4 of the most expensive paintings in the world of art

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From Munch to Picasso, here are some of the most expensive paintings of the market

We know many of the masterpieces of art through museums, but are they the original version or are they in the hands of collectors? Below we tell you how much four of the most expensive art market works cost.

Leer en español: 4 de las obras más costosas en el mundo del arte

1. The Scream – Edvard Munch (1895)

This famous piece painted by the main exponent of expressionism, according to El Cultural portal was auctioned for 120 million dollars, which is equivalent to 91 million euros in the year of purchase. For the year 2012, the artistic piece became the most expensive work ever sold in an auction, as the same portal said. The possible buyer, according to the experts, could have been the royal family of Qatar.

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2. Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer I – Gustav Klimt (1907)

According to the website El Cultural, this controversial painting made in 1907 by the Austrian painter Gustav Klimt was sold privately in 2006. The happy buyer was the cosmetics magnate Ronald Lauder, who bought it for about 135 million dollars that equals 107 million euros, according to the same portal . This painting inspired the film The Golden Lady, directed by Simon Curtis, which tells how the work was stolen during World War II.

3. Massacre of the Innocents – Pedro Pablo Rubens (1612)

According to El Cultural portal, the painting by the German painter Pedro Pablo Rubens topped the list of the most expensive pieces of art between the months of January and July 2002, when it was sold at Sotheby's auction house in London. The happy buyer was the collector Kenneth Thompson, who acquired the work at the beginning of July for the sum of 68,850,000 euros.

4. Boy with a pipe – Pablo Picasso (1905)

I could not miss any work of this Malaga genius. In May 2004, Picasso's oil painting was sold at Sotheby's auction house in New York. Compared to those already discussed, this painting was acquired by an anonymous buyer for 104.1 million dollars equivalent to 74 million euros, as confirmed by the El Cultural portal. Boy with a pipe is one meter tall and shows a melancholic young man from Paris. This work belonged to the Whitney collection from which other works by artists such as Manet, Degas, and Monet, among others, are sold, as stated by the same portal.

LatinAmerican Post | Ana María Aray

Translated from "4 de las obras más costosas en el mundo del arte"