The most bought paintings by contemporary artists. Paintings by famous contemporary artists

"Landscape Birch Grove road" 120x100
Palette knife, oil, canvas
Konstantin Loris-Melikov

Art of the 21st century
— omnivore,
cynical, ironic-sarcastic, democratic - they call the sunset of a great era.

Postmodernists have found themselves in a situation where everything has been said before them. And all they have to do is use what they have created, mix styles, create, if not new, but recognizable art…

the brightest directions:

1. neorealism;


2. Minimal art;


3. Postmodern;


4. Hyperrealism;


5. installation;


6. Environment;


7. Video art;


8. Graffiti;


9. Transavant-garde;


10. Body art;


11. Stuckism;


12. neoplasticism;


13. Street art;


14. Mail art;


15. No art.

1. NEOREALISM.
This is the art of post-war Italy, which struggled with post-war pessimism.

The new front of art united
abstractionists and realists and lasted only 4 years. But from
famous artists came out of it: Gabrielle Muchi, Renato Guttuso, Ernesto
Treccani. They vividly and expressively depicted workers and peasants.

Similar trends have emerged in other
countries, but the school of neorealism is considered the brightest school, which
appeared in America through the efforts of the muralist Diego Rivera.

Watch: Renato Guttuso

frescoes by Diego Rivera - Presidential Palace (Mexico City, Mexico).

Fragment of a fresco by Diego Rivera for the Prado Hotel in Mexico City "Sunday Dream in Alameda Park", 1948

2. MINIMUM ART.
This is the direction of avant-garde.
Uses simple forms and excludes any associations.

Carl Andre, 1964

This direction appeared in the USA at the end
60s. The Minimalists called Marcel Duchamp their direct predecessors.
(ready-made), Piet Mondrian (neoplasticism) and Kazimir Malevich
(Suprematism), they called his black square the first work
minimal art.

Extremely simple and geometric
correct compositions - plastic boxes, metal bars,
cones - were made at industrial enterprises according to the sketches of artists.

Look:

Works by Donald Judd, Karl
Andre, Sola Levita — Guggenheim Museum (New York, USA), Museum
contemporary art (New York, USA), Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York,
USA).

3. POSTMODERN. This is a long list of unrealistic trends of the late 20th century.

Vanchegi Mutu. Collage "Genital organs of an adult woman", 2005

Cyclicity is characteristic of art, but
postmodern became the first example of "negation of negation". At first
modernism rejected the classics and then postmodernism rejected modernism as
he had previously rejected the classics. Postmodernists returned to those forms and
styles that were before modernism, but at a higher level.

Postmodernism is a product of the era
the latest technologies. Therefore, its characteristic feature is a mixture
styles, images, different eras and subcultures. Main for postmodernists
was quoting, deft juggling with quotations.

Watch: Tate Gallery (London,
UK), National Museum of Modern Art Center Pompidou
(Paris, France), Guggenheim Museum (New York, USA).

HYPERREALISM. Art that imitates photography.

Chuck Close. "Robert", 1974

This art is also called Superrealism,
Photorealism, Radical Realism or Cold Realism. It appeared
direction in America in the 60s and 10 years later became widespread in
Europe.

Hyperrealism, photorealism, Don Eddy,

Artists of this direction exactly
copy the world as we see it in the photo. In the works of artists
a certain irony over the technogen is read. Artists depict mostly
stories from the life of a modern metropolis.

Richard Estes- love for the image of reflections of the metropolis in shop windows, on the hood of a car or a cafe counter

Look:

works by Chuck Close, Don Eddy, Richard Estes - Metropolitan Museum of Art, Guggenheim Museum (New York, USA), Brooklyn Museum (USA).

5. INSTALLATION.
This is a composition in the gallery, which can be created from anything, the main thing is that there is a subtext and an idea.

Fountain (Duchamp)

Most likely it wouldn't be
directions, were it not for Duchamp's iconic urinal. The names of the main world
installers: Dine, Rauschenberg, Beuys, Kunnelis and Kabakov.

"Jim Dine. From the collection of the Center Pompidou»

The main thing in the installation is the subtext itself and the space where the artists collide banal objects.

Look:
Tate Modern (London, UK), Guggenheim Museum (New York, USA).

6. ENVIRONMENT.

It is the art of creating a 3D composition that mimics the real world.

As a direction in the art of environment
appeared in the 1920s. Several times ahead of its time
for decades, the Dadaist artist, when he presented to the public his
the product "Merz-building" - a three-dimensional structure of various objects and
materials, good for nothing but contemplation.

Edward Kienholz

History as a planter

Half a century later, this genre became
work and succeeded Edward Kienholtz and George Siegel. Into your work
they necessarily introduced a shocking element of delusional fantasy.

Look:
works by Edward Kienholtz and George Siegel
— Museum of Modern Art (Stockholm, Sweden).

7. VIDEO ART.

This direction arose in the last third of the 20th century due to the appearance of portable video cameras.

This is another attempt to return art to
reality, but now with the help of video and computer technology.
American Nam June Paik made a video of the Pope passing through the streets
New York and became the first video artist.

Nam June Paik's experiments influenced
television, music videos (he stood at the bottom of the MTV channel),
computer effects in cinema. The work of June Paik, Bill Viola made it
the direction of art is a field of activity for experimentation. They put
the beginning of "video sculptures", "video installations" and "video operas".

Look:
video art ranging from psychedelic to social
(popular in China, Chen-che-yen on Youtube.com)

8. GRAFFITI.

Inscriptions and drawings on the walls of houses that carry a bold message.

Appeared for the first time in the 70s in Northern
America. Gallery owners of one of the districts were related to their appearance
Manhattan. They became patrons of the creativity of those who lived next door to them.
Puerto Ricans and Jamaicans. Graffiti combine elements of urban
subculture and ethnic.

pop art genius Keith Haring

Names from graffiti history: Keith Haring,
Jean-Michel Basquiat, John Matom, Kenny Scharf. infamous personality
Banksy is a British graffiti artist. There are postcards with his works in all
British souvenir shops

Look:
Graffiti Museum (New York, USA), works by Banksy - at banksy.co.uk.

9. TRANSAVANGARD.
One of the trends in postmodern painting. Combines the past, new painting and expressiveness.

The work of the transavant-garde artist Alexander Roitburd

The author of the term transavant-garde -
contemporary critic Bonito Oliva. By this term he defined creativity
5 of his compatriots - Sandro Chia, Enzo Cucchi, Francesco
Clemente, Mimmo Paladino, Nicolò de Maria. Their work is characterized by:
combination of classical styles, lack of attachment to the national
school, setting for aesthetic pleasure and dynamics.

Francesco Clemente in Schirn (Frankfurt)

Watch: Peggy's Collection Museum
Guggenheim (Venice, Italy), Museum of Modern Art in Palazzo
(Venice, Italy), Gallery of Modern Art (Milan, Italy)

10. BODY ART.

One of the directions of actionism. The body acts as a canvas.

Body art is one of the manifestations of 70s punk culture.
It is directly related to the fashion for tattoos and nudism that appeared then.

Living pictures are created right in front of
viewers, recorded on video and then broadcast in the gallery. Bruce
Naumann depicting Duchamp's urinal in the gallery. Duet Gilbert and
George are living sculptures. They portrayed the type of an average Englishman.

See: for example, on the website of the artist Orlan orlan.eu.

11. STAKISM.

British art association of figurative painting. Opposed to the conceptualists.

The first exhibition was in London in 2007,
as a protest against the Tate. According to one version, they protested in
connection with the purchase by the gallery of the works of artists bypassing the law. Noise
drew attention to stackers in the press. Now in the world there are
over 120 artists. Their motto is: an artist who does not draw is not an artist.

Billy Childish. Edge of the Forest"

The term stackism was proposed by Thomson.
Artist Tracey Emin shouted at her boyfriend Billy
Childish: your painting is stuck, stuck, stuck! (English Stuck!
Stuck! Stack!)

Look:
on the stackist website stuckism.com.
Works by Charlie Thomson and Billy Childish at the Tate Gallery (London, UK).

12. NEOPLASTICISM.
Abstract art. Intersection of perpendicular lines of 3 colors.

The ideologist of the direction is the Dutchman Pete

Mondrian. He considered the world an illusion, so the task of the artist is to clear
painting from sensual forms (figurative) in the name of aesthetic
(abstract) forms.

The artist suggested doing this
as concisely as possible with the help of 3 colors - blue, red and
yellow. They filled the places between the perpendicular lines.

Piet Mondrian. Red, yellow, blue and black

Neo-plasticism still inspires designers, architects and industrial graphic artists.

Look:
works by Piet Mondrian and Theo Vanna Doesburg at the Municipal Museum of The Hague.

13. STREET ART.

Art for which the city is an exhibition or a canvas

The goal of a street artist is to instantly engage a passer-by in a dialogue with the help of his installation, sculpture, poster or stencil.

Here is a selection of paintings by still little-known, but very talented artists. All the guys from Russia and our contemporaries. Watch, read and enjoy.

Guys, I write here all the time about quite famous and accomplished personalities. Of course, it would be much more interesting for me to write about those artists that no one knows about yet, but what can you do - you can write about anything on the VKontakte public, and you can only write on a blog what people are looking for in Yandex and Google, otherwise, no one will go there except you. But for a change and pleasure, I, nevertheless, decided to make a selection of "Little-known contemporary artists of Russia and their paintings."

• What else is interesting? (links to other articles).
• Paintings by Marchuk, one of the most famous contemporary Ukrainian artists
• The legendary dean of the faculty of graphics of the famous Repinka.

Some of these guys are still at the very beginning of their journey, and some have already become relatively established and successfully sell their works on VKontakte or on marketplaces like a crafts fair and are even known in narrow circles, but they all have one thing in common - they are still not known to the general public. But unknown does not mean deprived of talent, so I think it will be interesting for you to look. I decided to include here not only the draftsmen themselves, but also several sculptors.

Little-known contemporary Russian artists and their paintings. Illustrators and painters.

Little known artists. Color surrealistic modern in the paintings of Maria Susarenko.

I learned about this artist not so long ago and almost immediately fell in love with her paintings. Partly because she is very close to me in spirit as an artist, partly because of the admiration for technology and a riot of fantasy. Maria Susarenko is a sweet girl from St. Petersburg and a graduate of the famous St. A.L. Stieglitz. Maria Susarenko's paintings are an exuberant mix of Art Nouveau and Surrealism. They look very bright and decorative.

Pictures of little-known artists. Works by Maria Susarenko

Amazing detail!

Little known artists. Saturday Dasha.

The eternal motif of Yuralga is cats.

Funny weirdo. This is the kind of brooch I would wear.

MOAR — https://vk.com/shamancats

Little-known contemporary artists of Russia. Sculptors.

Even if there are not paintings, but decorations, they are so seductive and loving that I could not resist. After all, a sculptor is also an artist. Yes, an artist can be a painter, graphic artist, illustrator or sculptor (your captain is obvious). Here are two girls whose jewelry would not shame René Lalique himself.

Little known artists. Grimoire of the Black Hen.

In the workshop "Grimoire La poule noire", which in translation is "Grimoire of the black hen" (your captain is obvious), Lera Prokopets is in charge. Lera is a miniature sculptor and simply a gorgeous lady. She works primarily with polymer clay and stones. Lera creates stunning jewelry in a style that I would call gothic art nouveau. Such, slightly witchish, dark, but graceful beauty. Well, still, it's a "grimoire of a black chicken."

Little known artists. Original Art Nouveau jewelry. Photo from the workshop "Grimoire of the Black Hen".

Hekate, Greek goddess of the night.

Morphine. Thin:) Either demons or vampires with their tongues hanging out is one of Lera's favorite motifs.

The art of modern painting is works created at the present time or in the recent past. A certain number of years will pass, and these paintings will become part of history. Paintings created in the period from the 60s of the last century to the present day reflect several areas of contemporary art that can be classified as postmodernism. In the times of Art Nouveau, the work of painters was more widely represented, and in the 70s of the twentieth century there was a change in the social orientation of the art of painting.

Actual art

Artists of modern painting represent, first of all, new trends in fine art. In cultural terminology, there is the concept of "contemporary art", which is somewhat related to the concept of "contemporary painting". By contemporary art, artists most often mean innovation, when the painter turns to ultra-modern topics, regardless of their orientation. The picture can be painted in and depict any industrial enterprise. Or on the canvas there is a landscape landscape with a wheat field, meadow, forest, but at the same time, a combine will certainly be drawn in the distance. The style of modern painting implies a social orientation of the picture. At the same time, landscapes by contemporary artists without social overtones are valued much higher.

Choice of direction

Since the end of the 1990s, contemporary artists have been abandoning production themes and transferring their work into the mainstream of pure fine art. There are masters of fine portraiture, landscape scenes, still lifes in the style of Flemish drawing. And gradually, in modern painting, genuine art began to appear, in no way inferior to the paintings created by outstanding artists of the 18th and 19th centuries, and in some ways even superior to them. Today's masters of the brush are helped by a developed technical base, an abundance of new tools that allow them to fully reflect their plans on canvas. Thus, the artists of contemporary painting can create to the best of their ability. Of course, the quality of paints or brushes is important in the process of painting, but still the main thing is talent.

abstract expressionism

Modern artists adhere to painting methods that allow the use of non-geometric strokes applied in large numbers on a large canvas. Large brushes, sometimes paint brushes, are used. Such painting can hardly be called art in the classical sense of the word, however, abstraction is a continuation of surrealism, which appeared back in 1920 thanks to the ideas of Andre Breton and immediately found a lot of followers, such as Salvator Dali, Hans Hofmann, Adolf Gottlieb. At the same time, contemporary artists understand expressionism in their own way. Today, this genre differs from its predecessor in the size of the paintings, which can reach three meters in length.

Pop Art

The counterbalance to abstractionism was the conceptual new avant-garde, which promotes aesthetic values. Modern artists have begun to include images of famous personalities such as Mao Zedong or Marilyn Monroe in their paintings. This art was called "pop art" - a popular, generally recognized trend in painting. Mass culture replaced abstractionism and gave rise to a special kind of aesthetics, which in a colorful, spectacular manner presented to the public what was on everyone's lips, some recent events or images of well-known people in different life situations.

The founders and followers of pop art were Andy Warhol, Tom Wesselman, Peter Blake, Roy Lichtenstein.

Photorealism

Modern art is multifaceted, often a new direction appears in it, combining two or more types of fine art. Photorealism became such a form of self-expression of the artist. This direction in painting appeared in the USA in 1968. It was invented by avant-garde artist Louis Meisel, and the genre was introduced two years later at the Whitney Museum during the Twenty-Two Realists exhibition.

Painting in the style of photorealism is associated with photography, the movement of the object seems to be frozen in time. The photorealist artist collects his image, which will be captured in the picture, with the help of photographs. From a negative or a slide, the image is transferred to the canvas by projection or using a scale grid. Then a complete picture is created using painting technologies.

The heyday of photorealism came in the mid-70s, then there was a decline in popularity, and in the early 90s the genre was revived again. The venerable artists worked mainly in the USA, among them there were many sculptors who also created their works using image projection. The most famous masters of painting based on photorealism are Richard Estes, Charles Bellet, Thomas Blackwell, Robert Demekis, Donald Eddy, Duane Hanson.

Photorealist artists of the younger generation - Raffaella Spence, Roberto Bernardi, Chiara Albertoni, Tony Brunelli, Olivier Romano, Bertrand Meniel, Clive Head.

Modern artists of Russia

• Serge Fedulov (born 1958), native of Nevinnomyssk, Stavropol Territory. Participated in several exhibitions in Latin America and Europe. His paintings are distinguished by realism and contrasting color combinations.
• Mikhail Golubev (b. 1981), graduated from the art class of the Omsk School of Painting. Currently lives in St. Petersburg. He is distinguished by an unusual manner of creativity, all his works are reflection paintings with deep philosophical overtones.
• Dmitry Annenkov (b. 1965) in Moscow. Graduated from the Stroganov Art Institute. Popular abroad, but prefers Russian exhibitions. Annenkov's art is realistic, the artist is a recognized master of still life.

Russian Impressionists

• Alexei Chernigin, Russian Impressionist painter (born 1975), is the son of the famous painter Alexander Chernigin. Studied painting and graphic design at the art school in Nizhny Novgorod. Graduated from the Nizhny Novgorod Architectural Institute with a degree in Design in Industry. Member of the Union of Artists of Russia since 1998. Since 2001, he has been a teacher at NGASU at the Department of Interior Design.
• Konstantin Lupanov, Krasnodar artist (b. 1977). Graduated from the Industrial Academy at the State University of Culture and Arts with a degree in monumental painting. Participant of many art exhibitions in and St. Petersburg. Distinguished by a rare style of oil painting with swirling strokes. Lupanov's paintings are completely devoid of contrasting combinations of colors, the images seem to flow one into another. The artist himself calls his works "a cheerful, irresponsible daub", but this statement contains a share of coquetry: the paintings are actually written quite professionally.

Russian artists painting in nude style

• Sergei Marshennikov (born 1971), one of the most famous contemporary Russian artists. Graduated from the Ufa College of Arts. His paintings are an example of blatant realism. The works give the impression of an artistic photograph, the composition is so accurate and every stroke is verified. The painter's wife Natalya most often acts as a model, and this helps him in creating a sensual picture.
• Vera Vasilievna Donskaya-Khilko (born 1964), granddaughter of the famous opera singer Lavrenty Dmitrievich Donskoy. The brightest representative of modern Russian painting. Draws in the style of the subject nude. In the creative palette of the artist, you can find beauties from the eastern harem and naked village girls on the river bank on the night of the Ivan Kupala holiday, a Russian bathhouse with hot women going out into the snow and swimming in the hole. The artist draws a lot and with talent.

Contemporary Russian artists and their work are of increasing interest to connoisseurs of fine arts all over the world.

Modern painting as a world art

Today, visual arts have taken forms that are different from those that were in demand in the 18th and 19th centuries. Modern artists of the world have turned to the avant-garde in a narrower interpretation, the canvases have acquired sophistication and become more meaningful. Society today needs a renewed art, the need extends to all types of creativity, including painting. Paintings by contemporary artists, if they are made at a sufficiently high level, are bought up, become the subject of bargaining or exchange. Some canvases are included in the lists of especially valuable works of art. Paintings from the past, painted by great painters, are still in demand, but contemporary artists are gaining more and more popularity. Oil, tempera, watercolor, and other paints help them in their creativity and successful implementation of their plans. Painters, as a rule, adhere to any one style. It can be landscape, portrait, battle scenes or another genre. Accordingly, for his work, the artist chooses a certain type of paint.

Contemporary artists of the world

The most famous modern artists differ in the manner of writing, their brush is recognizable, sometimes you don’t even need to look at the signature at the bottom of the canvas. Famous masters of modern painting - Perlstein Philip, Alexander Isachev, Francis Bacon, Stanislav Plutenko, Peter Blake, Freud Lucien, Michael Parkes, Guy Johnson, Eric Fischl, Nikolai Blokhin, Vasily Shulzhenko.

It is customary to call contemporary art all kinds of artistic movements that developed at the end of the 20th century. In the post-war period, it was a kind of outlet that once again taught people to dream and invent new realities of life.

Tired of the shackles of the harsh rules of the past, young artists decided to break the old artistic norms. They sought to create new, previously unknown practices. Opposing themselves to modernism, they turned to new ways of revealing their stories. The artist and the concept behind his creation have become much more important than the very result of creative activity. The desire to move away from the erected framework led to the emergence of new genres.

Disputes began to arise among artists about the meaning of art and the ways of expressing it. What is art? By what means can genuine art be achieved? Conceptualists and minimalists found the answer for themselves in the phrase: "If art can be everything, then it can be nothing." For them, the departure from the usual visual means resulted in various actions, happenings and performances. What is the peculiarity of contemporary art in the 21st century? This is what we will talk about in the article.

Three-dimensional graphics in the art of the XXI century

The art of the 21st century in 3D graphics is famous. With the development of computer technology, artists have access to new means of creating their art. The essence of three-dimensional graphics is to create images by modeling objects in three-dimensional space. If we consider most forms of modern art in the 21st century, the creation of three-dimensional images will be the most traditional. 3D graphics have many sides, in the truest sense of the word. It is used when creating programs, games, images and videos on a computer. But it can also be seen right under your feet - on the pavement.

Three-dimensional graphics moved to the streets several decades ago and since that time has remained one of the most important forms of street art. Many artists draw three-dimensional images on their "pictures" that can amaze with their realism. Edgar Müller, Eduardo Rolero, Kurt Wenner and many other contemporary artists today create art that can surprise anyone.

Street art of the 21st century

Previously, the occupation was the lot of wealthy people. For centuries it was hidden by the walls of special institutions, where access to the uninitiated was closed. Obviously, his grandiose strength could not languish forever inside stuffy buildings. It was then that it got out - into the gray gloomy streets. Chosen to change your history forever. Although at first it was not so easy.

Not everyone was happy about his birth. Many considered it the result of a bad experience. Some even refused to pay attention to its existence. Meanwhile, the brainchild continued to grow and develop.

Street artists faced hardships along the way. With all its variety of forms, street art was sometimes difficult to distinguish from vandalism.

It all started in the 70s of the last century in New York. At this time, street art was in its infancy. And Julio 204 and Taki 183 supported his life. They left inscriptions in different places in their area, after expanding the territory of distribution. Other guys decided to compete with them. It was then that the most interesting began. Enthusiasm and desire to show off resulted in a battle of creativity. Everyone was eager to discover for themselves and others a more original way to make their mark.

In 1981, street art managed to cross the ocean. In this he was helped by a street artist from France BlekleRat. He is considered one of the first graffiti artists in Paris. He is also called the father of stencil graffiti. His signature touch is drawings of rats, which refers to the name of their creator. The author noticed that after rearranging the letters in the word rat (rat), art (art) is obtained. Blek once remarked: "The rat is the only free animal in Paris that goes everywhere, just like street art."

The most famous street artist is Banksy, who calls BlekleRat his main teacher. The topical work of this talented Briton is able to silence everyone. In his drawings, created using stencils, he denounces modern society with its vices. Banksy tends to be traditional, allowing you to leave an even greater impression on the audience. An interesting fact is that until now the identity of Banksy is shrouded in mystery. No one has yet managed to solve the riddle of the artist's personality.

Meanwhile, street art is rapidly gaining momentum. Once relegated to marginal currents, street art has risen to the stage of auctions. The works of artists are sold for fabulous sums by those who once refused to talk about him. What is it, the life-giving force of art or mainstream trends?

Forms

To date, there are several rather interesting manifestations of contemporary art. Overview of the most unusual forms of contemporary art will be brought to your attention below.

Readymade

The term readymade comes from English, which means "ready". In fact, the goal of this direction is not to create anything material. The main idea here is that depending on the environment of an object, the perception of a person and the object itself changes. The ancestor of the current is Marcel Duchamp. His most famous work is "Fountain", which is a urinal with an autograph and a date.

Anamorphoses

Anamorphoses are called the technique of creating images in such a way that it is possible to fully see them only from a certain angle. One of the brightest representatives of this trend is the Frenchman Bernard Pras. He creates installations using whatever comes to hand. Thanks to his skill, he manages to create amazing works, which, however, can only be seen from a certain angle.

Biological fluids in art

One of the most controversial currents in modern art of the 21st century is drawing, painted with human fluids. Often followers of this modern art form use blood and urine. The color of the paintings in this case often takes on a gloomy, frightening look. Herman Nitsch, for example, uses animal blood and urine. The author explains the use of such unexpected materials by the difficult childhood that came during the Second World War.

Painting of the XX-XXI century

A brief history of painting contains information that the end of the 20th century became the starting point for many cult artists of our time. In the difficult post-war years, the sphere experienced its rebirth. Artists sought to discover new facets of their capabilities.

Suprematism

Kazimir Malevich is considered to be the creator of Suprematism. Being the main theorist, he proclaimed Suprematism as a way of purifying art from everything superfluous. Rejecting the usual ways of conveying the image, the artists sought to free art from the non-artistic. The most important work in this genre is the famous "Black Square" by Malevich.

Pop Art

Pop art has its origins in the United States. In the postwar years, society has experienced global changes. People could now afford more. Consumption has become an essential part of life. People began to be erected into a cult, and consumer products - into symbols. Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol and other followers of the current sought to use these symbols in their paintings.

Futurism

Futurism was discovered in 1910. The main idea of ​​this trend was the desire for a new, the destruction of the framework of the past. The artists depicted this desire with the help of a special technique. Sharp strokes, influxes, connections and intersections are signs of futurism. The most famous representatives of futurism are Marinetti, Severini, Carra.

Contemporary Art in Russia in the 21st Century

Contemporary art in Russia (21st century) has smoothly flowed from the underground, "unofficial" art of the USSR. Young artists of the 90s were looking for new ways to realize their artistic ambitions in a new country. At this time, Moscow actionism was born. His followers challenged the past and its ideology. The destruction of borders (in the literal and figurative sense of the word) made it possible to depict the attitude of the younger generation to the situation in the country. Contemporary art of the 21st century has become expressive, frightening, shocking. The one from which the society closed for so long. Actions of Anatoly Osmolovsky ("Mayakovsky - Osmolovsky", "Against All", "Barricade on Bolshaya Nikitskaya"), the "ETI" movement ("ETI-text"), Oleg Kulik ("Piglet distributes gifts", "Mad Dog or the Last Taboo guarded by a lone Cerberus"), Avdey Ter-Oganyan ("Pop Art") forever changed the history of contemporary art.

New Generation

Slava ATGM is a contemporary artist from Yekaterinburg. Some of his work may remind the work of Banksy. However, Slava's works carry ideas and feelings familiar only to a Russian citizen. One of his most notable works is the "Land of Opportunities" campaign. The artist created an inscription made of crutches on the building of an abandoned hospital in Yekaterinburg. Slava bought crutches from the inhabitants of the city, who once used them. The artist announced the action on his page on the social network, supplementing it with an appeal to fellow citizens.

Museums of modern art

Perhaps, at one time, contemporary visual art of the 21st century seemed to be a marginal environment, but today more and more people are striving to join a new field of art. More and more museums are opening their doors to new means of expression. New York holds the record for contemporary art. There are also two museums that are among the best in the world.

The first is MoMA, which is a repository of paintings by Matisse, Dali, Warhol. The second is a museum. The unusual architecture of the building is adjacent to the creations of Picasso, Marc Chagall, Kandinsky and many others.

Europe is also famous for its magnificent museums of contemporary art of the 21st century. The KIASMA museum in Helsinki allows you to touch the objects of the exhibition. The center in the capital of France impresses with unusual architecture and works of contemporary artists. Stedelijkmuseum in Amsterdam houses the largest collection of paintings by Malevich. in the capital of Great Britain has a huge number of modern art objects. The Vienna Museum of Modern Art has works by Andy Warhol and other talented contemporary artists.

Modern art of the 21st century (painting) - mysterious, incomprehensible, bewitching, has forever changed the vector of development not only of a separate sphere, but of the whole life of mankind. It reflects and creates modernity at the same time. Constantly changing, the art of modernity allows a person who is constantly in a hurry to stop for a moment. Pause to remember the feelings deep inside. Stop to pick up the pace again and rush into the whirlwind of events and affairs.

"Card Players"

Author

Paul Cezanne

A country France
Years of life 1839–1906
Style post-impressionism

The artist was born in the south of France in the small town of Aix-en-Provence, but began painting in Paris. Real success came to him after a solo exhibition organized by the collector Ambroise Vollard. In 1886, 20 years before his departure, he moved to the outskirts of his native city. Young artists called trips to him "a pilgrimage to Aix".

130x97 cm
1895
price
$250 million
sold in 2012
at private auction

Cezanne's work is easy to understand. The only rule of the artist was the direct transfer of the subject or plot to the canvas, so his paintings do not cause bewilderment of the viewer. Cezanne combined in his art two main French traditions: classicism and romanticism. With the help of colorful texture, he gave the form of objects an amazing plasticity.

A series of five paintings "Card Players" was written in 1890-1895. Their plot is the same - several people are enthusiastically playing poker. The works differ only in the number of players and the size of the canvas.

Four paintings are kept in museums in Europe and America (the Musée d'Orsay, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Barnes Foundation and the Courtauld Institute of Art), and the fifth, until recently, was an adornment of the private collection of the Greek billionaire shipowner George Embirikos. Shortly before his death, in the winter of 2011, he decided to put it up for sale. Potential buyers of Cezanne's "free" work were art dealer William Aquavella and world-famous gallery owner Larry Gagosian, who offered about $220 million for it. As a result, the painting went to the royal family of the Arab state of Qatar for 250 million. The largest art deal in the history of painting was closed in February 2012. This was reported to Vanity Fair by journalist Alexandra Pierce. She found out the cost of the painting and the name of the new owner, and then the information penetrated the media around the world.

In 2010, the Arab Museum of Modern Art and the Qatar National Museum opened in Qatar. Now their collections are growing. Perhaps the fifth version of The Card Players was acquired by the sheik for this purpose.

The mostexpensive picturein the world

Owner
Sheikh Hamad
bin Khalifa al-Thani

The al-Thani dynasty has ruled Qatar for over 130 years. About half a century ago, huge reserves of oil and gas were discovered here, which instantly made Qatar one of the richest regions in the world. Thanks to the export of hydrocarbons, this small country recorded the largest GDP per capita. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani seized power in 1995, while his father was in Switzerland, with the support of family members. The merit of the current ruler, according to experts, is in a clear strategy for the development of the country, creating a successful image of the state. Qatar now has a constitution and a prime minister, and women have gained the right to vote in parliamentary elections. By the way, it was the Emir of Qatar who founded the Al Jazeera news channel. The authorities of the Arab state pay great attention to culture.

2

"Number 5"

Author

Jackson Pollock

A country USA
Years of life 1912–1956
Style abstract expressionism

Jack the Sprinkler - such a nickname was given to Pollock by the American public for his special painting technique. The artist abandoned the brush and easel, and poured the paint on the surface of the canvas or fiberboard during continuous movement around and inside them. From an early age, he was fond of the philosophy of Jiddu Krishnamurti, the main message of which is that the truth is revealed during a free "outpouring".

122x244 cm
1948
price
$140 million
sold in 2006
on the auction Sotheby's

The value of Pollock's work is not in the result, but in the process. The author did not accidentally call his art "action painting". With his light hand, it became the main asset of America. Jackson Pollock mixed paint with sand, broken glass, and wrote with a piece of cardboard, a palette knife, a knife, a shovel. The artist was so popular that in the 1950s there were even imitators in the USSR. The painting "Number 5" is recognized as one of the strangest and most expensive in the world. One of the founders of DreamWorks, David Geffen, bought it for a private collection, and in 2006 sold it at Sotheby`s for $140 million to Mexican collector David Martinez. However, the law firm soon issued a press release on behalf of its client stating that David Martinez was not the owner of the painting. Only one thing is known for certain: the Mexican financier has indeed recently collected works of contemporary art. It is unlikely that he would have missed such a "big fish" as Pollock's "Number 5".

3

"Woman III"

Author

Willem de Kooning

A country USA
Years of life 1904–1997
Style abstract expressionism

A native of the Netherlands, he emigrated to the United States in 1926. In 1948, a personal exhibition of the artist took place. Art critics appreciated the complex, nervous black-and-white compositions, recognizing in their author a great modernist artist. For most of his life he suffered from alcoholism, but the joy of creating new art is felt in every work. De Kooning is distinguished by the impulsiveness of painting, broad strokes, which is why sometimes the image does not fit within the boundaries of the canvas.

121x171 cm
1953
price
$137 million
sold in 2006
at private auction

In the 1950s, women with empty eyes, massive breasts, and ugly features appear in de Kooning's paintings. "Woman III" was the last work from this series participating in the auction.

Since the 1970s, the painting has been kept in the Tehran Museum of Modern Art, but after the introduction of strict moral rules in the country, they sought to get rid of it. In 1994, the work was taken out of Iran, and 12 years later, its owner David Geffen (the same producer who sold Jackson Pollock's "Number 5") sold the painting to millionaire Stephen Cohen for $137.5 million. It is interesting that in one year Geffen began to sell his collection of paintings. This gave rise to a lot of rumors: for example, that the producer decided to buy the Los Angeles Times.

At one of the art forums, an opinion was expressed about the similarity of "Woman III" with the painting by Leonardo da Vinci "Lady with an Ermine". Behind the toothy smile and shapeless figure of the heroine, the connoisseur of painting discerned the grace of a person of royal blood. This is also evidenced by the poorly traced crown crowning the head of a woman.

4

"Portrait of AdeleBloch-Bauer I"

Author

Gustav Klimt

A country Austria
Years of life 1862–1918
Style modern

Gustav Klimt was born into the family of an engraver and was the second of seven children. Three sons of Ernest Klimt became artists, and only Gustav became famous all over the world. He spent most of his childhood in poverty. After the death of his father, he was responsible for the entire family. It was at this time that Klimt developed his style. Before his paintings, any viewer freezes: under the thin strokes of gold, frank eroticism is clearly visible.

138x136 cm
1907
price
$135 million
sold in 2006
on the auction Sotheby's

The fate of the painting, which is called the "Austrian Mona Lisa", could easily become the basis for a bestseller. The work of the artist became the cause of the conflict of the whole state and one elderly lady.

So, the “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I” depicts an aristocrat, the wife of Ferdinand Bloch. Her last will was to transfer the painting to the Austrian State Gallery. However, Bloch canceled the donation in his will, and the Nazis expropriated the painting. Later, the gallery hardly bought out the Golden Adele, but then the heiress appeared - Maria Altman, Ferdinand Bloch's niece.

In 2005, the high-profile trial "Maria Altman against the Republic of Austria" began, as a result of which the picture "left" with her to Los Angeles. Austria took unprecedented measures: loans were negotiated, the population donated money to buy the portrait. Good never conquered evil: Altman raised the price to $300 million. At the time of the trial, she was 79 years old, and she went down in history as the person who changed the will of Bloch-Bauer in favor of personal interests. The painting was purchased by Ronald Lauder, owner of the New Gallery in New York, where it remains to this day. Not for Austria, for him Altman reduced the price to $135 million.

5

"Scream"

Author

Edvard Munch

A country Norway
Years of life 1863–1944
Style expressionism

Munch's first painting, which became famous all over the world, "The Sick Girl" (exists in five copies) is dedicated to the artist's sister, who died of tuberculosis at the age of 15. Munch has always been interested in the theme of death and loneliness. In Germany, his heavy, manic painting even provoked a scandal. However, despite the depressing plots, his paintings have a special magnetism. Take at least "Scream".

73.5x91 cm
1895
price
$119.992 million
sold in 2012
on the auction Sotheby's

The full name of the painting is Der Schrei der Natur (translated from German as “the cry of nature”). The face of either a person or an alien expresses despair and panic - the viewer experiences the same emotions when looking at the picture. One of the key works of expressionism warns the themes that have become acute in the art of the 20th century. According to one version, the artist created it under the influence of a mental disorder, which he suffered all his life.

The painting was stolen twice from different museums, but it was returned. Slightly damaged after the theft, The Scream was restored and was ready to be shown again at the Munch Museum in 2008. For representatives of pop culture, the work became a source of inspiration: Andy Warhol created a series of its prints-copies, and the mask from the movie "Scream" was made in the image and likeness of the hero of the picture.

For one plot, Munch wrote four versions of the work: the one in a private collection is made in pastel. Norwegian billionaire Petter Olsen put it up for auction on May 2, 2012. The buyer was Leon Black, who did not spare a record amount for the "Scream". Founder of Apollo Advisors, L.P. and Lion Advisors, L.P. known for his love of art. Black is a patron of Dartmouth College, the Museum of Modern Art, the Lincoln Art Center, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It has the largest collection of paintings by contemporary artists and classical masters of past centuries.

6

"Nude against the background of a bust and green leaves"

Author

Pablo Picasso

A country Spain, France
Years of life 1881–1973
Style cubism

By origin he is a Spaniard, but in spirit and place of residence he is a real Frenchman. Picasso opened his own art studio in Barcelona when he was only 16 years old. Then he went to Paris and spent most of his life there. That is why there is a double stress in his last name. The style invented by Picasso is based on the denial of the opinion that the object depicted on the canvas can be viewed from only one angle.

130x162 cm
1932
price
$106.482 million
sold in 2010
on the auction Christie's

During his work in Rome, the artist met the dancer Olga Khokhlova, who soon became his wife. He put an end to vagrancy, moved with her to a luxurious apartment. By that time, recognition had found a hero, but the marriage was destroyed. One of the most expensive paintings in the world was created almost by accident - out of great love, which, as always with Picasso, was short-lived. In 1927, he became interested in the young Marie-Therese Walter (she was 17 years old, he was 45). Secretly from his wife, he left with his mistress for a town near Paris, where he painted a portrait depicting Marie-Therese in the image of Daphne. The painting was purchased by New York dealer Paul Rosenberg and sold in 1951 to Sidney F. Brody. The Brodys showed the painting to the world only once, and only because the artist was 80 years old. After her husband's death, Mrs. Brody put the work up for auction at Christie's in March 2010. In six decades, the price has risen more than 5,000 times! An unknown collector bought it for $106.5 million. In 2011, a “one-painting exhibition” was held in Britain, where it saw the light for the second time, but the name of the owner is still unknown.

7

"Eight Elvises"

Author

Andy Warhole

A country USA
Years of life 1928-1987
Style
pop Art

“Sex and parties are the only places where you need to appear in person,” said the cult pop artist, director, and one of the founders of Interview magazine, designer Andy Warhol. He worked with Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, designed record covers, and designed shoes for I.Miller. In the 1960s, paintings appeared depicting the symbols of America: Campbell`s soup and Coca-Cola, Presley and Monroe - which made him a legend.

358x208 cm
1963
price
$100 million
sold in 2008
at private auction

Warhol's 60s - the so-called era of pop art in America. In 1962, he worked in Manhattan at the Factory Studio, where all the bohemia of New York gathered. Its brightest representatives: Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan, Truman Capote and other famous personalities in the world. At the same time, Warhol tried the technique of silk-screen printing - multiple repetitions of one image. He also used this method when creating "Eight Elvises": the viewer seems to see frames from a movie where the star comes to life. Everything that the artist loved so much is here: a win-win public image, silver color and a premonition of death as the main message.

There are two art dealers promoting Warhol's work on the world market today: Larry Gagosian and Alberto Mugrabi. The first in 2008 spent $200 million to purchase more than 15 Warhol works. The second buys and sells his paintings like Christmas cards, only more expensive. But it was not them, but the humble French art consultant Philippe Segalo who helped Roman art connoisseur Annibale Berlinghieri sell the Eight Elvises to an unknown buyer for a Warhol-record $100 million.

8

"Orange,Red Yellow"

Author

Mark Rothko

A country USA
Years of life 1903–1970
Style abstract expressionism

One of the creators of color field painting was born in Dvinsk, Russia (now Daugavpils, Latvia), in a large family of a Jewish pharmacist. In 1911 they emigrated to the USA. Rothko studied at the art department of Yale University, achieved a scholarship, but anti-Semitic sentiments forced him to leave his studies. Despite everything, art critics idolized the artist, and museums pursued him all his life.

206x236 cm
1961
price
$86.882 million
sold in 2012
on the auction Christie's

Rothko's first artistic experiments were of a surrealist orientation, but over time he simplified the plot to color spots, depriving them of any objectivity. At first they had bright hues, and in the 1960s they were filled with brown, purple, thickening to black by the time of the artist's death. Mark Rothko warned against looking for any meaning in his paintings. The author wanted to say exactly what he said: only the color that dissolves in the air, and nothing more. He recommended looking at the works from a distance of 45 cm, so that the viewer is "dragged" into the color, like into a funnel. Caution: viewing in accordance with all the rules can lead to the effect of meditation, that is, the awareness of infinity gradually comes, complete immersion in oneself, relaxation, purification. The color in his paintings lives, breathes and has a strong emotional impact (sometimes it is said to be healing). The artist said: "The viewer should cry looking at them" - and there really were such cases. According to Rothko's theory, at this moment people live the same spiritual experience that he had in the process of working on the picture. If you managed to understand it at such a subtle level, then do not be surprised that these works of abstractionism are often compared by critics with icons.

The work "Orange, Red, Yellow" expresses the essence of Mark Rothko's painting. Its initial cost at Christie's auction in New York is 35-45 million dollars. An unknown buyer offered a price twice the estimate. The name of the happy owner of the painting, as is often the case, was not disclosed.

9

"Triptych"

Author

Francis Bacon

A country
Great Britain
Years of life 1909–1992
Style expressionism

The adventures of Francis Bacon, a full namesake and, moreover, a distant descendant of the great philosopher, began when his father disowned him, unable to accept his son's homosexual inclinations. Bacon went first to Berlin, then to Paris, and then his traces are confused all over Europe. Even during his lifetime, his works were exhibited in the leading cultural centers of the world, including the Guggenheim Museum and the Tretyakov Gallery.

147.5x198 cm (each)
1976
price
$86.2 million
sold in 2008
on the auction Sotheby's

Prestigious museums strove to possess paintings by Bacon, but the prim English public was in no hurry to fork out for such art. The legendary British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said of him: "The man who paints these horrific pictures."

The starting period in his work, the artist himself considered the post-war period. Returning from the service, he again took up painting and created the main masterpieces. Prior to the participation of "Triptych, 1976" in the auction, Bacon's most expensive work was "Study for a Portrait of Pope Innocent X" (52.7 million dollars). In the "Triptych, 1976" the artist depicted the mythical plot of the persecution of Orestes by the furies. Of course, Orestes is Bacon himself, and the furies are his torments. For more than 30 years, the painting was in a private collection and did not participate in exhibitions. This fact gives it a special value and, accordingly, increases the cost. But what is a few million for a connoisseur of art, and even generous in Russian? Roman Abramovich began to create his collection in the 1990s, in this he was significantly influenced by his girlfriend Dasha Zhukova, who has become a fashionable gallery owner in modern Russia. According to unofficial data, the businessman owns works by Alberto Giacometti and Pablo Picasso, bought for amounts exceeding $100 million. In 2008, he became the owner of the Triptych. By the way, in 2011, another valuable work by Bacon was acquired - "Three sketches for a portrait of Lucian Freud." Hidden sources say that Roman Arkadievich again became the buyer.

10

"Pond with water lilies"

Author

Claude Monet

A country France
Years of life 1840–1926
Style impressionism

The artist is recognized as the founder of impressionism, who "patented" this method in his canvases. The first significant work was the painting "Breakfast on the Grass" (the original version of the work of Edouard Manet). In his youth, he drew caricatures, and took up real painting during his travels along the coast and in the open air. In Paris, he led a bohemian lifestyle and did not leave it even after serving in the army.

210x100 cm
1919
price
$80.5 million
sold in 2008
on the auction Christie's

Besides the fact that Monet was a great artist, he was also enthusiastically engaged in gardening, adored wildlife and flowers. In his landscapes, the state of nature is momentary, objects seem to be blurred by the movement of air. The impression is enhanced by large strokes, from a certain distance they become invisible and merge into a textured, three-dimensional image. In the painting of the late Monet, a special place is occupied by the theme of water and life in it. In the town of Giverny, the artist had his own pond, where he grew water lilies from seeds specially brought by him from Japan. When their flowers bloomed, he began to paint. The Water Lilies series consists of 60 works that the artist painted over almost 30 years, until his death. His vision deteriorated with age, but he did not stop. Depending on the wind, season and weather, the view of the pond was constantly changing, and Monet wanted to capture these changes. Through careful work, an understanding of the essence of nature came to him. Some of the paintings of the series are kept in the leading galleries of the world: National Museum of Western Art (Tokyo), Orangerie (Paris). The version of the next "Pond with water lilies" went into the hands of an unknown buyer for a record amount.

11

False Star t

Author

Jasper Johns

A country USA
Year of birth 1930
Style pop Art

In 1949, Jones entered the design school in New York. Along with Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and others, he is recognized as one of the main artists of the 20th century. In 2012, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.

137.2x170.8 cm
1959
price
$80 million
sold in 2006
at private auction

Like Marcel Duchamp, Jones worked with real objects, depicting them on canvas and in sculpture in full accordance with the original. For his works, he used simple and understandable objects for everyone: a beer bottle, a flag or maps. There is no clear composition in the False Start picture. The artist seems to be playing with the viewer, often “incorrectly” signing the colors in the picture, turning the very concept of color upside down: “I wanted to find a way to depict the color so that it could be determined by some other method.” His most explosive and "insecure", according to critics, painting was acquired by an unknown buyer.

12

"Seatednakedon the couch"

Author

Amedeo Modigliani

A country Italy, France
Years of life 1884–1920
Style expressionism

Modigliani was often ill from childhood, during a feverish delirium, he recognized his destiny as an artist. He studied drawing in Livorno, Florence, Venice, and in 1906 he left for Paris, where his art flourished.

65x100 cm
1917
price
$68.962 million
sold in 2010
on the auction Sotheby's

In 1917, Modigliani met 19-year-old Jeanne Hebuterne, who became his model and later his wife. In 2004, one of her portraits sold for $31.3 million, the last record before the sale of Seated Nude on a Sofa in 2010. The painting was purchased by an unknown buyer for the maximum price for Modigliani at the moment. Active sales of works began only after the death of the artist. He died in poverty, suffering from tuberculosis, and the next day, Jeanne Hebuterne, who was nine months pregnant, also committed suicide.

13

"Eagle on a Pine"

Author

Qi Baishi

A country China
Years of life 1864–1957
Style guohua

Interest in calligraphy led Qi Baishi to paint. At the age of 28, he became a student of the artist Hu Qingyuan. The Ministry of Culture of China awarded him the title of "Great Artist of the Chinese People", in 1956 he received the International Peace Prize.

10x26 cm
1946
price
$65.4 million
sold in 2011
on the auction China Guardian

Qi Baishi was interested in those manifestations of the surrounding world, which many do not attach importance to, and this is his greatness. A man without education became a professor and an outstanding creator in history. Pablo Picasso said about him: "I'm afraid to go to your country, because there is Qi Baishi in China." The composition "Eagle on a Pine Tree" is recognized as the largest work of the artist. In addition to the canvas, it includes two hieroglyphic scrolls. For China, the amount for which the product was bought is a record - 425.5 million yuan. Only the scroll of the ancient calligrapher Huang Tingjian was sold for 436.8 million dollars.

14

"1949-A-#1"

Author

Clifford Still

A country USA
Years of life 1904–1980
Style abstract expressionism

At the age of 20, he visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and was disappointed. Later, he signed up for a student arts league course, but left 45 minutes after the start of the class - it turned out to be “not his”. The first personal exhibition caused a resonance, the artist found himself, and with it recognition

79x93 cm
1949
price
$61.7 million
sold in 2011
on the auction Sotheby's

All his works, which are more than 800 canvases and 1600 works on paper, Still bequeathed to the American city, where a museum named after him will be opened. Denver became such a city, but only the construction was expensive for the authorities, and four works were put up for auction to complete it. Still's works are unlikely to be auctioned ever again, which raised their price in advance. Painting "1949-A-No.1" sold for a record amount for the artist, although experts predicted the sale of a maximum of 25-35 million dollars.

15

"Suprematist composition"

Author

Kazimir Malevich

A country Russia
Years of life 1878–1935
Style Suprematism

Malevich studied painting at the Kyiv Art School, then at the Moscow Academy of Arts. In 1913, he began to paint abstract geometric paintings in a style that he called Suprematism (from Latin “dominance”).

71x 88.5 cm
1916
price
$60 million
sold in 2008
on the auction Sotheby's

The painting was kept in the city museum of Amsterdam for about 50 years, but after a 17-year dispute with Malevich's relatives, the museum gave it away. The artist painted this work in the same year as The Manifesto of Suprematism, so Sotheby`s even before the auction announced that it would not go into a private collection for less than $60 million. And so it happened. It is better to look at it from above: the figures on the canvas resemble an aerial view of the earth. By the way, a few years earlier, the same relatives expropriated another "Suprematist composition" from the MoMA Museum in order to sell it at Phillips for $17 million.

16

"Bathers"

Author

Paul Gauguin

A country France
Years of life 1848–1903
Style post-impressionism

Until the age of seven, the artist lived in Peru, then returned to France with his family, but childhood memories constantly pushed him to travel. In France, he began to paint, was friends with Van Gogh. He even spent several months with him in Arles, until Van Gogh cut off his ear during a quarrel.

93.4x60.4 cm
1902
price
$55 million
sold in 2005
on the auction Sotheby's

In 1891, Gauguin arranged a sale of his paintings in order to use the proceeds to go deep into the island of Tahiti. There he created works in which one can feel the subtle connection between nature and man. Gauguin lived in a thatched hut, and a tropical paradise blossomed on his canvases. His wife was a 13-year-old Tahitian Tehura, which did not prevent the artist from engaging in promiscuity. Having contracted syphilis, he left for France. However, Gauguin was cramped there, and he returned to Tahiti. This period is called the "second Tahitian" - it was then that the painting "Bathers" was painted, one of the most luxurious in his work.

17

"Daffodils and a tablecloth in blue and pink"

Author

Henri Matisse

A country France
Years of life 1869–1954
Style Fauvism

In 1889, Henri Matisse had an attack of appendicitis. When he recovered from the operation, his mother bought him paints. First, out of boredom, Matisse copied colored postcards, then - the works of great painters that he saw in the Louvre, and at the beginning of the 20th century he came up with a style - fauvism.

65.2x81 cm
1911
price
$46.4 million
sold in 2009
on the auction Christie's

The painting "Daffodils and a Tablecloth in Blue and Pink" belonged to Yves Saint Laurent for a long time. After the death of the couturier, his entire collection of art passed into the hands of his friend and lover Pierre Berger, who decided to put it up for auction at Christie's. The pearl of the sold collection was the painting "Daffodils and a tablecloth in blue and pink", painted on an ordinary tablecloth instead of canvas. As an example of Fauvism, it is filled with the energy of color, the colors seem to explode and scream. Of the well-known series of tablecloth paintings, today this work is the only one that is in a private collection.

18

"Sleeping Girl"

Author

RoyLee

chtenstein

A country USA
Years of life 1923–1997
Style pop Art

The artist was born in New York, and after graduating from school, he went to Ohio, where he went to art courses. In 1949, Liechtenstein received his Master of Fine Arts degree. Interest in comics and the ability to be ironic made him a cult artist of the last century.

91x91 cm
1964
price
$44.882 million
sold in 2012
on the auction Sotheby's

Once, chewing gum fell into Liechtenstein's hands. He redrawn the picture from the insert on the canvas and became famous. This plot from his biography contains the whole message of pop art: consumption is the new god, and there is no less beauty in a gum wrapper than in Mona Lisa. His paintings are reminiscent of comics and cartoons: Lichtenstein simply enlarged the finished image, drew rasters, used screen printing and silkscreen printing. The painting "Sleeping Girl" belonged to collectors Beatrice and Philip Gersh for almost 50 years, whose heirs sold it at auction.

19

"Victory. Boogie Woogie"

Author

Piet Mondrian

A country Netherlands
Years of life 1872–1944
Style neoplasticism

His real name - Cornelis - the artist changed to Mondrian when he moved to Paris in 1912. Together with the artist Theo van Doesburg, he founded the neoplastic movement. The Piet programming language is named after Mondrian.

27x127 cm
1944
price
$40 million
sold in 1998
on the auction Sotheby's

The most "musical" of the artists of the 20th century made a living with watercolor still lifes, although he became famous as a neoplastic artist. He moved to the USA in the 1940s and spent the rest of his life there. Jazz and New York - that's what inspired him the most! Painting "Victory. Boogie Woogie is the best example of this. "Branded" neat squares were obtained through the use of adhesive tape - Mondrian's favorite material. In America, he was called "the most famous immigrant." In the sixties, Yves Saint Laurent produced the world-famous "Mondrian" dresses with a large colored check print.

20

"Composition No. 5"

Author

BasilKandinsky

A country Russia
Years of life 1866–1944
Style avant-garde

The artist was born in Moscow, and his father was from Siberia. After the revolution, he tried to cooperate with the Soviet authorities, but soon realized that the laws of the proletariat were not created for him, and emigrated to Germany not without difficulties.

275x190 cm
1911
price
$40 million
sold in 2007
on the auction Sotheby's

Kandinsky was one of the first to completely abandon object painting, for which he received the title of genius. During Nazism in Germany, his paintings were classified as "degenerate art" and were not exhibited anywhere. In 1939, Kandinsky took French citizenship, in Paris he freely participated in the artistic process. His paintings “sound” like fugues, which is why many are called “compositions” (the first was written in 1910, the last in 1939). “Composition No. 5” is one of the key works in this genre: “The word “composition” sounded like a prayer to me,” the artist said. Unlike many followers, he planned what he would depict on a huge canvas, as if writing notes.

21

"Study of a Woman in Blue"

Author

Fernand Léger

A country France
Years of life 1881–1955
Style cubism-post-impressionism

Leger received an architectural education, and then was a student at the School of Fine Arts in Paris. The artist considered himself a follower of Cezanne, was an apologist for cubism, and in the 20th century he also had success as a sculptor.

96.5x129.5 cm
1912–1913
price
$39.2 million
sold in 2008
on the auction Sotheby's

David Normann, president of Sotheby's International Impressionism and Modernism, believes the huge sum paid for The Lady in Blue is entirely justified. The painting belongs to the famous Leger collection (the artist painted three paintings on one plot, the last of them is in private hands today. - Ed.), and the surface of the canvas has been preserved in its original form. The author himself gave this work to the Der Sturm gallery, then it ended up in the collection of Hermann Lang, a German collector of modernism, and now belongs to an unknown buyer.

22

"Street scene. Berlin"

Author

Ernst LudwigKirchner

A country Germany
Years of life 1880–1938
Style expressionism

For German expressionism, Kirchner became a landmark person. However, local authorities accused him of adherence to "degenerate art", which tragically affected the fate of his paintings and the life of the artist, who committed suicide in 1938.

95x121 cm
1913
price
$38.096 million
sold in 2006
on the auction Christie's

After moving to Berlin, Kirchner created 11 sketches of street scenes. He was inspired by the bustle and nervousness of the big city. In the painting, sold in 2006 in New York, the artist's anxiety is especially acute: people on a Berlin street resemble birds - graceful and dangerous. She was the last work from the famous series, sold at auction, the rest are kept in museums. In 1937, the Nazis brutally treated Kirchner: 639 of his works were seized from German galleries, destroyed or sold abroad. The artist could not survive this.

23

"Restingdancer"

Author

Edgar Degas

A country France
Years of life 1834–1917
Style impressionism

The history of Degas as an artist began with the fact that he worked as a copyist in the Louvre. He dreamed of becoming "famous and unknown", and in the end he succeeded. At the end of his life, deaf and blind, 80-year-old Degas continued to attend exhibitions and auctions.

64x59 cm
1879
price
$37.043 million
sold in 2008
on the auction Sotheby's

“Ballerinas have always been for me just an excuse to depict fabrics and capture movement,” said Degas. The scenes from the life of the dancers seem to be peeped: the girls do not pose for the artist, but simply become part of the atmosphere caught by Degas's gaze. Resting Dancer sold for $28 million in 1999, and less than 10 years later it was bought for $37 million - today it is the artist's most expensive work ever put up for auction. Degas paid much attention to frames, he designed them himself and forbade changing them. I wonder what frame is installed on the sold painting?

24

"Painting"

Author

Juan Miro

A country Spain
Years of life 1893–1983
Style abstract art

During the Spanish Civil War, the artist was on the side of the Republicans. In 1937, he fled from fascist power to Paris, where he lived in poverty with his family. During this period, Miro paints the painting "Help Spain!", Drawing the attention of the whole world to the dominance of fascism.

89x115 cm
1927
price
$36.824 million
sold in 2012
on the auction Sotheby's

The second name of the painting is "Blue Star". The artist wrote it in the same year when he announced: “I want to kill painting” and mercilessly mocked the canvases, scratching the paint with nails, gluing feathers to the canvas, covering the work with garbage. His goal was to debunk the myths about the mystery of painting, but, having coped with this, Miro created his own myth - a surreal abstraction. His "Painting" refers to the cycle of "pictures-dreams". Four buyers fought for it at the auction, but one incognito phone call settled the dispute, and "Painting" became the artist's most expensive painting.

25

"Blue Rose"

Author

Yves Klein

A country France
Years of life 1928–1962
Style monochrome painting

The artist was born into a family of painters, but studied oriental languages, navigation, the craft of a gilder of frames, Zen Buddhism and much more. His personality and impudent antics were many times more interesting than monochrome paintings.

153x199x16 cm
1960
price
$36.779 million
sold in 2012
at Christie's auction

The first exhibition of solid yellow, orange, pink works did not arouse public interest. Klein was offended and the next time he presented 11 identical canvases, painted with ultramarine mixed with a special synthetic resin. He even patented this method. The color went down in history as the "International Klein Blue". The artist also sold emptiness, created paintings by exposing paper to rain, setting fire to cardboard, making prints of a human body on canvas. In a word, I experimented as best I could. To create the "Blue Rose" I used dry pigments, resins, pebbles and a natural sponge.

26

"Looking for Moses"

Author

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema

A country Great Britain
Years of life 1836–1912
Style neoclassicism

Sir Lawrence himself added the prefix "alma" to his surname in order to appear first in art catalogs. In Victorian England, his paintings were so in demand that the artist was awarded a knighthood.

213.4x136.7 cm
1902
price
$35.922 million
sold in 2011
on the auction Sotheby's

The main theme of Alma-Tadema's work was antiquity. In the paintings, he tried to depict the era of the Roman Empire in the smallest detail, for this he even engaged in archaeological excavations on the Apennine Peninsula, and in his London house he reproduced the historical interior of those years. Mythological stories became another source of inspiration for him. The artist was in great demand during his lifetime, but after his death he was quickly forgotten. Now interest is reviving, as evidenced by the cost of the painting "In Search of Moses", seven times higher than the pre-sale estimate.

27

"Portrait of a sleeping naked official"

Author

Lucian Freud

A country Germany,
Great Britain
Years of life 1922–2011
Style figurative painting

The artist is the grandson of Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis. After the establishment of fascism in Germany, his family emigrated to the UK. Freud's works are in the Wallace Collection in London, where no contemporary artist has previously exhibited.

219.1x151.4 cm
1995
price
$33.6 million
sold in 2008
on the auction Christie's

While the fashionable artists of the 20th century created positive "color spots on the wall" and sold them for millions, Freud painted extremely naturalistic paintings and sold them for even more. “I capture the cries of the soul and the suffering of withering flesh,” he said. Critics believe that all this is the "legacy" of Sigmund Freud. The paintings were so actively exhibited and successfully sold that the experts had a doubt: do they have hypnotic properties? Sold at auction, "Portrait of a sleeping naked official", according to the Sun, was acquired by connoisseur of beauty and billionaire Roman Abramovich.

28

"Violin and Guitar"

Author

Xone gris

A country Spain
Years of life 1887–1927
Style cubism

Born in Madrid, where he graduated from the School of Arts and Crafts. In 1906 he moved to Paris and entered the circle of the most influential artists of the era: Picasso, Modigliani, Braque, Matisse, Leger, also worked with Sergei Diaghilev and his troupe.

5x100 cm
1913
price
$28.642 million
sold in 2010
on the auction Christie's

Gris, in his own words, was engaged in "planar, colored architecture." His paintings are precisely thought out: he did not leave a single accidental stroke, which makes creativity related to geometry. The artist created his own version of cubism, although he had great respect for Pablo Picasso, the founding father of the movement. The successor even dedicated his first Cubist work, Tribute to Picasso, to him. The painting "Violin and Guitar" is recognized as outstanding in the artist's work. During his lifetime, Gris was known, favored by critics and art critics. His works are exhibited in the world's largest museums and are kept in private collections.

29

"PortraitFields of Eluard»

Author

Salvador Dali

A country Spain
Years of life 1904–1989
Style surrealism

“Surrealism is me,” Dali said when he was expelled from the Surrealist group. Over time, he became the most famous surrealist artist. Dali's work is everywhere, not just in galleries. For example, it was he who came up with the packaging for Chupa-Chups.

25x33 cm
1929
price
$20.6 million
sold in 2011
on the auction Sotheby's

In 1929, the poet Paul Eluard and his Russian wife Gala came to visit the great provocateur and brawler Dali. The meeting was the beginning of a love story that lasted more than half a century. The painting "Portrait of Paul Eluard" was painted just during this historic visit. “I felt that I was entrusted with the duty to capture the face of the poet, from whose Olympus I stole one of the muses,” the artist said. Before meeting Gala, he was a virgin and was disgusted at the thought of having sex with a woman. The love triangle existed until the death of Eluard, after which it became the Dali-Gala duet.

30

"Anniversary"

Author

Marc Chagall

A country Russia, France
Years of life 1887–1985
Style avant-garde

Moishe Segal was born in Vitebsk, but in 1910 he emigrated to Paris, changed his name, and became close to the leading avant-garde artists of the era. In the 1930s, when the Nazis seized power, he left for the United States with the help of an American consul. He returned to France only in 1948.

80x103 cm
1923
price
$14.85 million
sold in 1990
at Sotheby's auction

The painting "Jubilee" is recognized as one of the best works of the artist. It has all the features of his work: the physical laws of the world are erased, the feeling of a fairy tale is preserved in the scenery of petty-bourgeois life, and love is in the center of the plot. Chagall did not draw people from nature, but only from memory or fantasizing. The painting "Jubilee" depicts the artist himself with his wife Bela. The painting was sold in 1990 and has not been bid since. Interestingly, the New York Museum of Modern Art MoMA keeps exactly the same, only under the name "Birthday". By the way, it was written earlier - in 1915.

draft prepared
Tatyana Palasova
rating compiled
according to the list www.art-spb.ru
tmn magazine №13 (May-June 2013)