It's not the imagination that counts ... or is it?
If the media is anything to judge, the world's economy is in a terrible condition. So to make everyone feel better, we take a look at the incredibly large amount of money spent on a painting. Interesting to know, the most famous painting in the world, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa was insured for $100 million back in 1962. No. 5, 1948 is a painting by American master Jackson Pollock (January 28, 1912 - August 11, 1956) one of the most known abstract impressionists in the world was sold for $140 million on making it the most expensive painting so far.
The painting was done on an 8' x 4' sheet of fiberboard, with thick amounts of brown and yellow paint drizzled on top of it, forming a nest-like appearance.It was originally owned by Samuel Irving Newhouse and displayed at the Museum of Modern Art before being sold to David Geffen and then allegedly toDavid Martinez in 2006 (though the supposed sale of this painting to Martinez has been denied by his attorneys).
You might well be questioning how the painting Number 5, 1948 has come to be worth $140 million? Since the artist has long passed away, his pieces would have to be more and more valuable through the years. Still, it is quite questionable that the painting costs more than those that have been made by artists who existed even before Jackson Pollock existed. Here is the most probable answer. Number 5, 1948 is rumored to have a significant mathematical and aesthetic property - the golden rectangle. This would have been a controversial matter as the finding of this divine proportion within Pollock's chaotic style in painting could be looked at as something that goes beyond coincidence. The Golden Ratio is popular among scientists, architects, and mathematicians. It is said to represent harmony and balance and is believed to be one of the blueprints of how God works on His masterpiece.
In his revolutionary technique of painting, Pollock used his paintbrush as a tool to drip paint on large canvases where the brush never touched the surface. Pollock's style in painting has been described as energetic in the sense that he does his work of art with his entire body swaying and swinging. This is now referred to as action painting.Pollock seems to have diverted from the mainstream method of painting that makes use of tools like easel, palette, and brushes. Rather, he has chosen to work with sticks, trowels, knives, and his bare hands to drip paint all over the canvass. His carefree movements while working on his paintings show no fear of having to distort the image of his obra maestra. In fact, Pollock confirmed that he becomes half-aware of what he is doing when he paints and that he tends to not mind the change that it could create to the design that he originally had in mind. The result - a work of art that proved to be the best in the world.Pollock was born in 1928 and suffered from depression and alcoholism. He died in a car crash at the age of 44. Pollock, a film on the artist's life, was made in 2000 where Oscar nominee Ed Harris played the role of one of the 20th century's greatest artists.
The Stone Roses' song "Going Down", B-side of "Made of Stone", makes a comic reference to the painting: "passion looks like a painting, Jackson Pollock's No. 5". The record's cover was a painting by guitarist John Squire in a style mimicking that of Jackson Pollock.
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