Top10 Highest Priced Paintings in the World

“Art,” the word itself, means thousands of emotions. Every piece of art depicts a story written by an artist. Be it landscape, symmetry, geographic pattern, freestyle, or a newfound style, paintings were one of the most appreciated forms of work as they depicted the culture, mindset, prehistoric events, and emotions engraved in the painting, making it lively. Since the known period, there have been many paintings; some are lost, some destroyed, or what-so-ever was the reason found, but there are few paintings in good condition to date.

Top10 Highest Priced Paintings in the World

here are the most expensive sold paintings in the world:

1. SALVATOR MUNDI BY LEONARDO DA VINCI [US $ 450 M]

Salvator Mundi, or Savior of the world, is accused of being painted by Leonardo Do Vinci, and the painting was auctioned at Christi’s Auction in 2017 at the price of US $ 450 M to Saudi Arabia’s Prince, His Highness “Sheikh Mohammed Bin Salman Al Saud” by his cultural minister. The painting speaks out Jesus Christ by twisting the index and tallest finger of their right hand while holding a transparent spherical stone in his left hand, signifying the universe of the global even though the globe in biblical stance is symbolized by brass or golden colored sphere. Art enthusiasts claim that 20 different variants are found of the painting, with one having golden curls of the Savior as the original piece by Da Vinci.

2. NUMBER 17A BY JACKSON POLLOCK [ US $ 500M]

David Geffen Foundation and Kenneth Griffin Foundation are the known owners of JACKSON POLLOCK; the painting is said to be bought at equal share contribution. Painting on five canvas arrangements using oil pastels is an image of the subconscious pattern and the messy mirage of colors. The painting layers make the painting unique as the number of times it glances and it appears how the layers of the painting were done. Patterns depicted in the picture are nothing but ordinary, which forms a beautifully finished scape and is said to have the original name as ”bland.”

3. INTERCHANGE BY WILLEM DE KOONING [ UD $ 300M]

The interchange was sold to Kenneth Griffin in September 2015. The painting was the first of Kooning’s abstract landscapes completed in 1955 and influenced by Franz Kline’s artistic style. Kooning spends most of his career studying and reworking abstract female figures. Only later, he deviated from painting human forms and ventured into replicating abstract images of his surroundings in downtown New York. The Kooning, known for violently attacking his canvases and vibrant colors, was tamed to a gentler yet intuitive style. Kooning’s aesthetic and textural shift in the mid-1950s also formed the foundation of surrealism that would take the 21st century by storm.

4. CARD PLAYERS BY PAUL CEZANNE [ UD $250 – $300 M]

This painting held the record for the most expensive one in the world before the sale of “When Will You Marry” in 2015. It makes up one of 5 pieces painted by Cezanne as part of his post-impressionist series completed between the early and the mid-1890s. This iconic image features two stony-faced men sitting at small wooden table playing cards. The painting style and pastels’ use are classic Cezanne, with the subtle facial expressions beautifully conveying two players wholly immersed in the game. A bottle of wine on the table adds to the impressive yet subtle detailing.

5. NAFEA FA IPO IPO BY PAUL GAUGIAN[ UD $300M]

Paul Gaugin’s 1892 painting is currently the most expensive in the world. This painting of two Tahitian girls smashed the world record in February 2015 when the Qatar museums bought it. It depicts two women against a natural landscape, one in a native dress and another in a colonial-style missionary dress, symbolizing Polynesian and European cultures’ fusion. This painting was completed by Gauguin around the ‘43s when he had gone to Tahiti to escape all that was conventional and artificial in Europe.

6. No.6 VIOLET GREEN AND RED BY MARK ROTHKO [ US $ 186M ]

Mark Rothko was a Russian-born American painter and a pioneer of abstract expressionism. Large canvases and horizontal bands of bright colors characterize Rothko’s style. Violet Green Red is ambiguously named to allow viewers to form their impressions. Dmitry Rybolovlev bought this piece.

7. PENDANT-ART PORTRAIT OF MAERTEN SOOLANS AND OOPJEN COPPIT- REMBRANDT VAN RIJIN [ US $180M ]

These are a pair of full-length wedding portraits by Rembrandt. They were painted on the marriage of Marten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit in 1634. Formerly owned by the Rothschild Family, the portraits became jointly owned by the Louvre Museum and the Rijksmuseum in 2015 after the museum contributed half the purchase price of $ 180 Million, a record for works by Rembrandt.

8. LES FEMMES D’ALGER BY PABLO PICASSO [ US $ 179.4 M]

Les Femmes d’Alger is a series of 15 paintings and numerous drawings by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. In 1954- 1955, the series was inspired by Eugene Delacroix’s 1834 painting of “The Women Of Algiers” in their Apartment. The series is one of several painted by Picasso in tribute to artists that he admired.

9. WASSERCHLANGEN II BY GUSTAV KLIMT [US $170 M]

Wasserchlangen II is an oil painting made by Gustav Klimt in 1907. The follow-up painting to the earlier painting, water Serpents I. Like the first painting and Water serpent II deals with the sensuality of women’s bodies and same-gender relationships. The painting has a rich history. During World War II, it was stolen by the Nazis, and more recently, it has been the center of a controversy surrounding its record in the 2013 auction.

10. NU COUCHE BY AMEDEO MODIGLIANI [ US $ 170 M]

It is a painting by Amedeo Modigliani, included in a 2017/2018 Tate Modern exhibition of Modigliani’s works. The painting was sold at auction by Sotheby’s in April 2018. In the Guardian, British arts journalist Jonathan Jones compared it to Ingre’s 1814 work Grande Odalisque. Nu Couché, aka the Red Nude or the Reclining Nude, the painter’s magnum opus, the Nu Couché is a seamless fusion of classical idealism and modern-day sensuality. The picture of the naked woman lying on the couch looks erotically realistic yet has a surreal, almost sublime beauty that catches the viewer off-guard. There is nothing crass or vulgar about this “column of tenderness.”

Dating back to the known period, art has always been an appreciated field, and many renowned artists have found their uniquely stated identity through their artworks. Hence those mentioned above were the most expensive paintings sold to date.