Art is one of the most subjective concepts in the world and painting is the most subjective form of art. It was on this note that a banana taped to the wall sold for more than a hundred thousand dollars. Most critiques argued that it was hardly art, but a joke. From poets to musicians to novelists to painters and sculptors, all artists take pieces of their souls and pour it into whatever piece they are working on. And maybe that is while artists are immortalized through their art and live on from generation to generation. Most artworks especially paintings are preserved in museums for the whole world to enjoy and therefore considered priceless. Below are 12 known most expensive artworks ever sold.
1. Salvator Mundi
This is a painting by Leonardo da Vinci. It bears a slight resemblance to the famous Mona Lisa but it is a depiction of Jesus Christ called Salvator. It was painted in 1500 and has for some time been mistaken for a copy. It was sold in November 2017 by Dmitry Rybolovlev to Badar Bin Abdullah AI Said at Christie’s auctions in New York City. It was sold for a staggering sum of 450.3 million dollars and is currently estimated to have a market value of 469.7 million dollars and climbing. Some people believe this was the work of one of da Vinci’s disciples.
2. Interchange
The Interchange was painted by Willem de Kooning in 1955. In 2015 this artwork was sold for 300 million dollars making it the second most expensive painting ever sold. It was sold by the David Geffen Foundation to Kenneth Griffin at a private sale. This broke the record as the most expensive known painting ever sold at a private sale. It is currently worth an estimated sum of 324 million dollars.
3. The Card Players
This is a painting of two men immersed in an intense game of cards with one of them smoking a pipe. It was painted in the early 1890s by painter and artist Paul Cezanne. It was last sold at a private sale to the state of Qatar by George Embriricos in April 2011. It went at the price of 250 million dollars has added over 30 million dollars in value in the last nine years.
4. Nefea Faa Ipoipo
The name “nefea faa ipoipo” means “will you marry me?” in Tahitian. It was last sold by Rudulf Staechelin to a Qatari buyer for 210 million dollars. The details of this deal were very private and the wrong price of 300 million dollars was initially announced as the price for the painting. It was painted by Paul Gauguin in 1892.
5. Number 17A
This painting was sold for the price of 200 million dollars at a private sale. It was sold to Kenneth Griffin by the David Geffen foundation the same way interchange was. It was painted by Jackson Pollock in 1948 and last sold in 2015.
6. Wasserschlangen II
The wasserschlangen was painted by Gustav Klimt in the 1900s. It was last sold in 2013 for 183.8 million dollars. The previous owner Yves Bouvier sold it to Dmitry Rybolovlev at a private sale. Its present-day market value is 201.7 million dollars.
7. No 6. (Violet, Green, and Red)
In August 2014, Dmitry bought this painting at a private sale from Cherise Moueix. It was painted in 1951 by Mark Rothko. He bought it for 186 million dollars and today is has accumulated 14 million dollars.
8. Pendant Portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit
The pendant portrait was sold for 180 million dollars at a private sale by Ericde Rothschild and purchased by Rijksmuseum and Loure at a private sale.
9. Les Femmes d’Alger (version 0)
This was painted by Pablo Picasso in 1955 and last sold in 2015 by Hamadan Jasibin at Christie’s New York auction. It was sold for 179.4 million dollars and the current value is 193.5 million dollars.
10. Nu Couché
This portrait was painted by Amedeo Modigliani in 1917 to 1915. It was last sold in 2015 by Laura Mattioli to Liu Yiqian at Christie’s auction sale for 170.4 million dollars. It is currently worth 183. 8million dollars.
11. L’Homme au doigt (Pointing Man)
The pointing man is a 5 feet ten inches tall bronze sculpture painted by Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti. It was bought in 2015 for the handsome amount of 142.3 million dollars becoming the most expensive sculpture on the world and the 11th most expensive artwork in the world. It was hand-painted by Alberto Giacometti himself.
12. No. 5, 1948
David Geffen sold this painting to David Martinez at a private sale in 2006. It cost Martinez 140 million dollars. The painting was painted by Jackson Pollock in 1948.
