The most expensive photograph in the world

Photography "Rhine II» (Rhein II) by German photographer Andreas Gursky was sold on November 8 at the Christie auction for $ 4.34 million. This is a new world record value for photography. The previous one belonged to photographer Unditled # 96 by photographer Cindy Sherman, whose value at auction amounted to 3.89 million US dollars.

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

The hallmark of Andreas Gursky are large panoramic photos. From the second half of the 90s, he processes them on a computer in order to achieve better detail and change the color scheme. In some cases, unnecessary elements are removed or new elements are added (photo collage). Initially, pictures are taken on a 4x5 "large format camera (frame size 9x12 cm).
')
Among the most famous works of Gursky is the photograph "99 cents" (1999). It shows the ranks of the supermarket "99 cents", piled high with a huge amount of goods. The picture is amazing colors and detail. 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 by using the method of chromogenic color printing, as well as digital editing: the reflection of goods on the ceiling is added and the color gamut of goods is aligned to enhance the impression of their repeatability.


^{99 cents (2001). Width - 3.36 m, height - 2.07 m}

Detailed photos of Gursky, apparently, allows you to view each product in this three-meter picture and look at it for an infinitely long time.



Here is a small snippet of a photo measuring 2790 x 1835 pixels.

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


^{Diptych "99 cents" (2001).}

Buying works of art is considered a good investment because they are steadily rising in price. The authenticity of the copy is confirmed by the author's signature.

Another well-known work by Gursky is a snapshot of a Japanese neutrino detector (Kamiokande, 2007). Fifty thousand tons of crystal clear water and more than 11 thousand gold photomultipliers create a fantastic picture, and even in full- size size you will not immediately notice the figures of two physicists who check the state of the instrument.



In fact, due to the significant digital processing of the work, Gursky cannot be called photos in the full sense. For example, in the same picture of “Rhine II” in the editor, any traces of industrial intervention in the landscape were carefully removed. Thus, the artist constructs his own ideal reality, and thanks to this, his works are sold not as photographs, but as works of contemporary art.