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A couple of decades 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.
Still, if you need beautiful pictures, people turn to a photographer for help. This area is very popular, not so long ago it began to develop as one of the trends in art.
Eminent photographers arrange their exhibitions. People come there with pleasure, and connoisseurs are ready to pay a round sum for an ordinary (at first glance) photo.
Moreover, history knows several cases when the pictures were rated very highly. Below is a ranking of the most expensive photographs in the world.
10 99 cents II, $3
This is the 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 (the maximum size is 2 by 4 meters). Despite this, every little thing, every detail in the picture looks very clear, not blurry.
Diptych «99 cents IIis Andreas’ most famous work. These are two photographs depicting rows in a supermarket, they are the same, only the angle differs. They depict a huge number of different goods, which can be considered to the smallest detail.
The size of the photo is 2,07 by 3,37 meters. It is very bright, Andreas used different effects to make the photo even more colorful.
The diptych symbolizes a special spirit of consumption. In 2007, the photograph was sold for $3. It was acquired by a businessman from Ukraine Viktor Pinchuk. The high cost of the photo is explained by the fact that at that time the name Gursky was already quite famous.
9. Dead Warriors Speak… $3
This photo was taken Jeff Wahl, he also became famous thanks to large-format photographs.
His job “Dead warriors say…‘ is known all over 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 dead people can talk too. In his photo, the soldiers behave very strangely: they mock each other.
In Russia, this photo was banned: it was simply excluded from the register of works that took part in the exhibition. It’s 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
The creator of this picture is called one of the richest and most brazen artists in America. Richard Prince sells screenshots from social networks and photos from other people’s advertising campaigns for a lot of money.
His job “Cowboy” are shots from an advertisement for a well-known tobacco company. Richard appropriated them and sold what had nothing to do with him. He did not pay attention to criticism and openly admitted that he “don’t care about copyright».
Few people can understand what they are paying big money for, nevertheless, his “Cowboy” was sold in 2014. The name of the buyer is not known, the cost is $3.
In Prince’s interpretation, a cowboy is not a hard worker from a farm, but a kind of sex symbol that every man should aspire to.
7. For Her Majesty, photo collage, $3
The authors of this creation are British avant-garde artists Gilbert Prosh и George Passmorewho also took photographs. They became famous thanks to the works in which they played the role of living sculptures.
«For Her Majesty, photo collage” are several shots united by one idea. They depict men in business suits and interior items in black and white. They were made in 1973. The collage was sold after 35 years, in 2008, for a sky-high price.
6. Untitled #93, $3
famous American artist Cindy Sherman sells his talent for a very high price. She works in the genre of staged photography, and refuses to call herself a photographer.
Cindy considers herself a performance artist (work of art is the actions of the artist).
Sherman herself acted as a “model”, she reincarnated in different images and photographed herself.
Her picture “Untitled #93“sold in 2014 for $3. Cindy created it in 861. This is an image of a tearful and frightened young woman. She pulls the veil over herself, as if trying to hide under it from the offender.
Most critics saw the theme of violence against women in this photo. Sherman refuted these conjectures, she said that the viewer has the right to individual perception. Everyone sees what they want to see here.
5. Untitled #96, $3
One more job Cindy, the most famous – “Untitled #96“, 1981. This is a picture of a young girl. She is still quite innocent, but already seductive. In her hands she holds a piece of newspaper – these are dating announcements. She was sold in 2011.
Interesting fact: one day Cindy opened up and told why she does not use invited models, but prefers to be photographed herself. The fact is that she works, obeying 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” is a snapshot of actress Brooke Shields, who at that time was only 10 years old. The girl is completely naked, on her face – defiant 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 re-shot Brooke and earned very good money – $ 3. The photo was bought in 973, the name of the buyer was not disclosed.
Not surprisingly, this scandalous photo has been the subject of litigation more than once. Most people consider it not a piece of art, but child pornography.
3. Rhine II, $4
This photo Andreas Gursky from the Rhine series has the largest dimensions. Created in 1999.
The artist took a picture from the dam, which is located in Oberkassel. There is nothing here but a river and a bike path. There was something else in the photo: a power plant, buildings, a man walking his dog.
Andreas digitally removed all unnecessary details. In his opinion, the picture needed to be improved to get the image of a modern river. “Rhine II“sold in 2011.
2. Phantom, $6
Peter Leek (landscape photographer from Australia) became the record holder in 2014. For his photograph, Phantom was paid $6.
This is an image of Antelope Canyon, which is located in northern Arizona. Rays of light form something, if you connect your 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 about the cost.
1. Stills from unnamed films, $6
It has already been noted above that Cindy Sherman had his own style. In 1977, the artist came up with something unusual. She decided to film a series ofStills from unnamed films».
Cindy embodied in different images, and then took amazing pictures. She used clichés that were popular at the time, so it seemed to the audience that they had seen these shots somewhere.
For three years, Sherman worked on this series, in 1980 she completed the work, as she had no more ideas.
A total of 69 black and white photographs were taken. The Museum of Modern Art in New York became their owner. True, they were bought only in 2014 for $6.