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The most expensive Velázquez ever sold

The most expensive Velázquez ever sold is Saint Rufina: $17 million at Sotheby's London in 2007. Famous works such as Las Meninas, Rokeby Venus and Portrait of Innocent X are in public collections, so they are not for sale and have no price.

Lived
1599–1660
From
Spanish
Movement
Baroque
Worked in
Madrid · Seville · Rome
Portrait of Diego Velázquez
Velázquez's record$17MSaint Rufina · 2007

Velázquez's famous works and their prices

  • Las Meninas by Diego VelázquezLas Meninas1656 · Museo del Prado, MadridNot for sale
  • Rokeby Venus by Diego VelázquezRokeby Venus1651 · National Gallery, LondonNot for sale
  • Portrait of Innocent X by Diego VelázquezPortrait of Innocent X1650 · Galleria Doria Pamphilj, RomeNot for sale
  • The Surrender of Breda by Diego VelázquezThe Surrender of Breda1635 · Museo del Prado, MadridNot for sale
  • Las Hilanderas by Diego VelázquezLas Hilanderas1657 · Museo del Prado, MadridNot for sale

“Not for sale” means a public collection holds the work. Prices are nominal US dollars as reported at the time.

Velázquez next to other artists

Each artist's highest documented sale, from the same research.

  1. Vermeer$30.1MA Young Woman Seated at the Virginals · 2004
  2. Michelangelo$27.2MStudy for the right foot of the Libyan Sibyl · 2026
  3. Sargent$23.5MGroup with Parasols · 2004
  4. Toulouse-Lautrec$22.4MLa Blanchisseuse · 2005
  5. Velázquez$17MSaint Rufina · 2007
  6. Goya$16.4MPortraits of Doña María Vicenta Barruso Valdés and Doña Leonora Antonia Valdés de Barruso · 2023
  7. El Greco$14MSaint Dominic in Prayer · 2013
  8. Delacroix$9.88MTigre jouant avec une tortue · 2018
  9. Corot$9.01MVenise, vue du Quai des Esclavons · 2018

Bars are to scale within this list. Source for Velázquez's record: theartwolf.com.

About Diego Velázquez

Spanish Baroque painter and the dominant artist of the court of Philip IV, who appointed him court painter in 1623, after which he moved his family from Seville to Madrid. He worked with a loose, economical brushwork and a sober naturalism unlike anything in Italian painting of the time, and two long stays in Italy, from 1629 and from 1649, deepened his handling of colour and space. "Las Meninas" of 1656, which places the painter, the royal family and the viewer inside one unresolved scene, is among the most analysed paintings in Western art. He died in Madrid in 1660 and became a touchstone for Manet, Whistler and Picasso two centuries later.

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Art Scanner result for the Mona Lisa with its $100M insured value tag
The Mona Lisa in Art Scanner: insured value $100M

Questions

What is the most expensive Velázquez ever sold?

Saint Rufina, which sold for $17 million at Sotheby's London in 2007. Prices are nominal US dollars as reported at the time.

How much is a Velázquez painting worth?

It depends on the work. The highest documented sale is $17 million for Saint Rufina. Works in public collections are not for sale.

Where can I see Velázquez's paintings?

Among the works here: the Museo del Prado, Madrid, the National Gallery, London and the Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome.

Who was Diego Velázquez?

Diego Velázquez (1599–1660). Spanish Baroque painter and the dominant artist of the court of Philip IV, who appointed him court painter in 1623, after which he moved his family from Seville to Madrid. He worked with a loose, economical brushwork and a sober naturalism unlike anything in Italian painting of the time, and two long stays in Italy, from 1629 and from 1649, deepened his handling of colour and space. "Las Meninas" of 1656, which places the painter, the royal family and the viewer inside one unresolved scene, is among the most analysed paintings in Western art. He died in Madrid in 1660 and became a touchstone for Manet, Whistler and Picasso two centuries later.

Other artists