Painting of a Nekkid Lady Sells for an Astronomical $170.4 Million

After a heated auction at Christie’s, Amedeo Modigliani’s “Nu Couché,” painted circa 1917/1918 and featuring a butt-naked lady, sold for roughly one gazillion dollars to a Chinese billionaire. Finally, some art whose appeal everybody can understand!

The Times reports that the painting went to dedicated collector Liu Yiqian, and explains a bit about why this particular work would rack up so much money:

But it was Modigliani’s 1917-18 canvas, “Nu Couché,” that was the star lot around which Christie’s built its themed “Artist’s Muse” auction, designed to attract international buyers of the world’s most expensive art. With some collectors concerned about a bubble in the market for so-called cutting edge contemporary art, investment-conscious buyers have been looking for blue-chip names from earlier periods. Modigliani nudes are regarded as among the ultimate trophy paintings of the 20th century.

Hence the $170.4 million price tag—the second most ever paid for art at auction. God bless all the art collectors out there, carefully weighing the investment pros and cons of purchasing an early twentieth century portrait of, again, a sprawled-out naked woman.