The Most Expensive Bitcoin Painting Ever Sold
Youl, a French artist, has represented the Bitcoin community in an astonishingly beautiful painting styled after the famous work of art by Leonardo da Vinci, the Last Supper, which he calls the Bitcoin Supper.
The painting, 140cm x 70cm, was originally offered more than three months ago, but it received a muted reaction. All changed very quickly when a post was made on Reddit introducing the work of art to the wider Bitcoin community. Ever since, the bids increased higher and higher, reaching 4.65 BTC ($2,900) making it the most expensive Bitcoin painting ever sold.
The Bitcoin Jesus and Judas
The painting revolves around the green, human-shaped centre figure, who is wearing a blue Roman toga and a necklace fronting the B symbol. He could be the painter’s abstract representation of Satoshi, the creator of Bitcoin. However, a closer look shows a number of alphabetic letters engraved on the figure’s body in a very subtle manner which suggest that rather than the creator, the centre figure represents the creation itself. The painter calls it Blockchain Jesus, a beautiful and intriguing representation of Bitcoin.
To the left, dressed as a stereotypical banker, sits Judas, who is holding a wallet with the B symbol and is staring at the Blockchain Jesus while seemingly in the process of taking a piece of bread. The Juda’s act is being witnessed by the scientist at the far left and the grandmother, who seems shocked, perhaps because she just found out that the wallet is empty. For the Bitcoin Judas is none other than Mark Karpeles and MT Gox, which caused directly or through negligence the loss or “disappearance” of 650,000 bitcoins and were previously directly blamed for the April 2013 crash and for the near-death experience that Bitcoin survived in late 2011 and early 2012.
The Bitcoin Community
In one brilliant painting, the artist has captured a snapshot of the Bitcoin community as it stands today and has immortalized it in an art form. There is no player missing. There stands the scientist or the Core Developers at the far left with the beekeeper or the merchant next to him. There stands the coder or the professional immediately to the left with perhaps the intellectual or the Bitcoin celebrity whispering in his ear. There also stands the construction worker or the ordinary working man on the right holding off scammers, thieves or hackers from the blockchain. Anonymous is next to him, seemingly applauding or asking for attention.
At the far left sits the gambling, speculating, SatoshiDice representation as shown by the ace cards on his chest, talking to what may be a beggar, get rich quick schemer, or a speculator. Next to him stands Youl himself, representing the artist more generally, who gave us this amazing work of art to celebrate our brilliant, active, resilient and close nit five-year-old Bitcoin community.
The active hand gestures and body language in the scene bring the painting to life and capture the buzz that is Bitcoin with entrepreneurs, financiers, intellectuals, coders, businesses, ordinary workers and artists all busy with bringing to full life and glory the magnificence of the blockchain, majestically sitting centre stage. Witnessing all this is the shocked grandma who undoubtedly wishes that things could all go back to the more simple days.
Turning One Bitcoin into a House
This brilliant piece came to life through a collaboration of Bitcoincito – the seller of the painting – and YoulDesign, the painter of The Bitcoin Supper.
The Bitcoin Supper is not the first work of art brought to us by Bitcoincito and his Project Bitcoin . The anonymous 31-year-old who runs a philanthropic technology organization and goes by the name of Bitcoincito has ventured on a journey to turn 1 bitcoin into a house by making at least 20 international transactions, all in bitcoin, each bigger than the other, styled in the way of Kyle MacDonald, who turned a single red paperclip into a house with fiat money.
The Project Bitcoin has already had eight transactions, including a beautiful orange leathered wallet (pictured) carrying the B symbol on the front. The Bitcoin Supper painting is the ninth transaction in the project to be followed by many more in what is likely to become an epic adventure.
The author has no connection with Project Bitcoin, YoulDesign, or the sale more generally.
Images reprinted with the full permission of Project Bitcoin.
