From Rembrandt to Vinci: 6 most expensive paintings ever sold by famous artists

The art world has always been a mix of people who love to create art and people who love to collect art. And the collectors aren’t just ordinary people. They are the select few elites who love adorning their walls with the beauty of the artist. And so, many paintings were sold to individuals and governments as a means to help it reach a wider audience.

Here we mention the 6 most expensive paintings ever sold and for how much.

Rembrandt’s ‘The Standard-Bearer’ is beautiful, bright, and a work of pride. It is a portrait of a man holding a white banner with amazing use of Chiaroscuro (the play of light and shadow).
The man is wearing an elaborate outfit, complimenting it with a hat, and on top is an arching feather.
This painting was acquired by the Dutch government for a staggering $198 million (16,61,88,92,400.00 rupees) in 2021.
(Image: milo.dickinson/Instagram)

Jackson Pollock was a leading figure in the abstract art movement, and ‘Number 17A’ is one of his most famous works. It is the epitome of Pollock’s expertise in the ‘drip technique’ where paint is poured and splattered onto a large canvas using a brush or hung-up bucket.
In 2016, ‘Number 17A’ was sold privately for $200 million (16,78,67,10,000.00 rupees).
(Image: jarrinwashere/Instagram)

‘Nafea Faa Ipoipo?’ or in English ‘When Will You Marry?’ is a beautiful painting by Paul Gauguin that features two women, one in traditional attire and one in normal, western clothes. This painting was done during Gauguin's first trip to Tahiti in 1892, and features bold, beautiful colours, and a deep message. The older woman, in traditional attire, asks the younger one when she will get married and she looks uncomfortable and taken aback.
The painting was sold in a private sale for about $210 million (17,62,78,20,000.00 rupees).

(Image: gloriasophieee/Instagram)

‘The Card Players’ is part of a series of five paintings by Paul Cezanne, created during the early 1890s. It shows a bunch of peasants, all dressed nicely in sophisticated attire, playing cards in a quiet setting. It is a simple painting with a dark colour palette and also sold for an extremely high price.
In 2011, one version of ‘The Card Players’ was sold to the Royal Family of Qatar for an estimated $250 million (20,98,61,50,000.00 rupees).
(Image: sosa_tx/Instagram)

Willem de Kooning’s ‘Interchange’ is one of his most famous works. It is simple, minimal, features select colours, and often makes people wonder why it was sold for such a high price. It has some aggressive and energetic brushwork and just makes people think that the artist definitely did a ton of planning before the paint strokes.
It was sold in 2015 for a whopping $300 million (25,18,27,95,000.00 rupees).
(Image: yourdailyartview/Instagram)

Ending here with the most expensive painting ever sold!
‘Salvator Mundi’ which translates to ‘Savior of the World’ is a painting that has very confusing attributions. While some people say that it was painted by Leonardo da Vinci, others believe that da Vinci only partially did the painting, primarily the hands, and face, and the rest was done by his student or someone else.
This painting was sold in 2017 for about $450.3 million (37,79,82,94,575.00 rupees).
(Image: leonardo_da_vinci_masterpiece/Instagram)