4 of the most expensive paintings in the world, ranked: from Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi bought by Saudi royalty, to Paul Cézanne’s The Card Players – but what about the Mona Lisa?
- As Hong Kong Art Month kicks off, we rank some of the most expensive paintings ever – one of Paul Cézanne’s The Card Players pieces went to the Qatar royal family for US$250 million
- Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi broke auction records when it sold at Christie’s – but it wouldn’t hold a candle to estimates of the Mona Lisa, which is part of the Louvre Museum in Paris, and not for sale
As the city becomes the art capital of the world at this time, we round up some of the most expensive paintings ever for your viewing pleasure. Some pieces are on display to the public in glitzy museums, while others are hidden away in private collections.
4. Paul Cézanne’s The Card Players
Estimated price: US$250 million
The Card Players is a series of oil paintings by French artist Paul Cézanne depicting Provençal peasants immersed in a card game, reflecting his interest in portraying everyday life with simplicity and solidity.
3. Paul Gauguin’s When Will You Marry?
Estimated price: US$300 million
Paul Gauguin named his painting When Will You Marry? for the translation of a Tahitian phrase nafea faa ipoipo. The French artist completed it in 1892 during a stay on the South Pacific island. This vivid artwork, which sold for an estimated US$300 million in a private sale to a Swiss collector in 2015, per The New York Times, was rumoured to have been bought for the state-owned Qatar Museums, according to an ArtNet report.
It features two Tahitian women against a luscious landscape backdrop, embodying the artist’s fascination with the Tahitian culture and landscape.
2. Willem de Kooning’s Interchange
Estimated price: US$300 million
