Are you a fan of the arts? Do you find pleasure in gazing at the bold brushstrokes and harmony, symmetry and great colors of the greatest artists of the world? I am, I do not know about you, though. Would you pay millions for a chance to hold one of those beauties? I know for sure that i would not do that, so I prefer the museums that house such fascinating works of art. I mean, even if I had such kind of money – an immense fortune , I would not spend it on matrialistic things. Their beauty, anyway is meant to be seen and admired by millions of art lovers around the world.
Over the years, the art world has grown, developed, and flourished, giving birth to new and varied forms and styles. But this development has in no way undercut the value of the paintings that came before it, both monetarily and creatively. From the 15th century to the 20th, the champions of the art movement wowed us with their skill. Today, their passion remains forever memorialized in their work, and their work remains pristinely preserved in museums, galleries, and private collections around the world.
In fact, some private collectors and eccentric art connoisseurs have paid exorbitant amounts of money to ensure a Picasso or Monet classic ends up in their collections and no one else’s. This highly lucrative posthumous industry has gotten increasingly competitive over the years, but who could say that these gorgeous paintings that sculpted the history of art aren’t worth 6 figure sums? From least to most expensive, these are the unmissable, the incomparable, and the irreplaceable – the highest valued paintings in the world.
Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, by Gustav Klimt – Sold for $135 Million
Also known as the Lady in Gold, this portrait was painted by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt between 1903 and 1907, during a time that was deemed to be the artist’s “Golden Phase”. Its current owner, Ronald Lauder, purchased it for the above-mentioned heavy sum in a private sale and has it proudly on display in New York’s Neue Galerie.
Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II, by Gustav Klimt – Sold for $150 Million
This painting was the second formal painting of this gorgeous lady, created by Klimt in 1912, 5 years after the first and more famous work. After a long legal battle, the Bloch-Bauer family took possession of the painting in 2006 and sold it to Oprah Winfrey. 10 years later, the television mogul sold it for the high price of $150 million to an unknown buyer in China.
Le Rêve (The Dream), by Pablo Picasso – Sold for $155 Million
This work of art, depicting the painter’s mistress in the throes of sleep, was created in 1932 and was owned by Steven Wynn for well over a decade. In 2006, when the piece was set to be sold to billionaire Steve Cohen, Wynn accidentally ran his elbow into the masterpiece in a now-infamous gathering at his office. While nothing can fix the faux pas of making a hole in a Picasso painting, the painting was restored and finally sold to Cohen in 2013 for the price of $155 million.
Nu Couché (Sur Le Côté Gauche), by Amedeo Modigliani – Sold for $157.2 Million
Created in 1917 by Amedeo Modigliani, an Italian artist known for his portraiture and nude art, this piece remains one of the painter’s largest works. Though it is not the most famous of his nude works, it is a distinctly unique piece for his style and was sold in 2018 to an anonymous bidder for slightly more than the estimated $150 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York.
Masterpiece, by Roy Lichtenstein – Sold for $165 Million
Painted in 1962 by American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, “Masterpiece” is one of this artist’s most famous works, and is still considered by many to be an amusingly accurate portrayal of the artist’s own career. Naturally, the one person who absolutely had to have this delightful tongue-in-cheek love letter to comic illustrations and painting was collector and mogul Steve Cohen who purchased it in 2017.
Pendant Portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit, by Rembrandt van Rijn – Sold for $180 Million
These two portraits by famous Dutch artist Rembrandt depict a wedding pair individually on the eve of their marriage. Originally owned by the wealthy Rothschild family, the pendant portraits were jointly purchased by Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum and the Louvre for the hefty sum mentioned. As it has been universally deemed unacceptable to separate the couple, the museums take turns displaying them, with the Louvre currently caring for them.
Nafea Faa Ipoipo, Paul Gauguin – Sold for $210 Million
This piece is titled “When Will You Marry?” in English, with the original title being the Tahitian translation, and was created in 1892 by French Post-Impressionist Paul Gauguin. It was originally owned for over 50 years by Swiss businessman Rudolf Staechelin and his family, after his passing, and was frequently on loan to the Kunstmuseum in Switzerland. In 2015, it was sold by them to Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, a member of the ruling family of Qatar.
The Card Player, by Paul Cézanne – Sold for $250 Million
Paul Cézanne was and continues to remain “the father of us all” as proclaimed by Picasso, as his works inspired many artists that followed. The Card Players is an iconic painting whose place in history was always solidified but gained another layer of armor in 2012 when it was purchased by the Royal family of Qatar. It remained at the very top of the list of most expensive paintings until 2015.
Salvator Mundi, by Leonardo Da Vinci – Sold for $450.3 Million
This piece by renowned artist Leonardo Da Vinci depicts a near-angelic Jesus Christ making a cross sign with his fingers while holding a crystal sphere. For many years, the authenticity of the painting was in question with many claiming the piece was either a copy of Da Vinci’s original lost work or created by one of his disciples in a similar manner.
However, most experts have now determined the painting to be legitimate and in 2017, at an auction at Christie’s in New York, this piece was purchased for a record-shattering price by Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, on behalf of Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism. Fun fact: the previous owner of the painting at the time of its auction was Dmitry Rybolovlev, who purchased it from none other than Yves Bouvier.
A few quotes about Art :
“I am seeking. I am striving. I am in it with all my heart.” – Vincent Van Gogh
“Creativity takes courage.” – Henry Matisse
“Don’t be an art critic, but paint, there lies salvation.”- Paul Cezanne
Yes , indeed, Art means hard work, a lot of practice and takes a lot of courage!
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reference – https://commons.wikimedia.org
Cristina David
Unlimited Possibilities 