It also not surprising to see that half of the top 10 paintings were sold in 2006, the peak of the art market boom. However, this list does not represent the most expensive paintings per se but the most expensive paintings that has been evaluated till now. Eg: the Mona Lisa is said to be worth considerably more than the ones below.
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Jackson Pollock
Abstract Expressionism
Year : 1948
96" x 48" , Oil on Fibre board
Year of Sale : 2006
$140 million
No.5, 1948, by Jackson Pollock is the most expensive painting ever sold, privately or at an auction. The painting has the famous nest-like appearance as thick amounts of brown and yellow paint are drizzled on top of it. In 1940s, Pollock began painting with his canvases laid out on the studio floor, and he developed what was later called his "drip" technique. Pollock's technique of pouring and dripping paint is thought to be one of the origins of the term action painting. By defying the convention of painting on an upright surface, he added a new dimension, literally, by being able to view and apply paint to his canvases from all directions. He also ruptured traditions of art-making, giving new permissions to subsequent generations of artists in all mediums and gaining international notoriety.
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Willian de Kooning
Abstract Expressionism
68"× 48.5" , Oil on Canvas
Year : 1953
Year of Sale : 2006
$137.5 million
Woman III is one of a series of six paintings by de Kooning done between 1951 and 1953 in which the central theme was a woman. Theres a lot of similarity between de Kooning and Pollock. Both were part of a group of artists called the New York School and both practiced action painting. The hallmark of de Kooning's style was an emphasis on complex figure ground ambiguity. The series Woman I–VI caused a sensation with its violent imagery and impulsive, energetic technique.These works caused a sensation, partially because they were figurative when most of his fellow Abstract Expressionists were painting abstractly, but also because of their blatant imagery.
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Gustav Klimt
Symbolism
54"x54",Oil, silver, and gold on canvas
Year :1907
Year of Sale : 2006
$135 million
Adele Bloch-Bauer, the model,was the wife of a wealthy industrialist in Vienna. He being a patron of the arts, commissioned the work to Klimt. Adele Bloch-Bauer, posed for one more painting which is also in this list. Klimt took three years to complete this painting, showing elaborate and complex ornamentation as seen in the Jugendstil style. Klimt was a member of the Vienna Secession, a group of artists that broke away from the traditional way of painting. The painting was confiscated by the Nazis when they took over Austria, later the Austrian government took possession of the painting.
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Pablo Picasso
Cubism
Year :1932
64"×51", Oil on canvas
Year of Sale : 2010
$106.5 million
Nude, Green Leaves and Bust is one of a series of portraits that Picasso painted of his mistress and muse Marie-Thérèse Walter from 1932. The painting depicts a side-face of the artist on a pedestal observing the naked figure of Marie-Thérèse Walter, then a 17 year old girl.It was bought in 1951 and was only publicly exhibited once, in 1961, to commemorate Picasso's 80th birthday. This is the most recently sold of the lot of expensive paintings in this list (in May 2010).
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Pablo Picasso
Mordernism
39.4"x 32",Oil on canvas
Year :1905
Year of Sale : 2004
$104.2 million
The painting was done during Picasso's Rose Period, soon after he settled in Montmartre section of Paris. The oil on canvas painting depicts a Parisian boy holding a pipe in his left hand and wearing a garland or wreath of flowers. Although Picasso started to paint this picture, he gave it a rest period for about a month. During this time, Picasso decided to finish it off by placing a garland of flowers on the boy's head. It is not known why Picasso decided to do this, but there is a contrast between femininity and masculinity in the picture.
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Andy Warhol
Pop-Art
12' Canvas, Silk screen printing
Year: 1963
Year of Sale : 2009
$100 million
Warhol invented Pop-Art. It believed in using every day objects as its themes. The screen print captures Elvis in a promotional pose for the 1960 western ‘Flaming Star.’One of the reasons for the $100 million price tag is that, while other screen prints were run off on sometimes hundreds of editions, ‘Eight Elvises’ is unique.The picture of Eight Elvis, a 12 ft canvas was part of a much larger 37 feet canvas with 16 Elvises.
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Pablo Picasso
Cubism
50.5" x 37.5", Oil on canvas
Year : 1941
Year of Sale : 2006
$95.2 million
The painting depicts Dora Maar, Picasso's lover, seated on a chair with a small cat perched on her shoulders. The painting is also remarkable for its brilliance of colour and the complex and dense patterning of the model's dress. The powerful figure is set in a dramatic, yet simple setting composed of a vertiginously inclined plane of wooden floorboards and shallow interior space that is arranged in a manner reminiscent of Picasso’s earliest manipulations of space in a cubist manner.Dora Maar au Chat is one of Picasso’s most valued depictions of his lover and artistic companion.
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Artist Gustav Klimt
Symbolism
75" x 47", Oil on canvas
Year :1912
Year of Sale : 2006
$88 million
In Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II, the artist abandoned the iconic ambience and gold decoration of the first portrait in favor of a more modern approach to color. The vivid colors are applied spontaneously, yet with a strong compositional sense. An Asian motif can be seen in the upper background.
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Francis Bacon
Figural Expressionism
78 x 58 in, Oil and pastel on canvas (in three parts)
Year : 1976
Year of Sale : 2008
$86.3 million
Dense with symbolism, the three panels in Triptych, 1976, are filled with a complex, highly charged allegory and supreme paint-handling which shows Bacon’s imagination at its highest pitch. In Triptych, 1976, Bacon draws on Ancient Greek mythology to express his personal tragedy. In the central panel Bacon alludes to the legend of Prometheus, who as a punishment from Zeus is bound to a rock where his liver is perpetually devoured by an eagle. It is also a modern day interpretation of Aeschylus’ famous trilogy The Orestia. To avenge the death of his father at the hands of his mother, Orestes commits matricide and is plagued by the three Furies, the manifestation of guilt. Here, in the central panel, the human form is plagued by three hybrid biomorphic vultures, symbolic of Bacon’s inner demons.
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Vincent van Gogh
Post Impressionism
23.4" x 22", Oil on canvas
Year :1890
Year of Sale : 1990
$82.5 million
Portrait of Dr. Gachet is one of the most revered paintings by Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh of Dr. Paul Gachet, who took care of him in his last months.There are two authentistic versions of the portrait, both painted in June 1890 in Auvers-sur-Oise, near Paris. Both show Doctor gachet sitting at a table and leaning his head onto his right arm, but they are easily differentiated. As a proponent of the post impressionist period, van Gogh emphasized expressing their emotions and sensations through colour and light.
The second version of the portrait is currently in the possession of the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France.
As art lovers and promoters we will take care to update this article-study as frequently as necessary. The paintings are described in the context of its times, with background details that increase the appreciation of the works.
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R.B.Bhaskaran
Indian Mordernism - Madras Art Movement
25" x 19" , Acrylic on Canvas
Available
Price range : INR 1,50,000 - 2,00,000 ($3000 - $4500)
RB Bhaskaran in his new "Still Life" series simplyfies his composition, the forms are majestic and colours stridently bold, confident and youthful - a marker of his every youthful enthusiasm and passion. Yet a scrutiny of his composition reveals his interfacing with three important "forms" namely the vase, fish and bird.
Bhaskaran loves to experiment and does not believe in sticking to a tried and tested formula. He believes an artist needs to move on and mature once a style and theme has become a popular. Bhaskaran has been an international jury member at the Florence Biannale, Italy since 2005.
