nu couche’
9. ‘Masterpiece’, Roy Lightenstein – $165,000,000
Roy Lichtenstein was an American Pop Art painter, graphic artist, and sculptor, best known for his large-scale interpretations of comic book art. He is one of the pioneers of pop art culture who fought against the macho image of American art, producing more realistic works.
His best-known work, The Masterpiece (1962), features some classic Pop Art elements such as Ben-Day dots and speech balloons in a comic book narrative. The painting was part of Lichtenstein’s first exhibition at the Ferus Gallery, Los Angeles, with other works such as The Drowned Girl and Portrait of Madame Cezanne.
The masterpiece depicts a man (possibly the artist) and a blonde woman, looking at a canvas, the content of which is not visible to the viewer. A speech bubble coming out of his mouth shows that he is praising the “masterpiece” in question, even calling it something that would thrill “all of New York.”
‘Masterpiece’.
10. ‘N. 5, 1948’, Jackson Pollock – $140,000,000
Jackson Polloc’s work was sold by David Gellen to David Martinez in 2011 for $140 million, making it the most expensive work as of 2016.
This is an 8 by 5 foot fiberboard artwork, embodying the unique dripping technique used by Pollock, one of the greatest painters in the Abstract Expressionist style.
‘N. 5, 1948’
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