It's tempting to assume that the most expensive painting in the world is Da Vinci's masterpiece, the Mona Lisa. Although you would be correct in guessing the artist, that would not be entirely true. Currently, the highest price paid for a painting is $450.3 million, paid for another work of his, Salvator Mundi.
Although Mona Lisa's theoretical value could be way higher (some say more than a billion dollars!), it's not for sale. And it will not be anytime soon. Hence, Italian La Gioconda, just like some of the other most famous paintings you would expect to cost an arm and leg, can't be included in the list of most expensive paintings in the world. They might be one day, but for now, we can only look at the most expensive art pieces purchased at auctions or private sales. However, before we hop into the list of the most expensive paintings ever sold, we want to emphasize a few things.
This list is far from complete. That is because private transactions are not always reported to the media; even if they are, some sensitive details (the price, buyer, or seller) may not be disclosed. Besides, the most expensive paintings we used for our listing are all in the public domain. Hence, the most expensive art pieces with strict copyright laws had to be excluded from our list.
#41 Darmstadt Madonna
Artist: Hans Holbein | Year (completed): 1526 | Price (original): ~$75 million
After hanging in the museums on long-term loan, the Darmstadt Madonna was sold to a German billionaire and art collector, Reinhold Würth, via a Frankfurt dealer in 2011 for around $75 million. Apparently, if the artwork had not been legally required to remain in Germany, the painting could have fetched over €100 million on the international market.
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#42 Diana And Actaeon
Artist: Titian | Year (completed): 1559 | Price (original): $70.6 million
The "poesies," a collection of seven well-known paintings that portray mythical scenes from Ovid's Metamorphoses, include Diana and Actaeon. In 2009, the 7th Duke of Sutherland, who acquired the artwork by descent, sold it for £50 million to the National Galleries of Scotland and the National Gallery in London.
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#43 Nude Sitting On A Divan
Artist: Amedeo Modigliani | Year (completed): 1917 | Price (original): $68.9 million
The piece was part of a series of nude paintings by Modigliani completed in 1917 that caused quite a stir when they were exhibited in Paris that year. An unidentified bidder purchased the artwork in 2010 for $68.9 million at Sotheby's New York.
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#44 Peasant Woman Against A Background Of Wheat
Artist: Vincent van Gogh | Year (completed): 1890 | Price (original): $47.5 million
Since its creation in 1980, the picture has passed through the hands of several owners. In 1997, Steve Wynn paid $47.5 million for the painting when he purchased it in a private sale in New York. However, in 2005, news broke that billionaire hedge fund investor Steven A. Cohen had bought the artwork from Steve Wynn together with Gauguin's The Bathers for a collected $120 million. However, none of this information has been confirmed.
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#45 Portrait Of A Halberdier
Artist: Pontormo | Year (completed): 1537 | Price (original): $35.5 million
Before passing through several private hands, the piece was recorded in the collection of the Riccardi family in Florence. Now in the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, in 1989, Portrait Of A Halberdier was auctioned to its present owner for $32.5 million, making it the most expensive old master artwork sold up to that date.
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#46 Les Alyscamps
Artist: Vincent van Gogh | Year (completed): 1888 | Price (original): $66.3 million
The Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh created a pair of paintings, or "pendants," titled Les Alyscamps, depicting autumnal scenes in Arles, France. One painting was auctioned off in 2003 for over $11 million, while the other painting from the pair (pictured above) sold for $66.3 million to an unnamed buyer in 2015.
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#47 Cabanes De Bois Parmi Les Oliviers Et Cyprès
Artist: Vincent van Gogh | Year (completed): 1889 | Price (original): $71.4 million
Before its current owner, the famous Van Gogh painting belonged to late Dallas oil tycoon Edwin L. Cox. When his Impressionist art troves were put up for auction in 2021, Cabanes De Bois Parmi Les Oliviers Et Cyprès was sold for an astonishing $71.4 million.
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#48 Nu Couché (Sur Le Côté Gauche)
Artist: Amedeo Modigliani | Year (completed): 1917 | Price (original): $157.2 million
One of Modigliani’s unclad masterpieces, Nu Couché, depicts a naked woman reclining on a couch. In 2018, the painting, one of Modigliani’s largest and most provocative works, was sold to a private collector at an auction at Sotheby’s New York for an astonishing $157.2 million.
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#49 Yo, Picasso
Artist: Pablo Picasso | Year (completed): 1901 | Price (original): $47.8 million
The painting depicting the artist as he appeared in his youth switched hands multiple times since 1970 when Fletcher Jones purchased the artwork at Christie's London for £147,000. In 1975 the painting was sold to "an anonymous French buyer." In 1981, Wendell Cherry purchased it for $5.3 million. At last, in 1989, Cherry sold it to Greek billionaire Stavros Niarchos for $47.85 million.
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#50 Suprematist Composition
Artist: Kazimir Malevich | Year (completed): 1916 | Price (original): $85.8 million
Following a legal dispute over ownership that lasted 17 years, in 2008, the artwork was returned to the artist's heirs. A few months later, the latter sold it to the Nahmad family for $60 million. At last, in 2018, it was sold to its current owner, art dealer Brett Gorvy, for $85.8 million.
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