Tuesday, June 20, 2006

150 million for Klimt


This painting by Gustav Klimt has yesterday been sold for no less than 150 million USD, that is, about 105 million Euro.

Part of it is made of pure gold, which in part explains the price.

I have previously posted my admiration for a Frida Kahlo's "Raices" price of 5,6 million USD in an auction a month ago..but this is 30 times more!

It's fair to ask: is this painting more beautiful or artistically perfect because of the price it was sold for? It is for sure worth that money, because things are worth as much as the market (the buyers vs. the sellers) values them; but the question is: is the painting's beauty or the painter's geniality proportional to the value that the market attributes to the painting?

Is this painting 30 times better than Kahlo's "Raices"?

By the way, this is a portrait of a lady, married to a millionaire and lover to the painter Gustav Klimt. The painter was payed by the millionaire for this job. So while the millionaire thought he was paying for a paiting, the truth is he was opening the door of his house to the man that would sleep with his wife and, dramatically, paying him for that.

At least, all that is now worth a lot of money to the heirs.

2 comments:

m said...

it's all about art... and money...

nobre said...

O que eu pensava ser um post honrando e bendizendo um dos meus pintores preferidos de todos os tempos é afinal um post que questiona o seu(desta pintura) real valor em comparação com o preço a que foi vendido.
É caso para dizer: screw the money! this painting is awsome