The ten most expensive paintings in the world are the following: (1) $135 M for the portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I by Gustave Klimt (2006); (2) $104 M for Garcon a la Pipe (Boy with a Pipe) by Pablo Picasso (2004); (3) $95.2 M for Dora Maar au Chat by Pablo Picasso (2006); (3) $82.5 M for Portrait of Dr. Gachet by Vincent van Gogh (1990); (4) Au Moulin de la Galette by Perre-Auguste Renoir (1990); (5) $76.7 M for The Massacre of the Innocents by Peter Paul Rubens (2002); (6) $71.5 M for Portrait d‘Artiste sans Barbe by Vincent van Gogh (1998); (7) $60.5 M for Rideau, Cruchon et Compotier by Paul Cezanne (1999); (8) $55 M for Femme aux Bras Croises by Pablo Picasso (2000); (9) $53.9 M for Irises by Vincent van Gogh (1987); and (10) $51.67 M for Les Noces de Pierette by Pablo Picasso.
There is however an unconfirmed rumor buzzing in the art world that $140 M was paid for No. 5, 1948 by Jackson Pollock, the “drip style” master (November 2006). Allegedly, David Geffen, a
The confirmed top ten most expensive paintings are the following:
2. Garcon a la Pipe (Boy with a Pipe) by Pablo Picasso ($104.1 M). On May 2004, this expensive painting in oil on canvas was sold. It was done during Picasso’s famous Rose Period when as a youthful 24-year-old artist, he settled in the Montmartre section of Paris, France and painted in cheerful orange and pink colors. It shows a harlequin boy holding a pipe in his left hand. Harlequins were usual features of his paintings. The painting measures about 39 by 32 inches.It is owned by the estate of John Hay Whitney and was acquired through a Sotheby auction in New York City.
3. Dora Maar au Chat (Dora Maar With a Cat) by Pablo Picasso ($95.2 M). This painting is currently listed with the FBI’s National Stolen Art File thus, unearthing the identity of the owner as a Saudi royal Picasso aficionado who acquired the painting anonymously in a Sotheby auction. Dora Maar was a French photographer and painter best known as Picasso’s mistress from 1930-1940. She made a name for herself with her photograph documentation of the successive stages of Guernica, another Picasso masterpiece.
4. Portrait of Dr. Gachet by Vincent van Gogh ($ 82.5 M). Besides his brother Theo, Vincent became closer to his doctor, Dr. Gachet, whom he described on his first impression as looking “sicker than I am”. This painting was purchased by Japanese businessman Ryoei Saito at auction in Christie’s, New York. Saito was so attached to the painting that he wanted it to be cremated with him when he died. Saito died in 1996 but the painting was saved. Vincent painted two versions of this portrait with slightly different color scheme.
5. Au Moulin de la Galette by Perre-Auguste Renoir ($78 M). This was painted in Montmartre in 1876. On May 17, 1990, it was bought by Ryoei Saito together with the Portrait of Dr. Gachet at Sotheby’s, New York.
6. Massacre of the Innocents by Peter Paul Rubens ($76.7 M) was painted in 1611. It was sold to Kenneth Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet at a 2002 Sotheby’s auction. This is the oldest painting in the top ten.
7. Portrait d ‘Artiste sans Barbe (Self-portrait without Beard) by Vincent van Gogh ($71.5 M). Van Gogh painted this on Saint-Remy-de-Provence, France in September 1889. The medium is oil on canvas, and measures 16 by 13 inches. It is one of the many self-portraits of van Gogh but an uncommon one since his other paintings show him with a beard.
8. Rideau, Cruchon et Compotier (Curtain, Pitcher and Bowl of Fruit) by Paul Cezanne ($60.5 M). Cezanne painted this still-life from 1893-1894. It was sold at Sotheby’s in May 10,1999 to the Whitneys, one of America’s wealthiest families. The Whitneys are venture capitalist, publisher, Broadway show and Hollywood film producer, and philanthropist.
9. Femme aux Bras Croises (Woman with Folded Arms) by Pablo Picasso ($55 M) was painted in 1901 during Picasso’s Blue Period, a sad dark period. It depicts a woman with her arms crossed staring at the endless nothing. Gertrude Stein originally bought the painting from Picasso.
10. Irises by Vincent van Gogh ($53.9 M). This was painted in 1889 while Van Gogh was at the asylum of the Saint Paul-de-Mausole in Saint-Remy-de-Provence, France in the last year before his death. He called the painting, ”the lightning conductor for my illness”. The painting was influenced by Japanes ukiyo-e woodblock prints as shown by its strong outlines, unusual angles, close-up views and flattish color. Theo submitted the painting to the annual exhibition of the Societe des Aistes Independants in September 1889, together with “Starry Night”, another van Gogh masterpiece. Irises, was sold to Alan Bond in 1987 when it was considered the most expensive painting.
The above ten paintings are now considered the most expensive in the world. With the purchase of Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, Pablo Picasso’s Les Noces de Pierette (The Marriage of Pierette) ($51.,67 M) was moved out of the top ten most expensive paintings. Picasso and Vincent van Gogh, are still considered the most expensive painters with each of them having three paintings on the top ten of above list of most expensive paintings today. Renoir, and Cezanne, each have one painting. The oldest painting was an early 17th century work by Rubens. Most of the expensive paintings were done in representational style. One half of them were sold after the year 2000.
There is another list of expensive paintings with the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci on top. Though, the said paiting is not for sale, the amount of its insurance alone by 2006 pushed Pablo Picasso’s Garcon a la Pipe, to number two. Still an alternative list of most expensive paintings showed their inflation-adjusted value that would exceed the prices of the present most expensive paintings list.
Pablo Picasso is listed in the Guinness as the most productive artist. Since his death in the early 70s, his record remains unbroken. In a list of the world’s twenty most expensive paintings, five are his masterpieces. He topped the list of Artists with Most One Million Dollar Works (334 works for over $1 million) with a total value of works exceeding $ 1.5 billion.
The most expensive painting heard of in the Philippines was the controversial purchase made by the GSISwhen it acquired Parisian Life by Juan Luna (P 46 M) in Christie’s Hongkong at the JW Marriot Hotel where it was auctioned in 2003. This oil painting on canvas measures 44-inch by 39-inch. It is displayed in the GSIS Museum, CCP Complex. A GSIS museum curator shared that so far, Spolarium, the national painting perhaps is the most expensive painting in the country in terms of the negotiations made to bring it to the country. For one, the Philippine government agreed to accept one of the Spanish government’s term which was to include the Spanish subjects requirement in the old undergraduate curriculum. If you translate that into cash, that would be a lot of money indeed which would place it in the world’s Top Ten. Cumming (Annotated Art, 1995) lists that (1) virtuosity, (2) innovation, (3) patronage, (4) artistic vision and (5) role of the artist are what makes a masterpices. Today, these are still what drive the prices of most expensive paintings.
End.
Sources:
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry/Picasso
http:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picasso
http:/www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/05/11/appreciating_picasso/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertaibnment/3682127.stm
http://.abc.gallery.com/P/picasso/picasso,html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gar%C3%A7on%Ao_la_pipe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_Doctor_Gachet
http://www.thecityreview.com/f00chim1.html
http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=947
Cumming, Robert . Annotated Art (1995) London: Dorling Kindersley.
Jav ellana, J. L. & Bordadora, N. “Luna gets export permit, goes on sale today” Philippine Daily Inquirer (2003), p. 1.
GSIS Museum Guided Tour and Visit of the Parisian Life room
HU 101 2nd sem. 2005-2006 term papers & updated with HU 101 2nd sem. 2006-2007 Internet searches for Top Ten.
No comments:
Post a Comment