Created around 1500, this painting of Christ attributed to Leonardo da Vinci is one of the master's 20 still existing paintings. In 1958 "Salvator Mundi" was sold for just $60 because it was thought to be a copy. But it fetched more than four times Christie's pre-sale estimate on November 15, 2017, when it was sold for over $450 million (€382 million) — setting a world record for auctioned art.

From 1954-55, Pablo Picasso did a series of 15 paintings inspired by Delacroix's "Les Femmes d'Alger," with versions named "A" through "O." He started them after the death of Henry Matisse, as a tribute to his friend and artistic rival. "Version O" broke the world record for an auction sale, selling for $179.4 million (167.1 million euros) at Christie's in May 2015.

At a Christie's auction held in November 2015, seven potential buyers spent nine frantic minutes bidding on this painting. It was finally snapped by a telephone bidder from China. The nude, painted in 1917-18, provoked a scandal at its first exhibition in Paris. The police shut down the art show after a crowd gathered outside the window.

Modigliani's work "Nu couché (sur le côté gauche)" caused such a controversy when it was first shown in Paris in 1917 that the police had to close the exhibition. The Italian artist's oil painting became the most expensive artwork to have been sold at New York auction house Sotheby's in May 2018.

This 1907 painting by Gustav Klimt is considered one of the most elaborate and representative of his "golden phase." In 2006, it was sold through a private sale brokered by Christie's for a record sum for a painting, $135 million. That same year, Jackson Pollock's classic drip painting "No. 5 1948" broke that record, obtaining $140 million through another private sale.

Van Gogh allegedly said of the homeopathic doctor Dr. Gachet, whom he painted here in 1890, that "he was sicker than I am." The plant is a foxglove, which is used to make the drug digitalis. In 1990, the work was auctioned off to Ryoei Saito, Japan's second-largest paper manufacturer, for $82.5 million, making it the world's priciest painting at the time (the price above has been adjusted).

This 1969 triptych documents Francis Bacon's friendship and rivalry with fellow painter Lucian Freud. At the time it was sold, in November 2013, it obtained the highest price for a work of art at an auction, until Picasso - and now Modigliani - surpassed that record in 2015.

This 1876 work by Impressionist master Renoir depicts a dance venue for high society on the outskirts of Paris, the Moulin de la Galette. One of Renoir's most famous works, it exudes the joie de vivre that is characteristic of his style. In 1990, the work was purchased for $78.1 million (adjusted price above) by Japanese buyer Ryoei Saito, along with van Gogh's "Portrait of Dr. Gachet."

This portrait of an adolescent holding a pipe and wearing a garland of flowers in his hair was created during the Spanish master's "Rose Period" in 1905. Just a little under a century later, the painting fetched an impressive sum of $104.2 million at a Sotheby's auction in 2004 (price adjusted above).

This agonizing character painted by Edvard Munch is one of the most iconic paintings in the world. The Expressionist artist had actually made four versions of it: Three are in Norwegian museums, and the fourth one was sold for the screeching price of $119.9 million in May 2012 at Sotheby's, which would be adjusted to $130.7 million today.

Picasso is well represented among the highest earning painters. His 1905 masterpiece "Fillette a la corbeille fleurie" ("Young Girl with a Flower Basket") was sold – along with two other Rose Period paintings – by the artist himself to writer Gertrude Stein in a sale that helped launch his career. The work, which was later part of David and Peggy Rockefeller's collection, sold for $115 million.

The French painter Claude Monet created multiple landscape series that depict the same subject in different types of light and seasons, showing off his ability to capture atmosphere. The painting "Meules" (1890), from his "Haystacks" series, fetched $110.7 million (€98 million) at a Soethby's auction — the record for a Monet and the first impressionist painting to cross the $100-million threshold.

Inspired by his mistress Marie-Thérèse Walther, Picasso created this painting in a single day in 1932. If you add the eight minutes and six seconds it took for the auction record bid at Christie's in May 2010, it still appears to be well-invested time. Its price could be adjusted to $115.7 million today.

Sandro Botticelli's masterpiece was sold at auction at Sotheby's in January 2021 for $92.2 million. The Italian Renaissance master had never fetched so much at auctions before. Prior to the sale, the work had been estimated at about $60 million.

Initially, Disney announced it would no longer release films in Russian cinemas. Now the corporation is halting all its activities, from its TV channels, including TV content marketing, to licensing and cruises. In a statement, Disney said it is taking the steps in light of "the relentless assault on Ukraine and the escalating humanitarian crisis."

The Cannes Film Festival announced on March 1 that it would "not welcome official Russian delegations" or people linked to the country's government. A number of film festivals are reacting similarly, including Glasgow and Stockholm. Locarno has announced it would not join a boycott, whereas Venice will offer free screenings of a film about the 2014 conflict in the Donbas region.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the song contest, stated on February 25 that "in light of the unprecedented crisis in Ukraine, the inclusion of a Russian entry in this year's Contest would bring the competition into disrepute." Meanwhile, Ukraine's folk rap Kalush Orchestra (photo) have emerged as the act with the best odds to win.

London's Royal Opera House has canceled the summer season of Moscow's Bolshoi Ballet. The Metropolitan Opera's staging of "Lohengrin," co-produced with the Bolshoi, will also be affected by the New York opera house's decision to cut ties with Russian state-supported artists. Until now a Putin loyalist, Bolshoi director Vladimir Urin was however among the signatories of a letter opposed to the war.

Many Russian artists have condemned the war. But despite an ultimatum from the Munich Philharmonic to publicly position himself, star conductor Valery Gergiev remained silent on the war led by Putin, his friend since 1992. On March 1, the German orchestra fired its acclaimed chief conductor, and the globe-trotting maestro's numerous concerts in Europe and the US have also been canceled.

The Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Berlin State Opera have ended their collaboration with Russian opera star Anna Netrebko, who was asked to "repudiate her public support for Vladimir Putin," but declined to do so. She is "one of the greatest singers in Met history," said the opera house's director Peter Gelb, "but with Putin killing innocent victims in Ukraine, there was no way forward."

Amid calls for cultural institutions to remove allies of Putin from their boards, museums are cutting ties with major Russian benefactors. Billionaire Vladimir Potanin has stepped down from the board of trustees of the Guggenheim Museum (photo), according to The New York Times, while Artnet reports that banking magnate Petr Aven has left his position as a trustee of the Royal Academy in London.

Amsterdam houses the largest satellite of Saint Petersburg's storied Hermitage Museum. It had until now never commented on Putin's political actions, but "with the invasion of the Russian army in Ukraine, a border has been crossed. War destroys everything. Even 30 years of collaboration," the Dutch museum stated on March 3. They are also closing their current exhibition, "Russian Avant-Garde."

It is not always the organizers of events who are boycotting Russian acts. At the Venice Biennale, which starts on April 23, it is rather the artists and curator of the Russian exhibition who have resigned, stating on Instagram that "the Russian Pavilion will remain closed" in protest of civilians being killed by missiles and Russian protesters being silenced.

Following Disney's lead, Warner Bros, Sony, Paramount Pictures and Universal have all decided to halt the release of films in Russian cinemas. "The Batman" (photo) was to be released in the country on March 4. Other upcoming titles affected by the decision include Disney's Pixar animated film "Turning Red," Paramount's "The Lost City" and "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" and the Marvel film "Morbius."

"Ukraine, we stand with you, and with all those in Russia who oppose this brutal act," said Nick Cave. He has canceled his Russian tour dates planned for the summer, just like many other groups, including Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, Iggy Pop and Green Day. Popular Russian rapper Oxxxymiron has also canceled his shows in the country, calling for an anti-war movement.