A couple of dozen years ago, photographs were quite rare. To take a picture, you had to go to the studio or invite a photographer.
Now you don’t even need to buy special equipment: modern phones have pretty good cameras.
Nevertheless, if you need beautiful pictures, people turn to the photographer for help. This area is very popular, not so long ago it began to develop, as one of the directions in art.
Famous photographers organize their exhibitions. People are happy to come there, and connoisseurs are ready to pay a round sum for an ordinary (at first glance) photo.
Moreover, history knows several cases where the pictures were rated very highly. Below is a ranking of the most expensive photos in the world.
List
- 10. 99 cents II, 3 346 456 $
- 9. Dead soldiers say ... $ 3,666,500
- 8. Cowboy, $ 3,749,000
- 7. For Her Majesty, a collage of photos, $ 3,765,276
- 6. Untitled # 93, $ 3,861,000
- 5. Untitled # 96, 3 890 500 $
- 4. Spiritual America, $ 3,973,000
- 3. Rhine II, $ 4,338,500
- 2. Phantom, $ 6,500,000
- 1. Images from unnamed films, $ 6,773,000
10. 99 cents II, 3 346 456 $
This is a creation of a photographer from Germany Andreas Gursky. His photos are striking in their size, with the help of technology he accelerates them to a colossal size (maximum size 2 by 4 meters). Despite this, every little thing, every detail in the picture looks very clear, not blurry.
Diptych "99 cents II"- the most famous work of Andreas. These are two photographs depicting the rows in a supermarket, they are the same, they differ only in angle. They depict a huge amount of different goods, which can be considered to the smallest detail.
Photo size 2.07 by 3.37 meters. It is very bright, Andreas used different effects to make the photo even more colorful.
Diptych symbolizes a special spirit of consumption. In 2007, the photo was sold for $ 3,346,456. It was acquired by a businessman from Ukraine Victor Pinchuk. The high cost of the photo is explained by the fact that at that time the surname Gursky was already quite famous.
9. 3 666 500 $
This photo is taken. Jeff Wahl, he also became famous thanks to large-format photographs.
His job "Dead soldiers say ...»Known throughout the world. It is dedicated to military events in Afghanistan. But this is not a realistic photo, but a collage created in the studio.
The invited actors played the roles of Soviet soldiers. They are dead, but Jeff decided to show that the dead can talk too. In his photo, the soldiers behave very strangely: they scoff at each other.
In Russia, a ban was introduced on this photo: it was simply excluded from the register of works that took part in the exhibition. This is probably right. Many of our compatriots died in this war, and therefore most Russian people perceive this photo as an insult. The painting was sold at auction in 2012.
8. Cowboy, $ 3,749,000
The creator of this picture is called one of the richest and most arrogant artists in America. Richard Prince sells screenshots from social networks and photos from other people's advertising campaigns for big money.
His job "Cowboy"- these are images from advertisements of a well-known tobacco company. Richard appropriated them and sold something that has nothing to do with him. He did not pay attention to criticism and openly admitted that he “spit on copyright».
Few people can understand what a lot of money is being paid for, however, his “Cowboy” was sold in 2014. The name of the buyer is not known, the cost is $ 3,749,000.
In the interpretation of Prince, a cowboy is not a hard worker from a farm, but a kind of sex symbol that every man should strive for.
7. For Her Majesty, a collage of photos, $ 3,765,276
The authors of this creation are British avant-garde artists Gilbert Prosh and George Passmorewho also took care of photography. They became famous thanks to the works in which they played the role of living sculptures.
«For Her Majesty, a collage of photos"Is a few pictures united by one idea. They depict men in business suits and interior items in black and white. They were made in 1973. They sold the collage after 35 years, in 2008 for a space price.
6. Untitled # 93, $ 3,861,000
Famous american artist Cindy Sherman selling his talent is very expensive. She works in the genre of staged photographs, and refuses to call herself a photographer.
Cindy considers himself a performance artist (the work of art is the artist’s actions).
Sherman herself acted as a “model”, she reincarnated in different images and took pictures of herself.
Her picture "Untitled # 93»Sold in 2014 for $ 3,861,000. Cindy created it in 1981. This is an image of a cried and afraid young woman. She pulls a blanket over herself, as if trying to hide under him from the offender.
Most critics saw the topic of violence against women in this photo. Sherman denied these conjectures, she said that the viewer has the right to individual perception. Everyone sees here what he wants to see.
5. Untitled # 96, 3 890 500 $
One more job Cindy, the most famous - "Untitled # 96", 1981. This is a picture of a young girl. She is still completely innocent, but already seductive. In her hands she holds a piece of newspaper - these are dating ads. It was sold in 2011.
Interesting fact: once Cindy opened up and told why she doesn’t use invited models, but prefers to take pictures herself. The fact is that it works in obedience to intuition and in most cases cannot explain what feelings need to be portrayed.
4. Spiritual America, $ 3,973,000
Another scandal associated with the name Richard Prince. «Spiritual america"- this is a picture of actress Brooke Shields, who at that time was only 10 years old. The girl is completely naked, on her face - causing makeup.
Actually, this picture was taken by Harry Grons, especially for Playboy magazine.. The girl's mother gave her consent to the photo shoot in 1975.
In 1983, Richard Prince retook Brooke and earned very good money— $ 3,973,000. The photo was bought in 2014, the name of the buyer was not disclosed.
Not surprisingly, this scandalous photo has been the subject of legal proceedings more than once. Most people consider it not a subject of art, but child pornography.
3. Rhine II, $ 4,338,500
This photo Andreas Gursky from the Rhine series is the largest. Created in 1999.
The artist took a picture from the dam, which is located in Oberkassel. There is nothing but a river and a bike path. There was something else in the photo: a power station, buildings, a man walking with a dog.
Andreas using digital technology removed all unnecessary details. In his opinion, the picture needed to be modified to get the image of a modern river. "Rhine II»Sold in 2011.
2. Phantom, $ 6,500,000
Peter face (landscape photographer from Australia) became a champion in 2014. Phantom was paid $ 6,500,000 for his photograph.
This is an image of Antelope Canyon, which is located in northern Arizona. The rays of light form something, if you connect the imagination, you can see a ghost.
There is one “but”, according to Lika “Phantom»Was acquired by a private collector, he did not provide any supporting documents on the value.
1. Images from unnamed films, $ 6,773,000
It was already noted above that Cindy Sherman had his own style. In 1977, the artist came up with something unusual. She decided to shoot a series of "Images from unnamed films».
Cindy embodied in different images, and then took stunning pictures. She used cliches that were popular in those days, so it seemed to the audience that they somewhere saw these frames.
For three years, Sherman was engaged in this series, in 1980 she completed the work, as she no longer had ideas.
A total of 69 black and white photographs were taken. The Museum of Modern Art of New York became their owner. True, they were bought only in 2014 for $ 6,773,000.