The most expensive paintings in the world, sold in 2016

1) Femme Assise by Pablo Picasso - $63.4 million

One of the iconic paintings by Picasso, this one is actually said to depict his lover Fernande Olivier.  Most of Picasso’s cubist paintings are in museums, and that is one of the main reasons why this painting fetched such a high price.

After all, cubism is the technique which paved the way for modern 21st-century art.

2) Lot and His Daughters by Peter Paul Rubens - $58 million

Lot and His Daughters painting has been away from the public eye for centuries now. It was bought by a Roman Emperor Joseph I and then by the First Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, and since then the painting has been in private collections only.

The last sale of the painting happened in 1896, and after that, the painting only became available for sale again in July 2016.

3) Untitled by Jean-Michael Basquiat - $57.2 million

Back in 2004, the painting was sold for just $4.5 million. But when the painting again became available a few years back, it garnered a whopping $57.2 million. And this only proved that neo-expressionist paintings are continuously getting more attention.

4) No. 17 by Mark Rothko - $32.6 million

Created during Mark Rothko’s blue period, this painting is a contemporary art masterpiece done in the postwar period. This painting might be a part of Rothko’s experimental period but that does not make it any less stunning, and that is the reason it got such a high price.

5) Le bassin aux nympheas by Claude Monet - $27 million

There is no denying that Claude Monet is one of the most talented artists that the world has ever seen. A skilled impressionist, Monet used natural scenes and muted colours in this painting.

And even though it is extremely unlikely to find one of his paintings on sale, this one did turn up and was sold for $27

6) Orange Grove by Agnes Martin - $10.7 million

Orange Grove by Agnes Martin is the epitome of minimalism with orange horizontal and vertical lines running throughout the painting, so much so that, they look limitless.

Even though the painting was supposed to get $6-8 million, it was able to fetch $10.7 million, and one of the main reasons for that is the renewed interest in 20th-century female artists.

Portrait of Dr Gachet by Vincent van Gogh – One of the most expensive paintings in the world ever

Doctor Gachet was responsible for taking care of Vincent van Gogh in the last years of his life, and that is why Van Gogh ended up painting a portrait of him. Actually, there are two versions of the same painting, and both of them were made in 1890.

Van Gogh was known to paint his interpretation of the subject, instead of exactly replicating a person and that is what he did with Doctor Gachet’s painting as well. In the painting, he is gazing afar, with sad and droopy eyes.

Not so surprisingly, the Portrait of Doctor Gachet is the most expensive paintings by the artist. It was sold for $82.5 million in 1890 and is currently a part of a private collection.

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