The most expensive paintings by Mark Rothko. The most expensive paintings in the world

Rating of auction results of works of Russian art

1. Only public auction results were accepted for participation.
2. Belonging to Russian artists was determined by place of birth. Born in the Russian Empire or in the USSR - that means he is a Russian artist, without regard to ethnic origin or discounts on how fate developed in the future. For example, the fact that Kandinsky at different times had both Russian and German citizenship, and he died with French citizenship, is not a reason to doubt that the artist is Russian.
3. Rule: one artist - one painting. That is, the situation when, strictly speaking, all the first places would have to be allocated to the works of Mark Rothko, is resolved this way: we leave only the most expensive work, and ignore all other results for the paintings of this artist.

The rating is based on results taking into account the Buyers Premium, expressed in dollars (figures shown at European auctions, i.e. in pounds or euros, are converted into dollars at the exchange rate on the day of trading). Therefore, neither “The Spanish Flu” by Goncharova, sold on February 2, 2010 for £6.43 million, nor the painting “View of Constantinople and the Bosporus Strait” by Aivazovsky, for which £3.23 million was paid on April 24, 2012, were not included in the rating. in the transaction currency, i.e. in pounds, they are more expensive than the paintings that took a place in the ranking, but they were not lucky with the dollar exchange rate.

1. $86.88 million Mark Rothko. Orange, Red, Yellow (1961)

One of the most mysterious artists of our time. His life's path seems to be woven from contradictions - in creative searches, in actions, in gestures... Considered one of the ideologists and, of course, a key figure in American abstract expressionism, Rothko could not stand it when his works were called abstract. Having known well in the past what living from hand to mouth was, he once defiantly returned to his customers an absolutely fantastic advance in terms of today’s money, leaving himself with an almost completely completed work. Having been waiting for his success and the opportunity to make a living from painting for almost fifty years, he more than once refused people who could destroy his career if they wanted. At the very least, a socialist at heart, who shared the ideas of Marx and was hostile to the rich and wealth, Rothko eventually became the author of the most expensive paintings in the world, which actually turned into an attribute of the high status of their owners. (It’s no joke, the record-breaking “White Center,” sold for $65 million, came from the Rockefeller family.) Dreaming of recognition by the mass audience, he eventually became the creator of paintings that are still truly understandable only to a circle of intellectuals and connoisseurs. Finally, the artist, who sought a conversation with God through the music of his canvases, the artist, whose works became the central element in the design of the church of all religions, ended his life with a completely desperate act of fighting against God...

Rothko, who remembered the Pale of Settlement and the Cossacks, might have been surprised that they are also proud of him as a Russian artist. However, there was plenty of anti-Semitism in America in the 1930s - it was no coincidence that the artist “truncated” the family surname Rotkovich. But we call him Russian for a reason. To begin with, based on the fact of birth. Latvian Dvinsk, present-day Daugavpils, at the time of the birth of Marcus Rotkovich, is part of Russia and will remain so until the collapse of the empire, until 1918. True, Rothko will no longer see the revolution. In 1913, the boy was taken to the USA, the family moved to Portland, Oregon. That is, I spent my childhood and adolescence in Russia, where my life perception and outlook were formed. In addition to the fact that he was born here, Rothko is associated with Russia, we note, both ideological themes and conflicts. It is known that he appreciated the works of Dostoevsky. And even the vices that Rothko indulged in are for some reason associated in the world with Russians. For some reason, depression in the West is called a “Russian disease.” Which is not an argument, of course, but another touch to the integrity of the Russian artist’s nature.

It took Rothko 15 long years to make innovative discoveries in painting. Having gone through many figurative hobbies, including surrealism and figurative expressionism, in the mid-1940s he extremely simplified the structure of his paintings, limiting the means of expression to a few colorful blocks that form the composition. The intellectual basis of his work is almost always a matter of interpretation. Rothko usually did not give direct answers, counting on the viewer's participation in understanding the work. The only thing he definitely counted on was the emotional work of the viewer. His paintings are not for rest, not for relaxation and not for “visual massage”. They are designed for empathy. Some see them as windows that allow one to look into the viewer’s soul, while others see them as doors to another world. There is an opinion (perhaps the closest to the truth) that his color fields are metaphorical images of God.

The decorative power of the “color fields” is explained by a number of special techniques used by Rothko. His paintings do not tolerate massive frames - at most thin edges in the color of the canvas. The artist deliberately tinted the edges of the paintings in a gradient so that the pictorial field lost its borders. The fuzzy boundaries of the inner squares are also a technique, a way without contrast to create the effect of trembling, the seeming overlapping of color blocks, the pulsation of spots, like the flickering of light from electric lamps. This soft dissolution of color within color was particularly achieved in oils, until Rothko's switch to opaque acrylic in the late sixties. And the found effect of electrical pulsation intensifies if you look at the paintings at close range. According to the artist’s plan, it is optimal for the viewer to view three-meter canvases from a distance of no more than half a meter.

Today, Rothko's paintings are the pride of any famous museum of modern art. Thus, in the English Tate Gallery there is a Rothko hall, in which nine paintings from those that were painted under a contract with the Four Seasons restaurant live. There is a story connected with this project that is quite indicative of Rothko’s character. In 1959, the artist was contacted by recommendation from the owners of the fashionable restaurant “Seasons,” which opened in the unusual New York skyscraper Seagram Building (named after the company that produced the alcohol). The contract amount in today's money was almost $3 million - a very significant fee even for an established, recognized artist, as Rothko was at that time. However, when the work was almost completed, Rothko unexpectedly returned the advance and refused to hand it over to the customer. Among the main reasons for the sudden act, biographers considered the reluctance to please the ruling class and entertain the rich at dinner. It is also believed that Rothko was upset when he learned that his paintings would not be seen by ordinary employees working in the building. However, the latest version looks too romantic.

Almost 10 years later, Rothko donated some of the canvases prepared for the Four Seasons to the Tate Gallery in London. In a bitter irony of fate, on February 25, 1970, the day the boxes with paintings reached the English port, the artist was found dead in his studio - with his veins cut and (apparently for guarantee) a huge dose of sleeping pills in his stomach.

Today, Rothko's work is experiencing another wave of sincere interest. Seminars are held, exhibitions are opened, monographs are published. On the banks of the Daugava, in the artist’s homeland, a monument was erected.

Rothko's works are not exceptionally rare on the market (like, for example, Malevich's paintings). Every year, approximately 10–15 pieces of his paintings alone are put up for auction at auctions, not counting graphics. That is, there is no shortage, but millions and tens of millions of dollars are paid for them. And such prices are hardly accidental. Rather, it is a tribute to his innovation, a desire to open new layers of meaning and join the creative phenomenon of one of the most mysterious Russian artists.

On May 8, 2012, at the auction of post-war and contemporary art at Christie’s, the canvas “Orange, Red, Yellow” from 1961 went for $86.88 million, including commission. The work comes from the collection of Pennsylvania art patron David Pincus. David and his wife Gerry bought the work, measuring 2.4 × 2.1 meters, from the Marlborough Gallery, and then loaned it to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for a long time. The painting “Orange, Red, Yellow” became not only the most expensive work by an artist of Russian origin, but also the most expensive work of post-war and contemporary art sold at open auction.

2. $60.00 million. Kazimir Malevich. Suprematist composition (1916)

During her long life, first together with Robert, and after his death in 1941 alone, Sonya was able to try out many genres in art. She was engaged in painting, book illustration, theatrical sketches (in particular, she designed the scenery of Diaghilev’s ballet “Cleopatra”), clothing design, interior design, textile patterns, and even car tuning.

Sonia Delaunay's early portraits and abstractions from the 1900s-10s, as well as works from the Color Rhythms series from the 1950s-60s, are very popular at international and national French auctions. Their prices often reach several hundred thousand dollars. The artist's main record was set more than 10 years ago - on June 14, 2002 at the Calmels Cohen Paris auction. Then the abstract work “Market in Minho”, written in 1915, during the life of the Delaunay couple in Spain (1914–1920), was sold for €4.6 million.

29. $4.30 million. Mikhail Nesterov. Vision to the Youth Bartholomew (1922)

If we evaluate our artists on a peculiar scale of “Russianness,” then Mikhail Vasilyevich Nesterov (1862–1942) can safely be placed somewhere at the beginning of the list. His paintings depicting saints, monks, and nuns in a lyrical “Nesterov” landscape, completely in tune with the highly spiritual mood of the heroes, became a unique phenomenon in the history of Russian art. In his canvases, Nesterov talked about Holy Rus', about its special spiritual path. The artist, in his own words, “avoided depicting strong passions, preferring to them a modest landscape, a person living an inner spiritual life in the arms of our Mother Nature.” And according to Alexander Benois, Nesterov, along with Surikov, was the only Russian artist who came at least partially close to the lofty divine words of “The Idiot” and “Karamazovs”.

The special style and religiosity of Nesterov’s paintings were formed from many factors. He was also influenced by his upbringing in a patriarchal, devout merchant family in the city of Ufa with its typically Russian landscapes, and his years of studying with the Itinerants Perov, Savrasov and Pryanishnikov at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (from them he adopted the idea of ​​art that touches the mind and heart) and from Pavel Chistyakov at the Academy of Arts (here he took up the technique of academic drawing), and trips to Europe for inspiration, and a deep personal drama (the death of his beloved wife Maria a day after the birth of their daughter Olga).

As a result, by the late 1880s - early 1890s, Nesterov had already found his theme, and it was at this time that he wrote “Vision to the Youth Bartholomew” (1889–1890). The plot of the picture is taken from the Life of St. Sergius. The youth Bartholomew (the future Sergius of Radonezh) met an angel in the guise of a monk and received God's blessing from him to understand the Holy Scriptures and surpass his brothers and peers. The picture is imbued with a sense of the miraculous - it is not only and not so much in the figures of Bartholomew and the Holy Elder, but also in the surrounding landscape, which is especially festive and spiritual.

In his declining years, the artist more than once called “Bartholomew” his main work: “... if thirty, fifty years after my death he still says something to people, that means he is alive, that means I am alive.” The painting became a sensation at the 18th exhibition of the Itinerants and instantly made the young Ufa artist famous (Nesterov was not yet thirty at the time). P. M. Tretyakov acquired “Vision...” for his collection, despite attempts to dissuade him from, as Nesterov put it, “orthodox Wanderers,” who correctly noticed in the work the undermining of the “rationalistic” foundations of the movement. However, the artist had already taken his own course in art, which ultimately made him famous.

With the advent of Soviet power, not the best times came for Nesterov with his religious painting. The artist switched to portraits (fortunately he had the opportunity to paint only people he deeply liked), but did not dare to think about his previous subjects. However, when in the early 1920s there was a rumor that a large exhibition of Russian art was being prepared in America, Nesterov quickly decided to participate in the hope of reaching a new audience. He wrote several works for the exhibition, including the author’s repetition of “Vision to the Youth Bartholomew” (1922), called “Vision to St. Sergius in adolescence” in the American press. The new version is smaller in format (91 × 109) compared to the Tretyakov version (160 × 211), the moon has appeared in the sky, the colors of the landscape are somewhat darker, and there is more seriousness in the face of the youth Bartholomew. Nesterov, as it were, sums up with this picture the great changes that have occurred since the writing of the first “Vision...”.

Nesterov's paintings were among the few at the 1924 Russian Art Exhibition in New York that were purchased. “Vision to the Youth Bartholomew” ended up in the collection of famous collectors and patrons of Nicholas Roerich - Louis and Nettie Horsch. From then until 2007, work was passed down in this family by inheritance. And finally, on April 17, 2007, at Sotheby’s Russian auction, the canvas was offered with an estimate of $2–3 million and easily exceeded it. The final price of the hammer, which became a record for Nesterov, was $4.30 million. With this result, he entered our rating.

30. $4.05 million. Vera Rokhlina. Gamblers (1919)

Vera Nikolaevna Rokhlina (Schlesinger) is another wonderful artist of Russian emigration, included in our rating along with Natalia Goncharova, Tamara Lempitskaya and Sonia Delaunay. Information about the artist’s life is very scarce; her biography is still waiting for its researcher. It is known that Vera Shlesinger was born in 1896 in Moscow into a Russian family and a French woman from Burgundy. She studied in Moscow with Ilya Mashkov and was almost his favorite student, and then took lessons in Kyiv with Alexandra Exter. In 1918, she married lawyer S.Z. Rokhlin and went with him to Tiflis. From there, in the early 1920s, the couple moved to France, where Vera began to actively exhibit at the Autumn Salon, the Salon of the Independents and the Salon of the Tuileries. In her painting style, she initially followed the ideas of Cubism and Post-Impressionism, but by the early 1930s she had already developed her own style, which one French magazine called “an artistic balance between Courbet and Renoir.” In those years, Vera already lived separately from her husband, in Montparnasse, had couturier Paul Poiret among her admirers, and chose female portraits and nudes as the main theme in her painting, which may have been facilitated by her acquaintance with Zinaida Serebryakova (even a portrait of a nude Serebryakova by Rokhlina has survived), and the artist’s personal exhibitions were held in Parisian galleries. But in April 1934, 38-year-old Vera Rokhlina committed suicide. What made a woman in her prime, who had already achieved a lot in the creative field, take her own life remains a mystery. Her premature death was called the biggest loss in the Paris art scene in those years.

Rokhlina's legacy is located mainly abroad, where Vera spent the last 13 years of her life and where her talent was fully revealed. In the 1990s and early 2000s, French museums and galleries began holding solo exhibitions of Rokhlina and including her work in group exhibitions of artists from the School of Paris. Collectors found out about her, her works began to be sold at auctions, and quite well. The peak of sales and prices occurred in 2007–2008, when about a hundred thousand dollars for a good format painting by Rokhlina became commonplace. And so on June 24, 2008, at the evening auction of impressionists and modernists at Christie's in London, Vera Rokhlina's cubist painting "Gamblers", painted before emigration, in 1919, was unexpectedly sold at 8 times the estimate - for £2.057 million ($4.05 million) with an estimate of £250–350 thousand.

31. $3.97 million. Pavel Kuznetsov. Eastern city. Bukhara (1912)

For Pavel Varfolomeevich Kuznetsov (1878–1968), the son of an icon painter from the city of Saratov, a graduate of the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (where he studied with Arkhipov, Serov and Korovin), one of the organizers of the Blue Rose association, one of the main and, Certainly, the most recognized theme of creativity among the public was the East. When Pavel Kuznetsov’s first symbolist period of the 1900s with semi-fantastic images of “Fountains”, “Awakenings” and “Births” exhausted itself, the artist went to the East for inspiration. He remembered how, as a child, he visited his grandfather in the Trans-Volga steppes and observed the life of nomads. “Suddenly I remembered about the steppes and went to the Kirghiz,” wrote Kuznetsov. From 1909 to 1914, Kuznetsov spent several months in the Kyrgyz steppes, among the nomads, becoming imbued with their way of life and accepting them as his kindred, “Scythian” soul. In 1912–1913, the artist traveled through the cities of Central Asia, lived in Bukhara, Samarkand, and the foothills of the Pamirs. In the 1920s, the study of the East continued in Transcaucasia and Crimea.

The result of these eastern travels was a series of stunning paintings, in which one can feel the “Goluborozovsky” love for the blue palette, and the symbolism of icons and temple frescoes close to the artist from childhood, and the perceived experience of such artists as Gauguin, Andre Derain and Georges Braque, and, well, of course, all the magic of the East. Kuznetsov's oriental paintings were warmly received not only in Russia, but also at exhibitions in Paris and New York.

A major creative success was the cycle of paintings “Eastern City” written in Bukhara in 1912. One of the largest paintings in the “Eastern City” series. Bukhara” was auctioned at MacDougall’s in June 2014 with an estimate of £1.9–3 million. The work has impeccable provenance and exhibition history: it was purchased directly from the artist; has not changed its place of residence since the mid-1950s; participated in the World of Art exhibitions, the exhibition of Soviet art in Japan, as well as in all the major lifetime and posthumous retrospectives of the artist. As a result, a record price for Kuznetsov was paid for the painting: £2.37 million ($3.97 million).

32. $3.72 million. Boris Grigoriev. The Shepherd of the Hills (1920)

Boris Dmitrievich Grigoriev (1886–1939) emigrated from Russia in 1919. He became one of the most famous Russian artists abroad, but at the same time he was forgotten in his homeland for many decades, and his first exhibitions in the USSR took place only in the late 1980s. But today he is one of the most sought-after and highly valued authors on the Russian art market; his works, both paintings and graphics, are sold for hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars.

The artist was extremely efficient; in 1926 he wrote to the poet Kamensky: “Now I am the first master in the world.<…>I don't apologize for these phrases. You need to know who you are, otherwise you won’t know what to do. Yes, and my life is holy from above-average work and above-average feelings, and my 40 years prove this. I am not afraid of any competition, any order, any topic, any size and any speed.”

Probably the most famous are his cycles “Race” and “Faces of Russia” - very close in spirit and differing only in that the first was created before emigration, and the second already in Paris. In these cycles, we are presented with a gallery of types (“faces”) of the Russian peasantry: old men, women, and children look gloomily straight at the viewer, they attract the eye and at the same time repel it. Grigoriev was by no means inclined to idealize or embellish those whom he painted; on the contrary, sometimes he brings images to the grotesque. Among the “faces” painted already in exile, portraits of Grigoriev’s contemporaries - poets, actors of the Art Theater, as well as self-portraits - are added to the peasant portraits. The image of the peasant “Race” expanded to a general image of an abandoned, but not forgotten Motherland.

One of these portraits - the poet Nikolai Klyuev in the image of a shepherd - became the most expensive painting by Boris Grigoriev. At the Sotheby’s auction on November 3, 2008, the work “The Shepherd of the Hills” from 1920 was sold for $3.72 million with an estimate of $2.5–3.5 million. The portrait is the author’s copy of a lost portrait from 1918.

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Influential people tend to convert aesthetics into money. If you think that the most expensive paintings in the world are at exhibitions, then you are deeply mistaken. Such copies were put up for auction. Of course, not all people understand such art. Some consider the masterpiece to be a daub, while others are ready to pay exorbitant sums of money for the painting. In any case, you should familiarize yourself with the most masterpiece paintings.
We will tell you about the paintings that turned out to be the most expensive in the whole world. In this rating you will not find the well-known “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci. Because this masterpiece is insured for a huge amount of money. To be more precise - by 100 million dollars. At the moment, the "Mona Lisa" is included in the Guinness Book of Records precisely for this reason. It should also be taken into account that if we convert to today’s dollar exchange rate, then this amount is already 670 million.

So, in 10th place in our ranking is the painting "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer" for 87.9 million dollars. This is another masterpiece by Gustav Klimt. Of course, like any other painting, it has its own exceptional story. Why is this particular woman depicted? The famous industrial magnate sponsored many artists, one of whom was Gustav. Adele Bloch Bauer was the wife of a tycoon. Gustav wanted to thank a wealthy man for his financial assistance.
Who was this woman? There's nothing special here. A lady of Jewish origin was in charge of the most famous salon, which was constantly visited by both artists and other creative people. By the way, this is the only woman whom the artist painted twice. For your information, Adele’s second painting was also bought at auction for 135 mol. dollars. And this masterpiece was purchased at auction in 2006 by a collector who wished to remain anonymous. How did the paintings get to auction? After Adele's death, her husband gave the portraits to an Austrian gallery. Then the paintings were stolen from the gallery. In 2005, after the trial, the paintings were returned to the lady's descendants. And only then did they go to auction. "Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer" sold for $135 million. We have already mentioned this masterpiece. Also, the painting by Gustav Klimt is called “Austrian Mona Lisa” and “Golden Adele”. There are rumors that the girl was the artist’s mistress. The painting was bought by American entrepreneur Ronald Lauder.

Abstract look at people from Pablo Picasso
Painting "Dora Maar with a cat" was sold for 95.2 million dollars. Interestingly:

• the picture was painted in 1941
• the cat is not easy to see here due to the shapes used in the writing
• It was bought by Russian businessman Rustam Tariko.

The picture looks very strange, unique and majestic. Apparently they are telling the truth. Pablo Picasso is not a talented artist, but a crazy genius. His relationship with the woman was very romantic. But the couple had very extraordinary thinking and characters. Therefore, Dora's portrait is very distorted. There are no clear lines and edges here, just like in her inner state of soul.

Andy Warhol is one of the most famous artists of our time
Even if you are a person who understands practically nothing about art, then you probably know Andy Warhol from his paintings of Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe. Warhol's favorite themes are:

1. repetition of the image
2. death threat
3. worldwide fame.

Painting . The painting was created in 1963. For forty years it occupied a place of honor among other creations of the collector Annibale Berlinghieri. In 2008, he decided to put it up for auction. The painting was sold for $100 million to an unknown person.

Seventh place and again Pablo Picasso. The work was written by Picasso when he was 24 years old. History is silent about who this guy is, why he has a pipe in his hand, and a crown of roses on his head.
Sotheby's auction found the owner of the painting. Once again it turned out to be an unknown person who did not spare $104 million for the work. It is interesting that the original cost of the painting was 70 million. How did the work of art end up at auction just recently? The first owner was John Hay Whitney. He bought "Boy with a Pipe" for only 30 thousand dollars in 1950.

Another masterpiece by Pablo Picasso
The painting was painted back in 1932. It is the personification of the soul and body of the artist’s mistress Maria-Therese Walter. Pablo met his beloved in 1927. The painting was sold recently. To be more precise, in 2010 at the Christie's auction. It was purchased by an unknown collector for 196 and a half million dollars. And again, the painting was originally purchased for only 19 thousand USD. the Brody family in 1951. After her husband's death, Sydney's widow decided to sell the masterpiece.

1. red-bloody sky
2. screaming figure
3. some generalizations of the landscape.

Petter Olsen, its first owner and also a Norwegian billionaire, put the masterpiece up for auction.

• sold for $119 million 922 000.
• the picture was not painted, strokes and strokes were used here
• the masterpiece was named the best among all the artist’s paintings

The owner of the painting was the American collector David Geffen. He sold it in 2006 to millionaire Steven Cohen for a whopping $137 and a half million. This specimen can be examined and studied forever, each time learning something new.

In second place in the ranking of the most expensive paintings in the world is a mysterious painting, one might even say that it is the whole Universe or the imagination of one person. The painting was painted by a world-famous abstract artist Jackson Pollock. He is also called the inventor of "action painting". The artist amazed the world with his thinking. He is sure that the main thing is not the result of the picture, but the creative process itself, the experience at that moment, and so on. Every time something bothered him, he wanted to shout about something, he poured out his soul by splashing and pouring paint. Main colors in the masterpiece:

1. yellow
2. brown
3. grey

You should not try to understand what exactly the artist was thinking about, what he was puzzled by and what he was worried about. This picture can be interpreted in any way, you just need to use your own imagination. Sotheby's closed auction has found the owner of this masterpiece. The painting was bought by David Geffen, a famous collector of the most masterpiece paintings. And the cost "Numbers 5"- exactly $140 million.
Surprising but true. Here we used not the usual canvas, but a sheet of fiberboard. It was yellow and brown splashes that were applied here. And the gray color was there at the very beginning. This masterpiece looks more like a big nest.

The most expensive painting in the world

So, here is the finale of our rating. The most famous work of art bought by the royal family of Qatar is. The author of the masterpiece is a French artist Paul Cézanne. They were drawn for exactly 1 year, starting from 1892 and ending in 1893. The royal family bought the painting 2 years ago. This is the most expensive price for a masterpiece of open bidding, namely $250 million.

True art is simply priceless. We have looked at those masterpieces that have already been sold. But it would be a sin not to pay attention to those paintings that have already been appreciated, but have not yet found their owner. Let's look at some of them. We don’t know, perhaps one of these masterpieces will be sold today at a closed auction. And perhaps these paintings will not find their owners very soon.

Vincent van Gogh
The painting is estimated at 85 - 130 million dollars. Her whereabouts remain unknown at this time. The portrait was painted in 1890. After it was painted, the painting mysteriously ended up in the United States during World War II. Then she moved to Amsterdam to Siegfried Kramarski. And only in 1990 the painting was auctioned at Christie's.
What amazing thing does a portrait contain?

1. this is the last creation of the brilliant Van Gogh
2. written 2 weeks before death
3. the main character is not a simple character, but a real psychiatrist, Paul Gachet, who treated the artist.

The face expresses melancholy, sadness and grief. It is unknown why the artist saw his doctor, whom he trusted, so sad before his death. Here we can only guess.

I would also like to remind you a few words about Russian artists. Let's look at some masterpieces that were not included in the ranking of the most expensive paintings in the world, but became the most valuable in Russia.

Mark Rothko

The picture was painted in 1950. It was sold for 72.8 million dollars. This masterpiece is rightfully considered the 12th most expensive painting in the world. The question of whether Mark can be called a native Russian soul is also controversial. He was born in Latvia, and left Russia at the age of 10, when there was still not a word about what he would draw. Therefore, we will not mention such artists.

Kazimir Malevich

Of course, this artist is known to everyone, from small children to those who do not understand anything about art, thanks to “Black Square”. Nevertheless, Malevich’s most expensive creation was the “Suprematist Composition”, which was written in 1915. In 2008, the painting was sold at Sotheby's for $60 million.

How far did the composition travel to the Sotheby's auction?

Kazimir decided to organize an exhibition of his works back in 1927. For this purpose, he brought about a hundred of his works to Berlin. But absolutely unexpectedly he was called back home. The paintings remained in the storage of the famous architect Hugo Hering.
During the Nazi era, it was very difficult to preserve such paintings, but the architect succeeded. As a result, in 1958 the paintings were sold to the Dutch Stendelek Museum. Malevich had already died by this time.
At the beginning of the 21st century, about 40 heirs of Malevich began proceedings in court. After all, in fact, Hering is not the owner of the paintings. Only 5 paintings were successfully judged. One of which was the “Suprematist Composition”. And only after such a long journey, the painting was sold at Sotheby’s.

No. 20. $75,100,000. "Royal Red and Blue", Mark Rothko, sold in 2012.

The majestic canvas was one of eight works handpicked by the artist for his landmark solo exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago.

No. 19. $76,700,000. "Massacre of the Innocents", Peter Paul Rubens, created in 1610.

The painting was purchased by Kenneth Thompson at Sotheby's in London in July 2002. Rubens's vibrant and dramatic work may compete for the title of "most unexpected success." Christie's valued this painting at only 5 million euros.

No. 18. $78,100,000. "Bal at the Moulin de la Galette", Pierre-Auguste Renoir, painted in 1876.

The work was sold in 1990, at that time it was listed as the second most expensive painting in the world ever sold. The owner of the masterpiece was Ryoei Saito, chairman of Daishowa Paper Manufacturing Co. He wanted the canvas to be cremated with him after his death, but the company ran into financial difficulties with its loan obligations, so the painting had to be used as collateral.

No. 17. 80 million dollars. "Turquoise Marilyn", Andy Warhol, painted in 1964, sold in 2007.

Purchased by Mr. Steve Cohen. The price has not been confirmed, but this figure is generally considered to be true.

No. 16. 80 million dollars. "False Start" by Jasper Johns, written 1959

The painting belonged to David Geffen, who sold it to the CEO of the Citadel investment group, Kenneth S. Griffin. It is recognized as the most expensive painting that was sold during the lifetime of the artist, cult master Jasper Johns.

No. 15. $82,500,000. "Portrait of Doctor Gachet", Vincent Van Gogh, 1890.

Japanese businessman Ryoei Saito purchased the painting in 1990 at auction. At that time it was the most expensive painting in the world. In response to the outcry that arose in society regarding Saito’s desire to cremate the work of art with him after death, the businessman explained that, in this way, he expresses his selfless affection for the painting.

No. 14. $86,300,000. "Triptych", Francis Bacon, 1976.

This three-part masterpiece by Bacon broke the previous record for his works sold ($52.68 million). The painting was purchased by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

No. 13. $87,900,000. “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II”, Gustav Klimt, 1912.

The only model depicted twice by Klimt and sold a few months after the first version. This is a portrait of Bloch-Bauer, one of four paintings that fetched a total of $192 million in 2006. The buyer is unknown.

No. 12. $95,200,000. "Dora Maar with a cat", Pablo Picasso, 1941.

Another Picasso painting that went under the hammer at a fabulous price. In 2006, it was acquired by a mysterious Russian anonymous person, who at the same time bought works by Monet and Chagall worth a total of $100 million.

No. 11. $104,200,000. "Boy with a Pipe", Pablo Picasso, 1905.

This is the first painting to break the $100 million barrier in 2004. Oddly enough, the name of the person who showed such a keen interest in Picasso’s portrait was never made public.

No. 10. $105,400,000. "Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)", Andy Warhol, 1932.

This is the most expensive work of the famous pop art legend, Andy Warhol. The painting became a star of modern art, going under the hammer at Sotheby's.

No. 9. $106,500,000. “Nude, green leaves and bust”, Pablo Picasso, 1932.

This sensual and colorful masterpiece became the most expensive work by Picasso ever sold at auction. The painting was in the collection of Mrs. Sidney F. Brody and has not been exhibited in public since 1961.

No. 8. $110 million "Flag", Jasper Johns, 1958.

"The Flag" is Jasper Johns' most famous work. The artist painted his first American flag in 1954-55.

No. 7. $119,900,000. "The Scream", Edvard Munch, 1895.

This is a unique and most colorful work of the four versions of Edvard Munch's masterpiece "The Scream". Only one of them remains in private hands.

No. 6. $135,000,000. “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I”, Gustav Klimt.

Maria Altmann sought the right to own the painting in court, since Adele Bloch-Bauer bequeathed it to the Austrian State Gallery, and her husband later canceled the donation amid the events of World War II. Having assumed legal rights, Maria Altman sold the portrait to Ronald Lauder, who exhibited it in his gallery in New York.

No. 5. $137,500,000. "Woman III", Willem de Kooning.

Another painting sold by Geffen in 2006, but this time the buyer was billionaire Stephen A. Cohen. This strange abstraction was part of a series of six masterpieces by Kooning, painted between 1951 and 1953.

No. 4. $140,000,000. "No. 5, 1948", Jackson Pollock.

As reported in the New York Times, film producer and collector David Geffen sold the painting to David Martinez, managing partner of FinTech Advisory, although the latter did not confirm the information. The truth is shrouded in mystery.

In 2012, the world art market was indeed shocked by the incredibly high price of the sale of the painting “The Card Players” by Paul Cézanne from the private collection of the Greek shipowner George Embiricos. The most expensive painting in the world has gone to the East...Who is he, that mysterious buyer?

20th place. “Yellow, Pink, Purple” (1950) Mark Rothko – sold on May 15, 2007 at Sotheby’s for $72.8 million He is called the father of American abstract art, a philosopher and an intellectual. Rothko created the philosophy of “simple expression of a complex thought” and his “brand” - colored rectangles with blurred edges, as if floating on the abstract background of a large rectangle. His works are a continuation of Malevich’s “Black Square” and the magic of Byzantine mosaics. The canvases were painted in huge sizes to create an intimate atmosphere, completely immersing the viewer in the magic of color, opening the doors to the other world, to space. “The spectators who shed tears at my paintings experience the same religious experiences that I experienced while creating them,” Rothko wrote in 1965.

19th place. “Darmstadt Madonna” (1526-1528) Hans Holbein the Younger– sold on July 12, 2011 at private auction for $75 million The most expensive piece of art in Germany was sold relatively inexpensively because the owner did not want the painting to leave the country. There is an opinion that light seems to emanate from the Madonna’s face, invisible to the eyes, but felt by the soul. It was this feature that led to the painting being called “the northern sister of the Sistine Madonna.”

18th place. “Massacre of the Innocents” (1611) Peter Paul Rubens– sold on July 10, 2002 at Sotheby’s for $76.8 million The most cruel scene of biblical mythology, “the extermination of the infants by King Herod,” caused a great stir at the auction. The owners who put the painting up for sale were sure that the author of the painting was Rubens' student and follower Jan van der Hoecke. But unexpectedly for everyone, the examination proved the authorship of Rubens himself. With an initial cost of $9 million, the painting was sold at a record price of $76.8 million. This fact once again proves that the cost of a work of art directly depends on the name of the author.

17th place. “Ball at the Moulin de la Galette “ (reduced author's copy) (1876) Pierre Auguste Renoir– sold on 05/17/1990 at Sotheby’s auction $78.1 million French impressionist Pierre Auguste Renoir is “the only great artist who did not paint a single sad picture in his life,” wrote the writer Octave Mirbeau in 1913. “The Ball at the Moulin de la Galette” is the most striking example of the painter’s “sunny” art. Innovation and uniqueness of the painting “Ball at the Moulin de la Galette” ” is that no one before Renoir had dared to depict a scene of everyday life from real time on a canvas of such a significant size. Criticism and hostile attacks fell upon the author, but time has proven the value of such a courageous act.

16th place. “Turquoise Marilyn” (1964) Andy Warhol– sold privately on May 20, 2007 for $80.0 million Such a high price is no coincidence . “Turquoise Marilyn” is called an icon of pop art, and Andy Warhol is the founder of modern POPULAR art for the masses. Starting out as a designer of greeting cards, weather maps and record sleeves, he found his silkscreen style reminiscent of poor newspaper reproduction. In this style, he painted a series of portraits of movie stars, including his favorite model, Marilyn. Like the Mona Lisa, Marilyn from Andy Warhol's prints now smiles upon us everywhere. There are five versions of Marilyn in different colors, but for some reason “Turquoise Marilyn” became the most expensive.

15th place. “False Start” (1959) Jasper Johns– sold 10/12/2006 privately for $80.0 million It is the most expensive painting in the world by a living artist. American artist and sculptor Jasper Johns was born on May 30, 1930. His paintings are a mixture of abstract expressionism, pop art and neo-Dadaism (I have no idea what that is). His works also refer to images of popular culture and objects of everyday life. For example, Jasper Johns' most famous sculpture is two bronze beer cans (indeed, an object of worship in modern society).

14th place. “Pond with Water Lilies” (1919) Claude Monet– sold in June 2008 at Sotheby’s for $80.5 million The founder of impressionism, the great painter of the second half of the 19th century, was also a born gardener, in love with flowers and wildlife. In his own pond in Giverny, Claude Monet grew water lilies from seeds specially brought from Japan. And in 1899 he began a series of 60 paintings, “Water Lilies,” which he painted until his death (1840-1926). The artist's vision rapidly deteriorated, he underwent two operations, but continued to paint his favorite pond. “It took me a while to figure out what my water lilies were. I planted and raised them simply for pleasure, without any thought that I would paint pictures about them... The perception of living nature does not come to us right away” (Claude Monet).

13th place. “Portrait of Doctor Gachet” (1890) Vincent van Gogh– sold on May 15, 1990 at Sotheby’s for $82.5 million Van Gogn painted the portrait of his doctor literally in the last months of his life. A true artist paints great canvases until his last breath and cannot do otherwise. From a letter from Vincent van Gogh to his brother:

“Mr. Gachet, in my opinion, is as sick and nervous as you or me, and besides, he is much older than us and lost his wife several years ago; but he is a doctor to the core, so his profession and faith in it help him maintain balance. He and I have already become friends. I’m now working on his portrait: a head in a white cap, very light and bright hair; the hands are also light, a blue jacket and a cobalt background. He sits with his elbows on a red table, where there is a yellow book and a sprig of foxglove with purple flowers with a sad expression on his face, so characteristic of our time ... "

12th place. “Triptych” (1976)Francis Bacon - sold in May 2008 at Sotheby's for $86.281 million Who would have thought that this asthmatic boy, rejected by his father and kicked out of home at the age of 16 for his “shameful inclination,” a favorite of fortune and a gambler at roulette, self-taught in painting, would live a long and fruitful life (1909-1992). Francis Bacon d He gained recognition for his talent during his lifetime, but at the same time he did not consider drawing to be work, but only a rest between constant carousing, boys and gambling. His psychedelic paintings are an anguished cry of the soul, locked in a by no means ideal, ugly body of a man who is mired in his carnal desires, forgetting about his unique higher purpose. Anyone who has ever thought about the meaning of their existence, experienced the same strong emotions as Francis Bacon, will understand his “terrible pictures”. By the way, they say that the “Triptych” was bought at such a record price by Roman Abramovich himself, who, for his expensive acquisitions in recent years, has been called the most influential art collector.

11th place. “Orange, Red, Yellow” (1961) Mark Rothko– sold on 05/08/2012 at Sotheby’s auction 86.882.500 $. The painting belongs to the bright period of the American expressionist's work. However, at the end of his life, when fame had already come to him, the artist fell into deep depression. This is already solid gray on black in various variations. Many years of misunderstanding and accusations, numerous lawsuits with offenders and poor health took their toll. Rothko no longer sees any other way out and paints his last tragic picture of suicide. He was found naked in a huge pool of blood in his studio near the painting “Red on Red.”

10th place. “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II” (1912) Gustav Klimt– sold on November 8, 2006 at Sotheby’s for $87.9 million The Austrian modernist Gustav Klimt led the avant-garde community “Secession,” which opposed “the aesthetic conservatism and moralizing of the previous generation.” His paintings, dedicated to the beauty and eroticism of the female body, shocked the public with their exquisite spontaneity. But at the same time, Gustav Klimt was recognized and in demand, both in government circles and among the wealthy nobility. His paintings have always been a desirable decoration for the interiors of the most luxurious houses at the beginning of the 20th century, and even now!

9th place. “Dora Maar with a cat” (1941) Pablo Picasso– sold on 05/03/2006 at Sotheby’s for $95.2 million A star of the Parisian artistic bohemia of the 30s and 40s, the extravagant female photographer Dora Maar was Picasso's muse and lover for seven years. During the entire period of this scandalous “lav story”, Picasso painted many graphic, classical and cubist portraits of her, wearing a hat, with green nails and in the form of a chimera. The portrait “Dora Maar with a cat” was painted at the end of their romance, so here Picasso very grotesquely and symbolically conveyed all the arrogance and exaltation of his muse. Russian-Georgian businessman Boris Ivanishvili appreciated and purchased this work.

8th place. “Eight Elvises” (1963) Andy Warhol– sold privately in October 2008 for $100.0 million A series of paintings dedicated to pop idols was the peak of Andy Warhol's creativity. Already in 1968, radical feminist and actress Valerie Solanas shot Warhol three times. As a result, he became practically disabled, but refused to give incriminating statements to the police. After this assassination attempt, Andy Warhol's works became more depressive. The King of Pop Art died in 1987, having lived for 58 years.

7th place.” Boy with a Pipe” (1905) Pablo Picasso– sold on 05/04/2004 at Sotheby’s for $104.1 million The painting belongs to the earliest and therefore most expensive period of the master’s work.

6th place. “Nude against the background of a bust and green leaves” (1932) Pablo Picasso– sold on 05/05/2010 at Sotheby’s for $106.5 million During the surreal period, the charming seventeen-year-old Marie-Therese Walter became the muse for Picasso’s work. From it he sculpts majestic female busts and paints sensual paintings imbued with eroticism. Maria Teresa's cheerful and peaceful character allowed her to come to terms with the role of a beautiful toy in the hands of a master. She gave birth to a daughter in 1935, but Picasso still did not take her seriously. And in 1936, Picasso already met the extravagant Dora Maar and Maria Theresa faded into the background. But the love for the master and admiration for him was so strong that 4 years after his death, Maria Teresa hanged herself in her garage. This is the sad story of this unrequited love, forever captured in paintings.

5th place. “The Scream” (1932) Edvard Munch– sold on 05/02/2012 at Sotheby’s for $119 922 500 . One of four versions of the Norwegian expressionist artist made in the pastel technique (i.e. with wax crayons). Created at the turn of the century, it became an emblem of expressionism and a prelude to 21st century modernism. A desperate cry of loneliness, alienation and doom, like a harbinger of future wars, revolutions and environmental disasters of the coming century. For all its impersonality and primitiveness, the image of a screamer is so emotional that it has become an inspiration for films, parodies and art collages of modern art.
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4th place. “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I” (1907) Gustav Klimt– sold privately on June 18, 2006 for $137.5 million She is called “Golden Adele” or “Austrian Mona Lisa”. Inspired by a trip to Italy, Byzantine mosaics richly decorated with gold in 1903, Klimt began work on a portrait of Adelia. More than 100 sketches were made before the artist achieved the ideal position of the beautiful Adelia's arms, body and gaze.

3rd place. “Woman III” (1953) Willem de Kooning– sold 08/14/2006 privately

behind $137.5 million A series of paintings by the abstract expressionist called “Woman” caused a storm of discontent even among the master’s fans. But real connoisseurs claim that there is a striking contrast in sensation when viewing the canvas from a distance and close up. From a distance, these women appear to be fierce Amazons, the embodiment of the force of nature and hardly seductive. Up close, the painting captures its dynamic space of shape, color and brushwork. The woman seems to be hiding in the surrounding space and it is already difficult to see her in the chaotic chaos of “stroke strokes”. Truly a psychological masterpiece of abstract expressionism, worthy of Freudian analysis. The presented painting is the only one from the entire series that remains in a private collection.

2nd place. “No. 5” (1948) Jackson Pollock– sold 02.11.2006 privately for $140 million From 2006 to 2012 it remained the most expensive painting in the world, and therefore deserves special attention from critics. Jackson Pollock – leader and ideologist of abstract expressionism, which emerged as a distinctive style in the 40s in New York. The most controversial assessments of his work only confirm his genius.
“My painting has nothing to do with the easel. I have hardly ever stretched canvas onto a stretcher. I prefer to nail the canvas to the wall or floor. I should feel the resistance of the hard surface. It's easiest on the floor. I feel closer to the painting, a part of it, I can walk around it, work from four sides and literally be inside it. I continue to move away from the usual tools of an artist, such as an easel, palette and brushes. I prefer sticks, scoops, knives and flowing paint or a mixture of paint with sand, broken glass or something else. When I'm inside a painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. Understanding comes later. I have no fear of changes or destruction of the image, since the painting lives its own life. I'm just helping her out. But if I lose contact with the painting, it becomes dirty and messy. If not, then this is pure harmony, the ease of how you take and give.” Jackson Pollock
Salvador Dali described him this way in his “Diary of a Genius”: "Pollock: Marseillaise of the Abstract. A romantic of holidays and fireworks, like the first tachisti-sensualist Monticelli. He's not as bad as Turner. After all, he is even more nothing».

I really want to turn it horizontally, but I can’t...

1 place. And finally, the most expensive painting in the world, sold in February 2012 from the private collection of Greek shipowner George Embiricos, “Card Players”(3rd picture of the series , 1892-1893) Paul Cezanne. Incredible value $250 million, exceeding the previous record by almost 2 times , shook up the global art market and significantly raised the bar for subsequent transactions. What is remarkable about the most expensive painting in the world?
The series of 5 paintings “Card Players” belongs to the late and most mature period of the work of the French post-impressionist Paul Cézanne. A fanatical workaholic, suspicious and unsociable, Cezanne found inspiration and a cure for the phobias and contradictions of the world around him only in painting. His unique style is a kind of reconciliation of classics and modernity, a transition from impressionism to cubism. Several years ago, the painting “Card Players” No. 3 was named one of the best works in the world that is in private hands. This is probably why the transaction price is so record high in the world of the art market. Who is the buyer? The Royal Family of Qatar purchased the painting for the national museum. And again the Middle East surprises us!

Did you love art or, on the contrary, don’t understand why people spend a lot of money on buying works of painting and graphics? SME has compiled for you a list of the most expensive paintings in the world with prices and photographs so that you can appreciate the quality of execution and the meaning of the masterpieces.

This picture is a blue rectangle on top of a red ray. This work was written in the interval between “Black Square” and “White Suprematism”.

No. 25. Kazimir Malevich, "Suprematist composition" (1916)

On November 3, 2008, at Sotheby's auction in New York, the painting was sold to an unknown buyer for $60,002,500, thereby becoming one of the most expensive paintings in history written by a Russian artist.

It is believed that this vividly painted still life is the founder of such a movement as cubism.

No. 24. Paul Cezanne, "Still Life with Jug and Drapery" (1893-1894)

And this painting found its buyer in 1998 and was sold for $60,503,000.

Andy Warhol can easily be called an icon of modern art, because his paintings are sold more expensive than famous classics, for example, Picasso or Van Gogh.

No. 23. Andy Warhol, "The Men in Her Life" (1962)

A black and white collage of photographs of Elizabeth Taylor, her third husband Mike Todd and future husband Eddie Fisher was purchased in 2010 at a Phillips de Pury & Co auction in New York by a buyer who wished to remain anonymous for $63,400,000.

The first artist in the world to be awarded the Imperial Prize for "his achievement, the international influence he has had with his art, and the spiritual enrichment of the entire world community."

No. 22. Willem de Kooning, "Police Paper" (1955)

The 22nd place of the most expensive paintings in the world is occupied by an abstract canvas, which flew away from Christie's auction like a hot cake for $63,500,000!

A famous American artist whose works are always painted in such detail that it is almost impossible to distinguish them from photographs.

No. 21. ​Thomas Eakins, "Gross Clinic" (1875)

The painting depicts Samuel Gross's famed Philadelphia surgeon presiding over an operation to remove part of a bone from a patient's hip in front of a student-filled amphitheater at a medical academy whose realism caused a scandal and notable PR for the painting. The picture was grabbed by $68,000,000 in 2007!

No. 20. Amedeo Modigliani, "Seated Nude on a Sofa" (1917)

Although Sotheby's did not officially announce the sale of this painting before the start of the auction, as many as 5 buyers fought for it. The new owner got it for only $68,900,000!

Part of a series of 7 paintings on mythological themes commissioned by Philip II of Spain.

No. 19. Titian, "Diana and Actaeon" (1556-1559)

At that time, such paintings were considered depraved and they were specially hung with curtains in the presence of ladies. Erotica from the 16th century was purchased in 2009 for $70,600,000.

No. 18. Vincent van Gogh, "Portrait of the Artist without a Beard" (1889)

We continue the list of the most expensive paintings in the world, where the master of painterly strokes, Van Gogh, took pride of place, for $71,501,000, received in 1998.

The photograph is part of a series depicting tragic car accidents. This particular one is a burning car in Seattle.

No. 17. Andy Warhol, "Green Car Crash" (1963)

The real car accident immortalized in the photo went under the hammer for $71,720,000.

One of the main ideologists in American abstract expressionism, Rothko could not stand it when his works were called abstract.

No. 16. ​Mark Rothko, "White Center" (1950)

An amazing bright and rich combination of colors, simplicity of exposure and life principles bring to the author $72,800,000 and also included it in the ranking of the most expensive paintings in the world.

As many as 4 buyers competed for one of the most brutal plots of the New Testament.

No. 15. Peter Paul Rubens, "Massacre of the Innocents" (1609-1611)

At Sotheby's auction in London in July 2002, the painting was purchased by Canadian businessman and collector Kenneth Thompson, son of newspaper magnate Lord Thomson, former owner of the Times of London, for $76,700,000.

As the writer Octave Mirbeau said: “This is the only artist who has not painted a single sad picture in his life.”

No. 14. Pierre Auguste Renoir, "Bal at the Moulin de la Galette" (1876)

The honorable 12th place of the most expensive paintings in the world is taken by this one, the owner of the masterpiece was Ryoei Saito, chairman of Daishowa Paper Manufacturing Co. $78,100,000.. He wanted the work to be cremated with him after his death, but due to financial difficulties it had to be used as collateral.

There are five versions of Marilyn in different colors, but for some reason "Turquoise Marilyn" became the most expensive.

No. 13. Andy Warhol, "Turquoise Marilyn" (1964)

Price in $80,000,000 is not accidental, because this particular work is considered to be an icon of pop art, and Andy Warhol is the founder of POPULAR art.

American artist working in the genres of abstract expressionism and pop art.

No. 12. Jasper Johns, "False Start" (1959)

The painting belonged to David Geffen, who sold it to the CEO of the Citadel investment group, Kenneth S. Griffin, for $80,000,000. It is recognized as the most expensive painting that was sold during the artist’s lifetime.

The painting was painted by the master of impressionism in 1919, shortly before he developed cataracts.

No. 11. Claude Monet, "Pond with Water Lilies" (1919)

One of 60 similar canvases called "Water Lilies" at Sotheby's auction was sold for $80,500,000.

It was this person who monitored the artist’s health just before his death.

No. 10. Vincent van Gogh, "Portrait of Doctor Gachet" (1890)

The same Japanese businessman Ryoei Saito, who wanted to cremate himself with the paintings, bought this work for $82,500,000. When asked why they should burn the masterpieces with him, he explained that this was the only way he could express his selfless affection for the painting.

Francis Bacon is perhaps one of the darkest artists of the 20th century.

No. 8. Pablo Picasso, "Portrait of Dora Maar" (1941)

In 2006, a mysterious Russian anonymous person added to his collection for $96,200,000., at the same time purchasing works by Monet and Chagall worth a total of 100 million dollars.