From da Vinci’s divine vision to Warhol’s pop icon, these artworks reveal how meaning, legacy, and value intertwine

In the world of art, some masterpieces do far more than capture imagination — they ignite bidding wars, shatter records, and redefine the very concept of value. From Renaissance divinity to Pop Art brilliance, these works have moved millions not only emotionally, but also financially, reshaping art history with every staggering sale.

A Renaissance Miracle: Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi

In 2017, Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi (c. 1500) stunned the world when it sold for $450.3 million at Christie’s New York — the highest price ever paid for a work of art.

The sale began at $100 million, unfolding into a dramatic 19-minute bidding war, ending with thunderous applause as the hammer struck $400 million, plus fees.

Yet the painting’s journey was as dramatic as its auction moment. Bought for just $1,175 in 2005, its later reattribution to da Vinci, paired with a masterful marketing campaign, transformed it into a global cultural event.

The buyer was eventually revealed as Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, who planned to display the artwork in Riyadh — a fitting home for a painting that had become a modern legend.

Pop Icon, Record Breaker: Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn

Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn (1964) made headlines in 2022 when it sold for $195 million, becoming the most expensive artwork of the 20th century.

Inspired by a Marilyn Monroe publicity still, the work is part of the iconic “Shot Marilyns” series — named after a performance artist who famously fired a bullet through a stack of Warhol’s canvases in the 1960s.

Vibrant, glamorous, and eternally modern, the painting captures both Marilyn’s mythic beauty and Warhol’s penetrating commentary on fame, mortality, and repetition.

Picasso’s Women of Algiers (Version ‘O’): A Cubist Homage to a Master

In 2015, Pablo Picasso’s *Women of Algiers (Version ‘O’)* (1955) sold for $179.4 million, setting a record at the time.

A bold reinterpretation inspired by Eugène Delacroix, Picasso’s dazzling cubist forms and vibrant palette celebrate the female figure while paying tribute to artistic lineage.

Once owned by legendary collectors Victor and Sally Ganz, the painting’s sale reaffirmed Picasso’s enduring power to captivate markets and museum walls alike.

The Rest of the Record-Breakers

Completing the roster of multimillion-dollar marvels:

Francis Bacon’s Three Studies of Lucian Freud (1969)
Sold for $142.4 million, this triptych is a raw, emotionally charged portrait of Bacon’s complex relationship with fellow artist Lucian Freud.

lberto Giacometti’s Pointing Man (1947)

Fetching $141.3 million, this elongated bronze figure embodies the existential fragility that defines Giacometti’s sculptural genius.

Together, these sales show that in today’s art world, genius is measured not only by vision and craft — but by extraordinary sums that reflect cultural impact, rarity, and the timeless need to understand beauty.