TOP 20 Most Expensive Paintings in the World (20 photos)

Let's start with the "cheapest" and gradually work our way up to the painting worth $1 billion. But I think you know its name.

20th place. "Boy with a Pipe" by Pablo Picasso, 1905, sold at Sotheby's for $104.2 million (2004)





This painting is from the artist's "Rose Period." Picasso often visited the Cirque Medrano in Paris, where he was inspired by the images of young acrobats—it was among them that he found the model for this painting.

19th place. Andy Warhol's "Silver Car Crash (Double Crash)," 1963, sold at Sotheby's for $105.4 million (2013)



Yes, this one sold for $105 million. The painting features a recurring car crash motif, depicted in shades of gray, silver, and black.

18th place. Edvard Munch's "The Scream," 1895, sold at Sotheby's for $119.9 million (2012)

Munch's "The Scream" – how did it even become a masterpiece? Unless the tour guide tells you it's a symbol of anxiety and loneliness, you'll understand :)?

17th place. Willem de Kooning's "Woman III," 1953, $137.5 million



De Kooning's "Woman III"—really, what kind of scribble is this? The paint seems to have been thrown at the canvas in panic: the face is distorted, the forms are arbitrary, everything seems on the verge of disintegration. And yet this is one of his most famous works! The paradox is that behind this chaos and ugliness, some see wild energy and power. It's amazing that such a thing has not only been recognized as art, but has almost been elevated to a cult.

16th place. Francis Bacon's "Three Studies for a Portrait of Lucian Freud," 1969, sold at Christie's for $142.4 million (2013)



"A painting has no meaning if it is disjointed," the artist wrote on each painting in the triptych. Why? Bacon loved to mutilate portraits to reveal not the exterior, but the inner turmoil of a person. Here, the personality is divided into three parts. And then, interpret it as you will...

15th place. Gustav Klimt's "Water Serpents II," 1907, sold privately for $150 million in 2013.



Klimt's "Water Serpents II"—well, at least it's beautiful, but still a little odd. The women seem to float in gold and patterns, intertwined in some kind of dreamscape where everything shines and flows. Lots of gilding, lots of bodies, minimal meaning—but maximum decorativeness.

14th place. "Paired Portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit" by Rembrandt, 1634, $160 million



It's all serious: black dresses, lace, gold, the newlyweds posing as expected. Pre-wedding photo shoot of the 17th century :).

13th place. "Masterpiece" by Roy Lichtenstein, 1962, $165 million.



Lichtenstein's "Masterpiece" – yes, they paid $165 million for that! For a poster! And yet, the artist most likely wanted to mock the idiots who mistake pop art for high art. The caption on the painting reads: "Dear Brad, this painting is a masterpiece! Soon all of New York will be crazy about your work!" An irony that the market swallowed along with the frame.

12th place. "Nude Seated on a Divan" by Amedeo Modigliani, 1917, $170.4 million



When this work was shown at an exhibition in 1917, the police shut it down for "indecency." Now, more than a hundred years later, the painting is displayed in museums under guard and valued as a subtle example of eroticism in art. It's astonishing: once a scandal and disgrace, now it brings in millions and is considered a masterpiece.

11th place. Pablo Picasso's "Women of Algiers (Version O), 1955, sold at Christie's for $179.4 million (2015)



Picasso painted 15 versions of this painting. The last, Version O, became one of the most expensive in the world. But all the paintings in the series were sold. If you calculate the total price, it has already exceeded half a billion dollars. :)

10th place. "No. 6 (Violet, Green, and Red)" by Mark Rothko, 1951 – $186 million



Yes, it's a painting! They paid $186 million for it. And you know who the fool was? Billionaire Yuri Rybolovlev.

9th place. "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer" by Gustav Klimt, 1907, $190 million



When Klimt painted this portrait in 1907, Adele was the wife of a wealthy industrialist and a patron of the arts. The painting is a brilliant example of Klimt's golden style, with ornamentation and sparkle.

8th place. Andy Warhol's "Blue Marilyn," 1964, sold at Christie's for $195 million (2022)



Warhol simply took a photograph of Marilyn Monroe, turned it into a crude, repeating image with a blue filter, and the result was "Blue Marilyn." The spots and smears in places resemble fingerprints rather than a portrait. But we've been led to believe it's a masterpiece...

7th place. Rembrandt's "Standard Bearer," 1636, $198 million



A self-portrait of the young Rembrandt as a standard bearer, painted in 1636, when he was just beginning his career in Amsterdam. Clients expected a ceremonial portrait from Rembrandt—a dashing warrior in armor, shining like a brand-new guilder. Instead, they received a tired militiaman in a tattered jacket, his face adorned with the words "I want to sleep."

6th place. Jackson Pollock's "Number 17A," 1948, $200 million



In 1948, critics denounced this work as "the scribblings of a drunken painter"—as if a child could do it blindfolded. Today, "Number 17A" is more than just a canvas with paint, but a symbol of artistic freedom, sold for $200 million.

5th place. "When's the wedding?" Paul Gauguin, 1892, $210 million



In 1892, this painting was considered "barbaric" and "crude"—where's the elegance, they said, what even is this? Gauguin himself, poor and ill, painted it on a piece of burlap because he couldn't afford a canvas. Today, these "wild" colors and flat figures are considered a revolution in art, and a Qatari sheikh bought the painting for $210 million.

4th place. "The Card Players" by Paul Cézanne, 1892-1993, $250 million



This painting was also bought by the Emir of Qatar. I wonder what he liked about it? Two peasants, a bottle of wine, cards, and no women nearby. Maybe that's what it was? After all, those who often eat in expensive restaurants sometimes dream of a simple meal of potatoes and herring. But it's impossible – their status doesn't allow them to stoop to such "primitive" fare...

3rd place. Willem de Kooning's "Exchange," 1955, $300 million



Oh, this abstract art. Whatever you paint, it'll be true. Some people think it's art, others think it's just a scribble. Both sides think the other is an idiot. Only art dealers rejoice – every time there's a buyer willing to add a few tens of millions. And lo and behold, the price tag is already $300 million. And the painting is still the same...

2nd place. "Salvator Mundi" by Leonardo da Vinci, circa 1500, $450.3 million



This painting was long considered lost, and later considered a mere copy of a work by Leonardo's students. However, in 2017, it sold for $450 million, making it the most expensive painting in the world. There is still debate as to whether da Vinci painted it himself or merely participated in its creation.

1st place. Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa," 1503, $1 billion (not for sale)



It's now the most famous painting in the world, but it wasn't always so. Painted in the early 16th century, it long remained just another one of Leonardo's many works. That all changed in 1911, when the painting was stolen from the Louvre—a scandal that made it world-famous.

What makes the "Mona Lisa" special? Its enigmatic smile, impossible to accurately interpret, and Leonardo's masterful technique—soft shadows and smooth transitions that create the effect of a living face.

Today, there's a line to get it at the Louvre, and reproductions of it are everywhere—from textbooks to souvenir shops. The irony is that the painting, which Leonardo himself considered unfinished, has become the greatest symbol of art of all time.

By the way, where does the $1 billion price tag come from? It's because the painting is insured for that amount. So, they think it's worth at least $1 billion.