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Gustav Klimt was a brilliant and extremely remarkable artist who’s work was produced in the time of Austrian born artist’s career. The works of that time were basically seen controversial. Appallingly, the work was largely criticized due to exotic and erotic nature of the artist’s works. His art forms were not at all subtle. In fact he entirely and exceptionally used symbolism in his paintings and the marvels he created went far beyond people imagination of that era. Although, the efforts he worked with did not pay off well as it was not widely accepted by the people but some bits he designed during his colorful career are seen currently as the most influential and important pieces of Austria.
“Whoever wants to know something about me – as an artist who alone is significant – they should look attentively at my pictures and there seek to recognize what I am and what I want.”
Gustav Klimt, the Austrian painter was Vienna’s most esteemed advocator of the Art Nouveau. His amusing styles were also renowned in Germany as Jugendstil which literally meant “youth style”. He is remembered and honoured as the greatest of all decorative painters of twentieth century and he also created marvellously some significant forms of erotic art. At the very beginning of his career, he was accomplished as a conventional painter and encountered modern trends of European art from that encourage him to produce his personal uniquely eclectic and fantastic styles.
“I can paint and draw. I believe this myself and a few other people say that they believe this too. But I’m not certain of whether it’s true.”
He created many paintings and murals ceiling in various buildings in Vienna and got famous throughout the Austro Hungarian Empire. Then Gustav Klimt very conveniently and passionately grew out of the historical fashion of interior décor. Fortunately, the art world existing in Vienna at the end of the century was looking for new ways and directions just like Gustav Klimt was. By resting under the strong influence of Asian art, symbolism and several European artistic movements, He advanced his enchanting formal language of mosaic elements, two dimensional, instructive colors and alluring art ornaments of Nouveau.
One of his most wondrously famous painting known as “the kiss” was marked as the peak of golden phase and a new form of high spirited art period got introduced. This was characterized by the dominating catchy ornaments and the use of terrific gold leaf.
According to the respectable painter Klimt, he confessed that self-portraits were never his cup of tea. But later on, strange yet interestingly, he started to paint people especially women. He created women portraits in his own erotic forms which is truly charming and abstract in its own manner. Floge who was the most affectionate companion of Klimt introduced him to one of the lakes called Attersee. He got inspired by the charismatic and enamoring landscapes where he normally spends his summers.
Gustav Klimt started travelling to Rome and Florence in 1911 and constructed various masterpieces. The Virgin, Death and Life and The Bride are among the most provocative and infatuating landscape art works that he designed the next coming years. Outside the boundaries of Vienna, these marvels were widely accepted and admired mainly due to the different forms of arts. He still maintained his work which was graphical in nature and took over a non-traditional thinking depicting landscapes and human figures. Majority of the work that he painted was only a few years away from his death and it was largely accepted and appreciated outside Vienna.
The golden words of the pleasing artist who won hearts of almost all the art lovers by creating desirable paintings for the entire world:
“Sometimes I miss out the morning’s painting session and instead study my Japanese books in the open.”
“There is nothing that special to see when looking at me. I’m a painter who paints day in day out, from morning till evening – figure pictures and landscapes, more rarely portraits.”
Pablo Picasso, indubitably one of the finest artists to have been born in the 20th century, lives in our hearts and minds through his marvelous work. Whenever he stroked a blank canvas with his brush, a rift in time was made; a piece of work immortalized at the very instance it was created.
His paintings, besides being iconic and largely recognized throughout the world, also often sell for substantial fortunes. The Spanish maestro’s work has become the pride and honor of art galleries, museums and private collections over the years. No other artist of his age has had such a huge impact upon the world of art and upon the life of a commoner alike.
Having previously looked upon the most popular works of the artist, we now bring you a compilation of his most expensive paintings. Here’s a list of the 5 most expensive paintings of Pablo Picasso:
The Spanish maestro’s very own tender-aged mistress Marie-Therese Walter is depicted in this exquisite work of art. She has been captured sleeping on a comfortable arm chair; a scenery that Picasso went on to replicate in another one of his Marie-Therese Walter paintings titled ‘La Lecture’. Legend has it that the artist finished this brilliant painting in one sitting on the afternoon of January 24th 1932. Marie-Therese Walter was only twenty four years of age back then while Picasso had just hit his fifties. There are two things about this painting which make it particularly renowned: it’s lush erotic imagery and the accident in which it was damaged back in 2006.
La Reve makes it to the top of the list of Pablo Picasso’s most expensive paintings. It has been sold for record price only to break that record in future! It placed sixth in the list of the most expensive paintings ever to have been sold back in November 1997 when, at a Christie’s auction, it brought in an astounding 48.4 million US dollars. It was then being resold in 2006 to the well known art collector Steven Cohen for 139 million (thrice its record price) by its previous owner and casino tycoon Steve Wynn. Wynn, while showing off this majestic work to a few of his friends, ran his arm right through the painting which therefore lowered its value down to 85 million. At first he planned not to sell it again but, in early 2013, he got it fixed and made good as new. The painting was then sold, at another one of Christie’s auctions, to Steven Cohen in 2006 for a staggering 155 million US dollars which makes it the second most expensive painting ever to have been sold!
Being another one of Marie-Therese Walter’s depictions, Nude, Green Leaves and Bust, like La Reve, also appeals to the eye of the beholder with its erotic content. Along the bottom of the painting, Picasso’s young mistress can be seen lying naked on floor with her limbs stretched out irregularly. In the background, leaves of the philodendron – or love – tree can be spotted. Picasso fancied the love tree and kept one in his residence. Upon keener inspection of the painting, there can be spotted a face coming out from behind a curtain. It is assumed to be Picasso’s own, emerging to deliver a kiss on his mistresses’ body. The painting belongs to the artist’s famous ‘blue period’. By now, he had perfected his own painting techniques. It is believed that Nude, Green Leaves and Bust was finished within a day.
Sidney and Frances Brody, famous art collectors of the 1950s bought this majestic artwork for a fairly low $17,000 somewhere in 1952. Until May 2010, the painting resided with the Brodies. It was then auctioned at Christie’s where it was sold for $106.5 million. Until La Reve was resold in 2013, Nude Green Leaves and Bust held the prestigious title of being Picasso’s most expensive painting while also holding the world record for being the most expensive painting sold at an auction.
Garcon a la Pipe shows, in portrait, a boy wearing a crown made of roses on his head while holding a pipe in his left hand. This boy was a street worker from Paris who used to pose for Picasso. The maestro was only twenty four years of age when he finished painting this brilliant painting. Garcon a la Pipe brought the young Picasso a great deal of fame. The color theme of the painting distinguishes it from his later works. This one belongs to his famous Rose period.
The very first person to have bought this masterpiece was John Whitney, who paid $30,000 for it back in 1950. Whitney was the American ambassador to Great Britain. Garcon a la Pipe stayed a part of his private collection until the May of 2004. John Whitney died in 1982 and his wife, Betsey found a philanthropic organization called ‘Greentree Foundation’ soon afterwards. The painting was brought to a Sotheby’s auction under the Greentree Foundation’s supervision on 2004. The painting held the record for the greatest pre-sale estimate ever back then when it was estimated to sell around $70 million. The Spanish maestro’s masterpiece went on astonishing the experts attending the auction when it shot up to $104 million. It is the third most expensive painting by Picasso.
Besides being one of his most iconic works, Dora Maar Au Chat was Picasso’s own personal favorite. The subject of the portrait is his very own mistress Dora Maar, who also happened to be one of the most popular surrealist photographers of the time. He always used to refer to her as his own ‘private muse’. The painting shows Dora Maar, alike Marie-Therese Walter, sitting on an armchair posing for the Picasso. In the background, a black cat can be seen right beside Dora’s shoulder. The Spanish maestro blends both bright and dark shades brilliantly in this work of his. For instance, the chaotic pattern of Dora’s dress, it increases the mystery of the painting two-fold.
Leigh and Mary Block, art collectors from Chicago, originally owned the painting. They decided to sell it to Chicago’s Gidwitz family’s private collection in 1963. After remaining a part of the Gidwitz collection for a good 43 years, it was put up for auction at the Sotheby’s in 2006. Experts estimated its value to go up to $50 million. And just like Garcon a la Pipe, Dora Maar Au Chat too went beyond it’s pre-sale estimates by quite a large sum. It was sold to a buyer whose identity remains unknown to this day. He paid $95.22 million (which is twice the pre-sale estimate) for the painting and it finally ceased to be a part of the Gidwitz collection.
Femme Aux Bras Croises, which fairly translates to: ‘woman with crossed arms’ belongs to the maestro’s famous Blue Period. It is believed that the subject of this artwork was an actual female inmate belonging to a prison hospital in Paris called Saint Lazare. Among the many owners of this brilliant portrait was a famous writer and art collector named Gertrude Stein. He later had the high honor of becoming a subject of one of Picasso’s paintings.
The portrait was bought buy Chauncey McCormick, an art collector from a wealthy American family in 1963. It stayed with the mcCormicks till 2000. It was then bought by an anonymous buyer at an auction at Christie’s. There went on an intense battle of bids before the owner was chose. It sold for 55 million US dollars and remains, to this day, among the most expensive Picasso paintings ever.
While Sandro Botticelli didn’t get to relish the perks of fame much during his lifetime, paintings by Botticelli came to be recognized as one of the high-flying elements of the Early Renaissance. A Florentine by origin, he is considered among the more educated artists of the Renaissance period. While they are many in numbers, we shall look at some of the more well-known paintings by Botticelli.
This one (pictured above) is more commonly and frequently referred to as simply The Annunciation. Utilizing Tempera on Panel as the medium, it took close to 1 year for Botticelli to complete it after it was commissioned by the Church of Florentine Convent of Costello in 1489; the completion took place sometime in 1490. Currently available for viewing at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the original painting has “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee” from St. Luke’s Gospel (1:35) inscribed in Latin at the bottom. Continue reading
The internet is a great place to buy paintings; or indeed anything these days. Online stores and auction houses operate round the clock and your desired products can be obtained with just a click of the button; the sheer variety is also bewildering and you can browse through literally thousands of watercolor paintings in a single store, let alone others.
Buying watercolor flower and oil flower paintings on the internet saves you from a lot of unnecessary fatigue if you were to go physically to an art gallery or print shops to select one; since this calls for you to dedicate many hours of your precious time and energy.
Fernando Botero Angulo is a Columbian artist and sculptor who has amassed great fame and has been a world renowned figurative artist for well over 3 decades. He was born in the city of Medellin, which is also the second largest municipality in Columbia on April 19, 1932. Fernando had a tough childhood as his family struggled to make ends meet; his father David Botero rode on horseback and was a salesman, while his mother Flora Angulo was a seamstress.
David Botero died when Fernando was only 4 years old and the little family looked towards their mother as their sole financial support. From then on, Botero’s uncle supported the family and paid for Fernando to be sent to a matador’s school for 2 years. Fernando had initially been isolated from the more mainstream art genres as presented in cultural institutions and museums. The young boy was instead influenced by the Baroque sculpture styles of the rich city life and early colonial churches.
By the time he was 16 years old, Fernando Botero had already published his first mainstream illustrations for the daily El Colombiano paper’s Sunday supplement. The money earned from these publications was used to pay the high school fees which Botero attended at the Liceo de Marinilla de Antioquia. It was during this time that his paintings were first exhibited in 1948.
Abstract Art in its most basic form is the modern take classical artistic expression form like Expressionism, Impressionism, and Romanticism. In fact, abstract art as we have come to know it today almost didn’t exist until the late 19th century. It had been experimented on by classical artists in the 17th and 18th century, but it had not yet been recognized as a distinct practice that could capitalize as a separate art entity in itself.
Broadly speaking, when we talk about abstract art, we also mention Figurative and Non-Figurative art. But there are subtle differences between these three art forms and a sweeping generalization is not so easily explained. It is prudent therefore to consider Abstractionism in art as being fundamentally different from these other 2 categories. In fact, we may even say that Abstract Art is totally different in the sense that artists aim to deliberately distort their depictions of seemingly random and ordinary things.
This deviation of reality is what makes Abstract art so popular and unique. Depending on the level of abstractionism we divide this art in to two categories; Fauvism and Cubism. If the paintings depict a partial deviation from reality then it is termed as Fauvism whereas complete deviation is Cubism. Thus we can conclude that abstract art never really strives to create artistic brilliance in the form of realism (as was the case in classical art) but rather there are a whole horde of potential subjects that can be addressed through Abstract Art.
Art is basically anything that results through the bodily expression of certain ideas and states of the human mind and emotions through visual and optical means; meaning paintings, music, all these are classified as art forms. Arts can be classified into a diverse number of contemporary styles and expressions, common art forms include painting, print making, and sculpture.
The 3 art forms mentioned above have been around ever since the advent of modern man dating back to the Egyptian age. More recent trends have emerged such as performing arts which include theatre, film, music, and dance. But the subject of discussion here is solely painting. There are many different kinds of paintings too, and art had really diversified into 3 major classes; Romanticism, Expressionism, and Impressionism.
The world of arts and craft are bereft with highly valuable creations from popular artists and sculptures. These valuable paintings and the like are showcased at some of the world’s leading art museums as well as private collections; many people are enthusiastic collectors since the possession of any one of such notable works exude a certain class or elite of the owner and says a lot about his personality.
While collectors may adopt the legal process of acquiring a historically significant painting or artifact by paying the millions of dollars it costs, there are some who prefer stealing.
Historically, there have been significant paintings that were stolen at some time and remained unseen for many decades afterwards, but a majority of paintings resurface after a few years; mostly on the black market, in private collections, or the authorities recover it.
Discussed below are some of the famous paintings that have been stolen during the last 50 years. Continue reading
Amerighi da Caravaggio or Michaelangelo Merisi as he is more famously called was a popular Italian artist from the 16th century. Caravaggio was born in the year 1571 in the city of Milan, Italy.
He showed great potential for art ever since very early in his childhood, and eventually would go on to train under such coveted names as Simone Peterzano in his birth city of Milan. When he was 20 years old, Caravaggio moved to Rome where he was able to use his talents as a gifted painter to get painting contracts for many new palazzos and churches which required emerging talent for filling its interior spaces and domes.
Abstract Art is a relatively new kind of contemporary expressionism through which apparently random blotches of color and patterns are used to communicate ideas. It is often mixed with non-objective art and non-figurative art; there are similarities among all three, but the meaning of each is not exactly identical. So it is better to perceive Abstract Art as separate from other two.
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