The most expensive painting sold by auction

Modern art lovers paid at auction tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars per cubic Women Picasso, Malevich's Suprematist compositions for, for an abstract painting by Kandinsky. However, there are paintings, for which collectors are also willing to pay a considerable sum. This is a picture with the image of cats. In this review, we compiled the top 6 of the most expensive paintings of cats, sold at international auctions of the art market.

6th place: Ian Faith (1611-1661). "Still life with a hare, game and a cat" - 221 thousand dollars

Dutch painter and etcher JAN FYT (Jan Fyt) lived in the XVII century and wrote the so-called hunting still lifes with animals and birds. His paintings are realistic and detailed, very colorful and harmonious, and the stories are taken from the hunting life. On his canvases the artist depicted the game basically, hounds and greyhounds dogs. I not missed by the painter and cats.

On canvas "Still life with a hare, game and cat" shows the production of a hunter and a cat-thief pulling the paw of the killed bird. This painting was sold for 221,000 dollars at Sotheby's.

5 th place. Henrietta Ronner-Kniep (1821-1909). "Playing Kittens" - 429 thousand dollars

Dutch artist Henriette Ronner-animal painter-Knip (Henriette Ronner-Knip) began painting at age 5, and by 6 years became a diligent student of his father. And very soon she had to be his indispensable assistant, as his father quickly began to go blind and could not prescribe the fine detail. And with 16 years, she has taken care of daily bread for their large family on their own. At the beginning of his creative career Henrietta wrote mostly landscapes and still lifes. But then her paintings began to appear and animals. Preference is given to the dog, and when in the house of the artist's cat appeared, she enthusiastically began to draw her and other sweet pussies. And these paintings brought very good returns. Henrietta appeared solid customers among the royal families of Portugal and Belgium.

Her picture of my mother-cat and frolicking kittens was sold at an art auction in 2006 for 429,000 dollars to an unknown buyer.

Curious Kitten (1893). Oil on wood. 11 x 10 cm Author:. Henriette Ronner-Knip

By the way, a miniature picture of a tree the size of 11 * 10 cm "Curious Kitten" written in 1893, with an auction in 2009 sold for 29 thousand dollars.

4th place. Liu Ye (1964 r.). "Meow" - 601 thousand dollars

Representatives of the Chinese contemporary art today occupy an important place in world culture. So, the artist Liu Ye from Beijing paints a picture of animation with a little strange stories. Some of his works resemble the illustrations for children's books, while others are made in abstract style. All artist's work is focused on the emotions of the master, on the inner world view of the world.

One of the most expensive of his creations was the picture of "Meow", depicting a girl with a kitten. The plot of this work is very strange, but that did not stop selling it on the art auction for 601 thousand dollars.

third place. Warhol (1928-1987). "Cats and dogs (Broadway)" - 701 thousand dollars

Andy Warhol - a famous American artist and founder of commercial pop art, a prominent figure in the history of pop art movement and contemporary art in general. At one time, over the years, Warhol was the center of art in New York parties, despite the fact that the life he was a very private man.

But the artist had a passion for cats, which he loved immensely. It said that Warhol systematically wound up Siamese cats, which are in his house was full, with all he indiscriminately called Semami. Warhol often made sketches of their favorites in static poses, since moving objects were given to him with difficulty. Later, these sketches were used as illustrations of the famous album "25 cats named Sam and One Blue Cat", published in 1954.

But the most expensive works of Warhol on a cat theme was the picture of "Cats and Dogs (Broadway)", which was sold by Sotheby's auction for 701 thousand US dollars.

2 nd place. Karl Kaler (1855-1906). "Lovers of my wife" - 826 thousand dollars

A huge canvas with the image of 42 cats was painted by the Austrian artist Karl Calera (Carl Kahler). In 1891, a wealthy lady, a great lover of cats Kate Birdsall Johnson wanted to immortalize their pets on a huge canvas. In her mansion in California, home to more than 300 cats, but only 42 of them were honored to go down in history. The artist spent three years writing this canvas. In 2015, the picture of a weight of 100 kilograms and a very impressive size - 2, 6 meters in length and 1, 8 meters high - was sold for 826,000 dollars to the buyer, who wishes to remain anonymous.

The initial price of the lot was 500 thousand dollars. Due to the large weight of the auction organizers were not able to attach the painting on the wall. They had to build a special design for this exhibit.

1 st place. Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). "Dora Maar au Chat" - 95, $ 2 million

The undoubted leader in this top is the work of genius of Picasso - "Dora Maar au Chat", created in 1941 and dedicated to the French artist and lover of Picasso. This is one of the most unusual portraits lover and muse of Pablo Picasso - Dora Maar. The work is done in the style of abstract art and carries the inner experience of the artist on the upcoming break-up with his girlfriend, after 9 years of relations.

Relations between the two creative minds were filled with boundless passion and controversy, and, apparently, so Picasso painted the Douro as solid angles and broken lines and also very unattractive. And on the back of the chair on which sits Dora, we see a cute little black cat, or rather, her silhouette. By the way, the muse of painter cats did not like, but Picasso painted the cat as a symbol of the turbulent relationship between the two.

This painting was included in the top ten most expensive paintings in the world, since it was sold for the incredible sum of 95, 2 million US dollars in 2006.

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso himself did not favor pedigreed cats, but to the rootless and homeless always treated with genuine affection. "I like the feral cats that prey on birds, rush through the streets like mad, dragging all that no hitting" - recalled the artist's statement his colleague Brassaï. Of Picasso and wrote in his series of cat, including the painting "Cat, grabbed the bird," "cat devouring a bird," "Cat and lobster."

"The cat, grabbed the bird" (1938). Canvas, oil. Author: Pablo Picasso

"The cat devouring a bird." Author: Pablo Picasso

"The Cat and Lobster" (1965). Author: Pablo Picasso

These are huge sums of money are willing to pay for art lovers pattern with cats. A look into the history of painting, we can make sure that these lovely creatures captured a great many artists, from ancient times to the present day.