THE BIRTH OF VENUS BY SANDRO BOTTICELLI

Botticelli's painting illustrates the myth of the birth of Aphrodite. The beautiful goddess drifts to the shore in a sea shell, driven by the Zephyr's wind (West wind), and on the shore she is met by one of the Graces. The Birth of Venus is well preserved thanks to the fact that Botticelli applied a protective layer of egg yolk to the painting. This masterpiece is kept in Florence in the Uffizi Gallery.

THE NINTH WAVE BY IVAN AIVASOVSKIY 

This is an 1850 painting by Russian-Armenian marine painter Ivan Aivazovsky. It is his best-known work.[1][2]

The title refers to an old sailing expression referring to a wave of incredible size that comes after a succession of incrementally larger waves.[3]

It depicts a sea after a night storm and people facing death attempting to save themselves by clinging to debris from a wrecked ship. The debris, in the shape of the cross, appears to be a Christian metaphor for salvation from the earthly sin. The painting has warm tones, which reduce the sea's apparent menacing overtones and a chance for the people to survive seems plausible. This painting shows both the destructiveness  and beauty of nature.

THE PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY BY SALVADOR DALÍ 

According to the author himself, the picture was painted as a result of abstract associations that Dali had at the sight of processed cheese. Gala predicted quite correctly that no one, once having seen the Persistence of Memory, will not forget it. This outstanding painting, the best art of all time, is located in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

BLUE DANCERS BY EDGAR DEGAS 

Degas was a big fan of ballet, which is why he is called the artist of ballerinas. Blue Dancers dates back to the late period of Degas's work, when his vision weakened, and he began to paint in large spots of color, attaching paramount importance to the decorative organization of the surface. Today the painting is in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow.

THE GREAT WAVE OF KANAGAWA BY KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI 

Hokusai's The Great Wave of Kanagawa, also known as The Great Wave or The Wave, is one of the most famous paintings of Japanese master. It is part of a series of 36 ukiyo prints of Mount Fuji. Hokusai did not depict the middle plan, so the illusion of depth is overwhelming. The woodcut is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. 

THE STARRY NIGHT BY VINCENT VAN GOGH 

Van Gogh's Starry Night is one of the most most famous paintings in post-impressionist culture. It is currently on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Unlike most of Dutch artist's paintings, Starry Night was painted from memory. At that time, Van Gogh was in the hospital of Saint-Remy, tormented by fits of madness. 

THE KISS BY GUSTAV KLIMT 

The kiss is one of the first works of art in L'Art Nouveau or modern style. This painting, almost entirely done in gold tones, is one of the most striking artworks of the style. You can see this famous piece of the Austrian artist in Österreichische Galerie Belvedere inVienna.

IRISES BY VAN GOGH

This painting by van Gogh depicts a bouquet of iris flowers, which appear to be blue.

But the records show the actual color would have been a vivid purple, but it seems the pigment has dulled with passing time.

History says that it was one of Van Gogh’s last paintings before he shot himself with a revolver.

In 1987, this painting was the most expensive painting in history at that time, fetching almost $54 million at an auction.

THE SUN OF MAN BY RENE MAGRITTE

The painting depicts a man in an overcoat and a bowler hat standing in front of a wall, beyond which are the sea and a cloudy sky.

A hovering green apple covers the man’s face; however, the man’s eyes peek over the edge of the apple.

At the start of 1946, Magritte was painting in both his realist style and his impressionist style.

The Son of Man has become the most iconic image of the Surrealism Movement.

This painting is in a private collection, rarely appearing for public observation.

LE RÊVE BY PABLO PICASSO

This is a 1932 oil painting by Pablo Picasso, then 50 years old, portraying his 24-year-old mistress Marie-Thérèse Walter. It is said to have been painted in one afternoon, on January 24, 1932. It belongs to Picasso's period of distorted depictions, with its oversimplified outlines and contrasted colors resembling early Fauvism.

The erotic content of the painting has been noted repeatedly, with critics pointing out that Picasso painted an erect penis, presumably symbolizing his own, in the upturned face of his model. 

1. Leonardo da Vinci, Salvator Mundi

The current record price is approximately US$450.3 million.

Leonardo da Vinci was a painter, engineer, architect, inventor, and student of all things scientific. His natural genius crossed so many disciplines that he epitomized the term “Renaissance man.” Today he remains best known for two of his paintings,

"Mona Lisa" and "The Last Supper." Largely self-educated, he filled dozens of secret notebooks with inventions, observations and theories about pursuits from aeronautics to human anatomy. His combination of intellect and imagination allowed him to create, at least on paper, such inventions as the bicycle, the helicopter and an airplane based on the physiology and flying ability of a bat.

2. Willem de Kooning, Interchange

also known as Interchanged, is an abstract expressionist oil paintingon canvas by Dutch-American painter Willem de Kooning (1904–1997). Like Jackson Pollock, de Kooning was one of the early artists of the abstract expressionismmovement, the first American modern art movement. 

Originally sold by the artist in 1955 for $4,000, it was sold by the David GeffenFoundation to Kenneth C. Griffin for $300 million in September 2015, then ranking it first on the list of most expensive paintings.[2][3][4] It has been on loan at the Art Institute of Chicago.[5] It is now ranked second on the list of most expensive paintings, only surpassed by Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, which sold for $450.3 million in November 2017.

3. Paul Cézanne, The Card Players

One version of The Card Players was sold in 2011 to the Royal Family of Qatarfor a price estimated at $250 million ($301.1 million today), signifying a new mark for highest ever price for a painting. 

The Card Players is a series of oil paintings by the French Post-Impressionistartist Paul Cézanne. Painted during Cézanne's final period in the early 1890s, there are five paintings in the series. The versions vary in size, the number of players, and the setting in which the game takes place. 

4. Paul Gauguin, Nafea Faa Ipoipo (When Will You Marry?) 

is an oil painting from 1892 by the French Post-Impressionist artist Paul Gauguin. On loan to the Kunstmuseum in Basel, Switzerland for nearly a half-century, it was sold privately by the family of Rudolf Staechelin to Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad Al-Thani, in February 2015 for close to US$210 million (£155 million)

5. Jackson Pollock, Number 17 

is an abstract expressionist painting by Jackson Pollock. It is owned by hedge fund manager Kenneth C. Griffin, who purchased it in September 2015 from David Geffen for $200 million

6. Gustav Klimt, Water Serpents II,

also referred to as Wasserschlangen II, was sold for $183.8.

It is an oil painting made by Gustav Klimt in 1907. It is the follow-up painting to the earlier painting Water Serpents I. Like the first painting, Water Serpents II deals with the sensuality of women's bodies and same-sex relationships. The painting has a rich history. During World War II, it was stolen by the Nazis, and more recently, it has been the center of a controversy surrounding its record 2013 sale.

7. Mark Rothko, No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red) 

is a painting by the Latvian-American abstract expressionist artist Mark Rothko. It was painted in 1951. In common with Rothko's other works from this period, No. 6 consists of large expanses of colour delineated by uneven, hazy shades. In 2014, it became one of the most expensive paintings sold at auction for $186 million. 

8. Rembrandt, The pendant  portraits of Marten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit 

are a pair of full-length wedding portraits by Rembrandt. They were painted on the occasion of the marriage of Marten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit in 1634. Formerly owned by the Rothschild family, they became jointly owned by the Louvre Museum and the Rijksmuseum in 2015 after both museums managed to contribute half of the purchase price of €160 million, a record for works by Rembrandt.

9. Pablo Picasso, Les Femmes d'Alger (English: Women of Algiers)

is a series of 15 paintings and numerous drawings by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. The series, created in 1954–1955, was inspired by Eugène Delacroix's 1834 painting The Women of Algiers in their Apartment (French: Femmes d'Alger dans leur appartement).[1] The series is one of several painted by Picasso in tribute to artists that he admired. $205 Millions. 

10. Rembrandt, The Standard Bearer 

is a three-quarter-length self-portrait by Rembrandt formerly in the Paris collection of Elie de Rothschild, $198 millons