Le Grand Canal et Santa Maria della Salute by Claude Monet

Auctioned by Sotheby’s in New York for US$56.6 million

The debut of Claude Monet’s Le Grand Canal et Santa Maria della Salute at Sotheby’s Modern Evening sale resulted in the work becoming the most valuable painting of Venice by the artist to be sold at auction. Having arisen from Monet’s three-month trip to Venice in 1908, this is one of a remarkable series of 37 paintings capturing the city’s magic and luminosity - in this instance, through brushstrokes of colour and light. Considered a pivotal work that connects the artist’s impressionist innovations with his progression to a free-form abstract approach, it is now the most valuable view of Italy by any artist sold at auction.