Highly recommend to watch The Word's Most Expensive Paintings Ever Bought with art critic Alastair Sooke. The list is a bit old, but still it is a very nice documentary, especially, in the lights of recent "Olympic records" on the art market of last month.
If you have not read my Picasso Baby do so before or after watching this documentary which explains some of the main reasons of these skyrocketing prices mentioned in that post!
Yesterday, November 12 2013, Christie's New York auction in Rockefeller Plaza has broken more than one record: the auction itself gathered unprecedented $691,5 mln in total sales of which $142,4 mln. were paid for Francis Bacon's triptych, Three Studies of Lucian Freud (1969). This sale smashed previous record of the most expensive painting ever sold in public auction - Edvard Munch's The Scream (1985) which went for $119.9mln. on May 2, 2012 on the competitor's auction.
According to Former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Bacon was the “(that) man who paints
those dreadful pictures”. This triptych depicts Bacon's friend and rival Freud and was sold almost twice as much as it was estimated by Christie's
Edvard Munch's The Scream has several variations.
This one is tempera and pastel on board (1893)
but very few of you probably know this painting
called Despair, oil on canvas (1893-94)
Meet Jeff Koons' 12 ft "Balloon Dog (Orange)" - the most expensive piece of art by a living artist sold on a public auction at a record $58,4 mnl. Jeff Koons made five variations of colored sculptures (red, orange, magenta, blue and yellow) aiming at reflecting "<..> joy of celebrating a birthday or a party." This theme has been well-marked appearing in many topnotch cultural and art sites such as Grand Canal in Venice to the roof terrace of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Jeff Koon's 12 ft "Balloon Dog (Orange)" from 1994 "Celebration" series
Gerhard Richter's Cathedral Square, Milan until
yesterday was the most expensive painting of a living artist
The Card Players 1892–93. Oil on canvas, 97 × 130 cm
Cézanne have made numerous studies and five paintings of the theme which is very significant for art history and is a cornerstone in the artist's artistic career, a prelude to his most acclaimed works.
The Card Players, 1892-95,Courtauld Institute, London
The Card Players 1894–1895, Musée d'Orsay, Paris
The Card Players, 1890–92, Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
If you are curious, the list of the most expensive art pieces ever sold (ca.50 items) in auctions include nine Picasso's and five Vincent van Goghworks, buyers apart from mostly American museums include Arab royals, quite a few hedge fund founders and businessmen, and ex-prime minister of Georgia, also a successful businessman. IMHO, Picasso is a Louis Vuitton of art world - or you crave it and adore (especially, the real luxury models), or you find it too mainstream like some of LV's model that made one of my consultant colleagues specializing in luxury say that LV is an "aspirational brand for secretaries" (no offense, plus, this colleague has so many leather goods with LV monogram). Myself, I like a more figurative blue and pink periods of Piccaso and the time of his collaboration with Braque.
Coming back to aspirational point of art, I want to finish the post with famous rapper Jay-Z's recent song Picasso Baby.
Contemporary artists nowadays experiment with traditional arts (Faiq Akhmed or Murat Palta) or refer to easily recognizable art pieces by reinventing their form/representation (Vik Muniz, Alejandra Zapata, Rauf Mammadov) or giving a new interpretation to these iconic images (Kristyna Milde, Banksy, Eugenia Gapchinska, Alex H. Parker).
Below is the compilation of works in various techniques by very different artists united under a wide name "new old".
Vik Muniz
Started as a sculptor, visual artist Vik Muniz is probably the most best known contemporary artist recreating famous imagery from art history or pop culture with everyday objects such as chocolate, pasta, puzzles, waste or some luxury ones such as diamonds or black caviar.
Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte after Seurat
Mona Lisa after Leonardo Da Vinci
The Tower of Babel after Bruegel
Chad Wys
Nick van Woert
Banksy
Eugenia Gapchinska
Eugenia calls herself "Happiness Supplier #1" and indeed creates very positive art. Below are the images from Alice's Dreams book.
Alice's Dreams
Alice's Dreams
Alice's Dreams
Heldrik Kerstens
Dutch artist likes to experiment with "daily objects" converting them into medieval head wear.
Bubble Wrap
Lamp
Napkin
Paper Roll
Towel
Davide Quayola
A London-based visual artist, or better, architect, transforms the reality, "investigates dialogues and the unpredictable collisions, tensions and equilibriums between the real and artificial, the figurative and abstract, the old and new" (Vimeo channel).
Bence Hajdu
Another "architect" of painted reality erases people or animals leaving famous paintings abandoned and deserted.
The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci
Seaport with the Embarkation of St. Ursula (1641) after Claude Lorrain
Oath of the Horatii (1784) after Jacques-Louis David
The Skating Minister (1790s) after Raeburn
Oculus in the camera degli sposi (1473) after Andrea Mantegna
Murat Palta
“A miniaturist creates his art by heeding his conscience and by obeying the principles in which he believes, fearing nothing. he pays no attention to what his enemies, the zealots and those who envy him have to say.”
In the times that book describes, a miniaturist was assassinated because of his revolutionary very Western-like style of drawing. Nowadays we can only admire sense of humor and idea of Murat. In his graduation portfolio West (cinema) meets East (Ottoman miniatures).
Star Wars
Star Wars, Detail
Star Wars, Detail
Star Wars, Detail
Alien
Alien, Details
Goodfellas
Goodfellas, Detail
Inception
Inception, Dretail
Inception, Dretail
Kill BiII
Kill BiII, Dretail
Kill BiII, Dretail
Kill BiII, Dretail
The Pulp Fiction
Scarface
Scarface, Detail
Scarface, Detail
Terminator II
Terminator II, detail
Terminator II, detail
Faiq Akhmed
Faiq's art is directed towards transforming traditional boundaries of Eastern tradition icon, a carpet,beyond any recognition - he distorts or pixelizes the patterns, colors them into unusual colors or even adds some cartoon-like creatures.
Carpet Equalizer, 200 x 230 cm Plastic, woolen handmade carpet 2012
Conversation, 150 X 100 sm Woolen handmade carpet 2011
Tradition in Pixels, 150 X 100 sm Woolen handmade carpet 2011
Rabbit, 150 X 100 cm Woolen handmade carpet 2011
Wim Devoye
Ah Xian
Another artist reinterpreting ancient craft is Chinese artist Ah Xian currently living in Australia who uses traditional Chinese art materials and techniques such as jade, cloisonne, bronze, porcelain and lacquer-ware to form contemporary sculptures.
Kristyna Milde
Czech artist recreates famous paintings with blond or dark hair naked Barbie dolls - an attempt to "show the similarities between stereotypical representation in the past and the present time."
The Dressed Maja After Goya, 2008. Source: Flickr
The Naked Maja After Goya, 2008. Source: Flickr
Consequences of war after Rubens, 2008. Source: Flickr
Alejandra Zapata
Mexican photographer paraphrases iconic historical images bringing them into context "so confusing and indeterminate in the present social and cultural aspect" (artist's Saatchi Online profile).
Re-production of Breakfast on the grass
Re-productrion of Gabrielle d'Estrees and one of her Sister
The Meninas
Re-production of The Last Supper
Rauf Mammadov
The Last Supper photo features models with Down's Syndrome in Moscow's Frolov Gallery
The Last Supper, Detail
The Last Supper, Detail
REMAKE photo project
Hispter in Stone photo project by Léo Caillard and Alexis Persani
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