The five most expensive Dutch paintings ever sold

Masterpieces by famous artists often sell for millions, making a nice penny for the seller. But some stand out head and shoulders above the rest. These five paintings by Dutch artists brought in the most money.

donderdag 31 maart 2022
12:56
By: Patrick Stoffer

5. Portrait of Dr. Gachet (1890) by Vincent van Gogh - €135 million

This portrait is the most expensive Van Gogh (1853 - 1890) once sold and was painted a few months before his death. The painting was bought in 1990 by the eccentric Ryoei Saito, a Japanese paper magnate, for €82.5 million. Saito died, and he had called for the painting to be cremated with him, to avoid problems with inheritance rights. This wish, fortunately, was never fulfilled and the van Gogh was preserved. The painting was eventually sold to Austrian Wolfgang Flöttlen, who is rumored to have paid €135 million for the painting. However, this has never been confirmed.Embed from Getty Images

3. Marriage portraits of Marten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit (1634) - € 172 million

The wedding portraits of Marten and Oopjen are the largest portraits Rembrandt (1606 - 1669) ever painted: life-size, standing and full-length. At this time, such paintings were intended only for the highest European nobility. Marten Soolmans paid 500 guilders for the portraits at the time. Today it is worth a little more. The portraits were owned by the world-famous Rothschild banking family until 2015. The portraits were purchased that year by both the Dutch and French states for €172 million, with the aim of having them exchanged between the Rijksmuseum and the Louvre. The portrait of Oopjen belongs to France and Marten to the Netherlands. Other conditions are that the portraits may never be separated and may not be loaned to other museums.Photo: The Rijksmuseum

2. The Ensign (1936) by Rembrandt van Rijn - € 175 million

The Flagbearer is among the masterpieces of Rembrandt van Rijn (1606 - 1669) and is a self-portrait of the artist. Brief history lesson: standard-bearers walked ahead of the troops in the Eighty Years' War, which led to the birth of the Netherlands. The Standard-bearer is considered Rembrandt's breakthrough, which would lead to The Night Watch. This Rembrandt caused quite a commotion within politics and society last year. During the coronagraph the painting was bought for € 175 million, of which € 150 million was paid by the State, € 15 million by the Rembrandt Association and € 10 million by the Rijksmuseum Fund. These paintings were also owned by the Rothschilds, who had owned it since 1844. Before that it was owned by the King of England, among others.Photo: The Rijksmuseum

1. Interchanged (1955) by Willem de Kooning - €270 million

De Kooning sold Interchanged, which was one of the artist's first abstract landscapes, in 1955 for €3,600. In 1989, the painting sold for about €19 million. The pinnacle took place 2015, when hedge fund manager Ken Griffin put down €270 million for the painting. Overall, it ranks second among the most expensive paintings ever sold.

The very most expensive painting ever sold is Salvator Mundi (circa 1500) by Leonardo Da Vinci, which changed hands in 2017 to the tune of €390 million.