Ten paintings, around $2.4 billion. This documentary-style countdown ranks the most expensive paintings ever sold, by the price paid at the time, from Klimt's Water Serpents II all the way to Salvator Mundi, the $450.3 million record set at Christie's New York in 2017. Real stories of Nazi-era seizures, secret private deals, the Bouvier affair and record-breaking auctions, told with animated price counters, maps, timelines and a final ranking.

In this video: #10 Water Serpents II, Gustav Klimt (about $183M, reported) #9 No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red), Mark Rothko (about $186M, reported) #8 Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, Andy Warhol ($195M, Christie's 2022) #7 The Standard Bearer, Rembrandt (EUR 175M, about $198M) #6 Number 17A, Jackson Pollock (about $200M, reported) #5 Nafea Faa Ipoipo, Paul Gauguin (about $210M, reported) #4 Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer, Gustav Klimt ($236.4M, Sotheby's 2025) #3 The Card Players, Paul Cézanne (more than $250M, reported) #2 Interchange, Willem de Kooning (about $300M, reported) #1 Salvator Mundi, attributed to Leonardo da Vinci ($450.3M, Christie's 2017)

Prices are nominal US dollars at the time of sale. Auction results include fees. Private-sale prices were never officially confirmed and are given as reported. Paintings still under copyright are discussed but not shown; the paintings on screen are public-domain works.

1920x1080, 30 fps, about 10 minutes, professional voiceover and music, no subtitles, ready to upload.

Photo credits (Wikimedia Commons): Leonardo da Vinci, Salvator Mundi, c.1500, oil on walnut, 45.4 × 65.6 cm — Leonardo da Vinci (attrib.) (Public domain) Leonardo da Vinci, Salvator Mundi, c.1500, oil on walnut (framed) — Leonardo da Vinci (attrib.) (Public domain) Salvator Mundi, 2006-07 photograph, after cleaning — Leonardo da Vinci (attrib.) (Public domain) Gustav Klimt - Water Serpents II — Gustav Klimt (Public domain) Klimt - Wasserschlangen II (Freundinnen) - 1904 — Gustav Klimt (Public domain) Les Joueurs de cartes, par Paul Cézanne, collection Al-Thani, Yorck — Paul Cézanne (Public domain) Les Joueurs de cartes, par Paul Cézanne — Paul Cézanne (Public domain) Cezanne The Card Players Metmuseum — Paul Cézanne (Public domain) Les Joueurs de cartes, par Cézanne, Musée d'Orsay, Paris (35486997484) — Paul Cézanne (Public domain) Paul Cézanne, 1892-95, Les joueurs de carte (The Card Players), 60 x 73 cm, oil on canvas, Courtauld Institute of Art, London — Paul Cézanne (Public domain) Paul Gauguin, Nafea Faa Ipoipo? 1892, oil on canvas, 101 x 77 cm — Paul Gauguin (Public domain) Paul Gauguin, Nafea Faa Ipoipo? (When Will You Marry?) 1892, oil on canvas, 101 x 77 cm — Paul Gauguin (Public domain) Gustav Klimt - Bildnis der Elisabeth Lederer (1914-1916) — Gustav Klimt (Public domain) Gustav Klimt Bildnis der Elisabeth Lederer — Gustav Klimt (Public domain) Serena Pulitzer Lederer (1867–1943) MET DP120567 — Gustav Klimt (Public domain) Rembrandt - De vaandeldrager (Q21467444) — Rembrandt (Public domain) Christie's (Manhattan, New York) 001 — Leonard J. DeFrancisci (CC BY-SA 3.0) Christie's New York (51396228649) — ajay_suresh (CC BY 2.0) Christie's Auction Rooms MET DP874010 — Thomas Rowlandson and Augustus Pugin (1808) (Public domain) 945 Madison Avenue - Sotheby's HQ (55512665684) — ajay_suresh (CC BY 4.0) Art Institute of Chicago Michigan Avenue — Alanscottwalker (CC BY-SA 3.0) Art Institute of Chicago Building, Chicago, Illinois (11004251406) — Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA (CC BY-SA 2.0) Rijksmuseum Reliefs Northfacade Westside — Oursana (CC0) The Rijksmuseum, 13 July 2026 — Danny William Wilson (CC BY-SA 4.0) Basler Kunstmuseum — Wladyslaw Sojka (CC BY-SA 3.0) Best view of Doha Skyline — Md Nahid Islam (CC BY-SA 4.0) Corniche evening — Unknown author (Public domain) Dhows off old Doha (12544843784) — Francisco Anzola (CC BY 2.0) Pollock-house — Americasroof (CC BY-SA 2.5) The National Gallery - Trafalgar Square, London (6427158207) — Elliott Brown from Birmingham, United Kingdom (CC BY 2.0) Cast-Iron Balconies, New Orleans French Quarter, April 2023 — edenpictures (CC BY 2.0) Ginevra. Porto Franco di Acacias — André Corboz (CC BY-SA 4.0) LouvreAD water — Boubloub (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Music (Mixkit Stock Music Free License): Possible Dreams - Eugenio Mininni; Cristales - Eugenio Mininni; Piano Reflections - Ahjay Stelino

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