The world’s most expensive paintings are the stuff of legend. From van Gogh’s “Starry Night” to da Vinci’s “The Last Supper,” these artists have left behind some of the most revered and beloved works in history. And while they may be a drop in the bucket compared to Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece, which is estimated to be worth over $100 billion, they’re still pretty expensive and definitely worth celebrating.
Well, if you want to see your name on one of these seven most expensive paintings, you’ll need to get your hands on some serious money.
Let’s take a look at what it takes to collect such a piece:
1.The Salvator Mundi by Leonardo Da Vinci- $450 million
Seamlessly tying the realms of religion and spirituality, this is one of the last works made by Da Vinci and one of the most famous paintings in the world. It has been purchased by Saudi’s crown prince in 2017.It is believed that there are 20 copies of the painting in existence, with the original thought to have been lost sometime in the 17th century.
2. No. 17 A by Jackson Pollock -$200 million
Painted by the American expressionist Jackson Pollock, this is one of his earlier works in “Drip Painting Series”. The painting is a haphazard series of squashes on canvas and is noted to be the most popular of his works .
3. Nafea Faa Ipoipo by Paul Gaugin -$210 million
An artist who was largely went unnoticed for his works until his death was known for landscapes and depicting native women through his works.
While most consider his works as not so impressive, his works are noted for simplicity and an authentic way to life .
4.No.6 (Violet, Green and Red) by Mark Rothko – $186 million
One of the more unusual paintings on this list, No.6 was painted by Latvian-American artist Mark Rothko in 1951 and is composed entirely of large splashes of color – specifically violet, green and red. That is typical of his oeuvre, however, who worked in the realm of abstract expressionism.
5.The master piece by Roy Litchtenstein – $ 165 million
The Masterpiece’ is one of several works by pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, who was part of an art movement that began in the 1950’s . He was known for his vivid use of colors and tongue -in- cheek sense of humor. His works takes stylish comic book elements mostly including Ben Day and speech bubbles.
In the recent times, this kind of art piece is called to question, while many suggest there are many layers behind the work.
6. Portrait by Adele Bloch -Bauer – Gustav Klimt -$150 million
A symbolist painter from 20th century Vienna, Gustav drew much of his inspiration from Japanese art style. It was one of those whose arts were stolen during the world war II and later recovered. This art piece was sold to Ophrah Winfrey at $88 million, who later put forth to a buyer at $150million.
7.Three Studies of Lucian Freud by Francis Bacon – $142.4 million
Franscis created these triptych as a tribute to his fellow artist and rival Lucian Freud. Franscis painted two triptychs of which this one above became the most expensive paintings sold.