Top 5 Most Expensive Paintings in the World – IIBNTV
Unlike other material things, Art is subjective and down to personal choice.
You may get captivated by the Top 5 Most Expensive Paintings in the World, by Leonardo da Vinci, have an intense passion for Pablo Picasso, or be mesmerized by Michelangelo.
On the other hand, you may like a painting by a local street artist that sells at comparatively low prices.
The World of Art is gigantic, and there is always something for everybody’s tastes and budget.
Today we will have a look at the Top 5 Most Expensive Paintings in the World:
- ‘Number 17a’ – Jackson Pollock
- Nafea Faa Ipoipo – Paul Gauguin
- The Card Players – Paul Cézanne
- Interchange – Willem de Kooning
- Salvator Mundi – Leonardo da Vinci
MOST EXPENSIVE PAINTINGS IN THE WORLD #5 – ‘NUMBER 17A.’
Number 17a by Jackson Pollock
An American Hedge Fund Manager and a Billionaire bought Jackson Pollock’s painting ‘Number 17a’.
As a part of a deal with the David Geffen Foundation and Kenneth Griffin for $200 million and bought the Interchange by Willem De Kooning simultaneously.
Jackson Pollock is one of the most famous abstract expressionist painters of all time.
Number 17A, an oil on a fibreboard (chipboard), is an excellent example of drip painting.
Initially, drip paintings were met with great public scrutiny painted Pollock’s.
Most of the pieces were unpopular and therefore fetched low value in art markets.
A lot of Pollock’s artwork was Drip Paintings making his artwork stand in the Top 5 Most Expensive Paintings in the World.
The 1948 painting was displayed in 1949 in a Life magazine article, which helped make Jackson Pollock a household name.
Unfortunately, at the peak of his fame, Pollock abruptly abandoned the drip style.
MOST EXPENSIVE PAINTINGS IN THE WORLD #4 – NAFEA FAA IPOIPO
Nafea Faa Ipoipo by Paul Gauguin
Nafea Faa Ipoipo? or When Will You Marry? by Paul Gauguin.
Interestingly, this piece was thought to have become one of the most expensive artworks sold.
It is reported to have exchanged hands for a record of $210 million in 2014.
The seller, Rudolf Staechelin, a retired Sotheby’s executive, confirmed the sale but denied identifying the buyer.
Gauguin visited Tahiti twice, once in 1891 after becoming estranged from his wife and facing financial chaos, given the unpopularity of his Art.
Eventually, Gauguin returned to Paris two years later and found that his paintings were met with indifference.
Gauguin’s talent got recognition only after his death in 1903 at the age of 54 due to an overdose of morphine.
Notably, Gauguin painted When Will You Marry during his first stay in Tahiti in 1892, which measures 101 x 77 cm.
Interestingly, he settled into the local life and took a young girl named Teha’amana as his native wife.
Interestingly, their marriage was arranged by the girl’s family.
They considered it a great privilege to have their daughter marry a white man, while to Gauguin it was an informal union by any European standard.
Gauguin stayed in Tahiti, Although Tahitian life was not as primitive as he anticipated.
Notably, during that period he produced a number of his best-known “Gauguin paintings” of Tahitian women.
It is most likely that Teha’amana was the model for most of these paintings.
Interestingly, he is said to have significantly influenced the 20th century’s greats Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, and Henri Matisse.
MOST EXPENSIVE PAINTINGS IN THE WORLD #3 – THE CARD PLAYERS
The Card Players by Paul Cézanne
Remarkably, Paul Cézanne’s famous paintings of Peasant Card Players and Pipe Smokers have long been considered to be among his most iconic and influential works.
Notably, there are four other pieces with a similar title, they are displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Musée d’Orsay, the Courtauld, and the Barnes Foundation.
This very painting was bought by the Royal Family of Qatar in 2011 for more than $250 million and set the benchmark for the highest price ever paid for a piece of Art until that time.
Ironically, the now popular Impressionist style was achieved by extending the boundaries of painting in radical new directions.
Notably, Cézanne painted freely and inventively in his Art.
Although the technique was unpopular during his time but proves as an inspiration to experimental artists.
MOST EXPENSIVE PAINTINGS IN THE WORLD #2 – INTERCHANGE
Interchange by Willem de Kooning
Notably, the Dutch American abstract painter Willem de Kooning created the above piece, ‘Interchange’; oil on canvas.
It measures 200.7 by 175.3 centimetres which is 79 inches by 69 inches and was completed in 1955.
Remarkably, it was one of his first abstract landscape works and marked a powerful change in his style.
Subsequently, in September 2015, it was sold to Kenneth Griffin, the CEO of Hedge Fund Citadel for $300 million.
It is currently on loan to and featured at the Art Institute of Chicago. Willem de Kooning sold this artwork for $4,000 the same year he finished it.
TOP 5 MOST EXPENSIVE PAINTINGS IN THE WORLD #1 – SALVATOR MUNDI:
Undeniably, this piece is attributed to Leonardo da Vinci painted in the 1500s
Notably, the art world is still divided whether it is da Vinci’s real Art or one of his skilled students’ Art.
Surprisingly, this painting of Christ once owned by King Charles I of England fetched a heavy $450 million at a Christie’s auction in 2017.
Also, the reason why this painting stands in 1st place under the Top 5 Most Expensive Paintings in the World.
Ironically, it hasn’t been publicly seen since that evening in November 2017.
Its whereabouts have become the source of intense speculation after the Louvre Abu Dhabi announced it would feature the painting.
However, the event of the grand unveiling got postponed without explanation.
Remarkably, the painting is a characteristic of Da Vinci’s style, using a technique that he perfected himself called Sfumato, “Smoky Light.”
Interestingly, throughout the Renaissance (Europe from the 14th to the 16th century), artists continued to develop various new styles and unique techniques that appealed to and inspired the generations.
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