Beeple NFT tops almost every ‘Old World Masters’ ever auctioned
Crypto art lord Beeple just sold an NFT for over $69 million via New York’s prestigious auction house, Christie’s.
It’s an incredible sum of money, $69 million. Whoever bought it likely believes Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days represents the birth of a long-lasting movement in art.
At this stage, who can argue.
Christie’s quickly pointed out the sale solidified Beeple (real name Mike Winkelmann) as one of the world’s top three most valuable living artists, behind US sculptor Jeff Koons and British painter David Hockney.
In fact, Beeple’s NFT fetched eight times more than the four most valuable Picasso artworks auctioned while the abstract legend was still alive — combined.
Beeple’s auction didn’t just outsell living legends
The thing is, Beeple’s blockchain-powered piece also sold for more than nearly every single “Old Masters” artwork ever auctioned.
In 2012, a drawing by Raphael — the legendary Italian architect of the “High Renaissance” — fetched the equivalent of $54.76 million (adjusted for inflation).
Four years later, Rubens’ masterpiece Lot and his Daughters set a Christie’s auction record for Old Masters when it sold for $63.74 million (again, adjusted for inflation).
Ruben’s Lot and his Daughters (1613 and circa 1614) 
Raphael’s Head of a Young Apostle (1519–21)
[Read more: Christie’s sets $100 starting bid for historic Beeple NFT auction]
Today, Beeple topped both those pieces by millions of dollars. The only Old Masters pieces Beeple didn’t beat were painted by behemoths Botticelli, Rembrandt, and da Vinci, according to Artnet.
It’s hard to imagine what comes next. However, and we say this with the utmost respect to Beeple:
Whichever NFT Christie’s auctions next had better be more than a colorful collage of artworks that already existed.