The most expensive photo in the world



    Photograph of Rhein II by German photographer Andreas Gursky was sold at Christie's auction on November 8 for $ 4.34 million. This is a new world record for value for photography. The previous one belonged to the picture “Untitled No. 96” (Untitled # 96) by photo artist Cindy Sherman, the cost of which at the auction amounted to 3.89 million US dollars.

    The description of the lot does not explain why this, at first glance, a simple and boring photograph costs such money. What can I say, art is art.

    The visiting card of Andreas Gursky is panoramic large-size photographs. From the second half of the 90s, he processes them on a computer to achieve better detail and change the color scheme. In some cases, unnecessary items are removed from the photo or new elements are added (photo collage). Initially, the pictures are taken on a 4x5 "large format camera (frame size 9x12 cm).

    Among Gursky's most famous works is a photograph of" 99 cents "(1999). It shows the rows of a supermarket" 99 cents "littered with a huge amount of goods. The picture is striking in colors and According to experts, it creates an indescribable impression of "the fetishism of our material world in the post-capitalist landscape."

    The effect of bright colors is enhanced through the use of chromogenic color printing, as well as digital editing: the reflection of goods on the ceiling is added and the color scheme of goods is aligned to enhance the impression of their repeatability. “99 cents” (2001). Width - 3.36 m, height - 2.07 m. Detailing the photographs of Gursky, apparently, allows you to consider each product in this three-meter picture and look at it indefinitely. Here is a small fragment of a photograph measuring 2790 x 1835 pixels.










    Two years after the creation of his most famous work at that time, Gursky presented a diptych of two photographs under the same name. By the way, it was bought at the Sotheby’s auction in 2007 by the Ukrainian millionaire Viktor Pinchuk, and then it was a world record for the cost of photography. As you can see, Gursky is not the first time to set such records.


    Diptych of "99 cents" (2001).

    The purchase of works of art is considered a good investment of money, because they are steadily growing in price. The authenticity of the instance is confirmed by the signature of the author.

    Gursky's other famous work is a snapshot of a Japanese neutrino detector (Kamiokande, 2007). Fifty thousand tons of crystal clear water and more than 11 thousand gold photomultiplier tubes create a fantastic picture, and even in full-formatIn size, you don’t immediately notice the figures of two physicists who check the status of the instrument. In fact, due to significant digital processing, Gursky’s work cannot be called photographs in the full sense. For example, in the same picture of Rhine II, any traces of industrial interference in the landscape are carefully removed in the editor. Thus, the artist designs his own ideal reality, and thanks to this, his works are no longer sold as photographs, but as works of modern art.




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