The history of art is vast and extraordinary. It has been ranging from classic to contemporary. The world has given us many great artists like Picasso and Leonardo da Vinci and the arts of these masters continue to auction every year and set new records.
There is no doubt that these amazing artworks found either in museums or in private collections around the world. These works are priceless and it is also difficult to put any price tag on these extraordinary works. But the art being sold and bought, the price isn’t affordable for all. While some billionaire art collectors look for a masterpiece to decorate their mansion, the others are investors who would love to resale it for making a handsome profit out of it.
Today we will talk about some of the top 30 most expensive and valuable paintings in the world and the list follows:
1. Salvator Mundi – Leonardo da Vinci
Price- $450.3 Million
The most expensive painting in the world is Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi that sold for $450.3 Million in 2017 at Christie’s. Before this sale, the painting was attracted by a myriad of owners.
The painting is a salvage project for being out of the public eye since 1958 and it has a long unknown history and hidden by numerous overpaints. The painting of Jesus holding a crystal orb represents the crystalline sphere. The painting has been bought by The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman and he bought it on behalf of the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture & Tourism.
2. Interchange – Willem de Kooning
Price- $300 Million
Willem de Kooning’s masterpiece is from 1955 that was inspired by his surroundings while he was living in New York City.
This masterpiece was sold in 2015 by the Davis Geffen Foundation and it was brought by Hedge fund billionaire, Kenneth C. Griffin. The masterpiece is currently displayed at the Art Institute of Chicago.
3. The Card Player – Paul Cezanne
Price- $250 Million
This is one of the five paintings of the French master, Paul Cezanne that was done in the 1890s and it features a pair of Provencal peasants who are seated at a table and involved in a card game while studying their hands.
The painting is also called human still life and it is also was poked fun by a New Yorker cartoon who depicted it as the subject of playing not for money but fruit. This painting was brought by the Royal Family of Qatar but it is not on public display but people can see other paintings of the painter at Philadelphia’s Barnes Foundation, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, etc.
4. Nafea Faa Ipoipo – Paul Gauguin
Price- $210 Million
The French post-impressionist, Paul Gauguin has gone for a trip to Tahiti and his trip has resulted in some amazing paintings of the native women of the place and this painting is also one of them that was done in 1892 in oil canvas. The meaning of the painting is When Will You Marry Me.
The painting was purchased by Sheikha Al-Mayassa of Qatar in the fall of 2014 with a cost of $210 million.
5. Number 17A – Jackson Pollock
Price- $200 Million
This painting was done by Jackson Pollock in 1948. The painting is not commanded an eye-popping price only. David Geffen has sold the painting to Citable billionaire Kenneth C Griffin and the critics demanded the painting as ridiculous and they also demanded that anyone can paint that kind of a mess. The meaning of American abstract painting could hardly be understood by many people.
This painting isn’t on public display but other works of Pollock can be seen in New York’s Museum of Modern Art, and Los Angeles’ Museum of Contemporary Art.
6. No. 6 (Violet, Green, and Red) – Mark Rothko
Price- $186 Million
The Russian-American abstract expressionist, Mark Rothko unbelievable masterpiece is known to be No. 6 which is a hallmark multiform painting with three rectangular blocks of contrasting yet complementary colors but this kind of painting isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But for that reason, the master’s profound work cannot be denied.
The sale of the painting has a remarkable incident that marked an alate chapter in the scandalous Bouvier Affair and this is an endless court battle between Russian tycoon, Dmitry Rybolovlev and his art dealer, Yves Bouvier where Dmitry claimed that Yves made him fooled and overcharged him for multiple paintings that Yves strongly denied.
7. Pendant Portraits of Maerten – Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit – Rembrandt
Price- $180 Million
The painting was done by the classic portraiture, Rembrandt who fetched the stratospheric sums. This painting was painted to celebrate the wedding of Maerten and Oopjen in 1634 but separate canvas. But the art historian and experts demanded that these masterpieces always should be displayed together and they should not be apart.
The paintings were brought by the Rijksmuseum and the Louvre as a joint venture in 2015 and each paid 50%.
8. Les Femmes d’Alger (“Version O”) – Pablo Picasso
Price- $197.4 Million
This painting was a part of the series of 1954-1955 by Pablo Picasso which is called Les Femmes d’Alger which means Women of Algiers. This is the last of 15 versions of the series that was considered to be the tribute to his friend, Henri Matisse. This one was the most expensive painting that was sold at auction for two years until the Salvator Mundi broke the record.
This piece was Picasso’s one of the boldest and most famous works from the series and it was in good condition at the time of sale. The painting was purchased by the former Prime Minister of Qatar, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani at Christie’s in 2015.
9. Nu Couche – Amedeo Modigliani
Price- $170.4 Million
This painting is the most famous piece of Amedeo Modigliani and it was first publicly displayed at Modigliani’s solo exhibition in Paris in 1917. The painting depicts a naked woman on a red sofa. The exhibition was shut down by the police over charges of obscenity.
Later, the painting was at Christie’s New York auction in 2015 and it was purchased by a Chinese billionaire, Liu Yiqian and he made the transaction for the piece using his American Express Card.
10. Masterpiece – Roy Lichtenstein
Price- $164 Million
This piece has been inspired by the comic book illustration and was done by Roy Lichtenstein in 1962. It is considered to be one of the most expensive paintings in the world. This piece was called a tongue-in-cheek joke that displayed the artist’s own career. This painting stands along with Look Mickey and Whaam as his most notable works.
The painting was purchased by hedge-fund billionaire and art collector, Steven A. Cohen with the cost of $164 Million in 2017.
