from Leonardo da Vinci Mona Lisa. Van Goghs Starry Nights. by Auguste Rodin The Thinker. From Claude Monet Nymphas.
Each of these original masterpieces is all part of an ongoing collaboration and licensing agreement that allows these works to have their own official digital collectible (NFT).
The world’s most expensive painting
Salvator Mundiwhich is considered the world’s most expensive painting is gearing up to be transformed into an NFT, according to a report by The Art Paper.
The controversial painting of Jesus Christ holding a crystal ball sold at Christie’s in New York for $450.3 million, the highest price ever paid at auction. The exact whereabouts of the painting are unknown at this time.
Behind the ‘Salvator Mundi’ Mint
This week’s licensed image is from Salvator Mundi will be available to store on digital asset platform ElmonX, in partnership with international image licensing company Bridgeman Images.
According to the report, terms of the sale will be announced on Aug. 12, but a Bridgeman Images spokesperson said the financial terms of the deal remain confidential.
With the expected release of the terms and conditions of the sale, it begs the question of how ElmonX, Bridgeman Images and the owners of these works managed to successfully harmonize intellectual property (IP) and licensing rights to create what appears to be are for the first time, a real case study for bridging the traditional art world with blockchain and NFT technologies.
That says a spokesperson for Bridgeman Images The Art Paper that the ongoing partnership will allow ElmonX to license the images of the original painting, similar to how it currently does for high-quality images and videos for advertisers, filmmakers, publishers and designers across all industries.
On the other hand, the fact that the exact whereabouts of the IRL painting are currently unknown raises the bigger question of “why” this coin actually happens, or what the purpose behind it is.
The NFT itself is not directly linked to the IRL painting, so what exactly does it represent? From the looks of it, it’s just public evidence that you’ve only granted the right to display the high-resolution image of the ‘Salvador Mundi’ painting, and nothing else.
This is a sentiment shared by others on “X” (formerly Twitter), who believe there’s no point in listing an NFT separately from the work itself after it’s already sold.
ElmonX currently plays host to da Vinci’s Mona Lisa (1503), Van Goghs Starry night (1889), Rodins The Thinker (1904) and Monet’s Nymphas (1907).
What does this mean for the NFT industry?
This collaboration undoubtedly lays the groundwork for what we wanted to see in efforts to integrate these emerging technologies into the traditional art world.
Assuming the underlying mechanics of the licensing deal between ElmonX and Bridgeman Images truly harmonize high-quality traditional art with the blockchain and NFT technologies, this opens the door to even more interesting conversations.
That said, whether or not this application makes sense in terms of just the right to “publicly display” a licensed image of a work of art is up for debate.
As the NFT market continues to decline as demand for these projects appears to be waning, the industry is begging for deliberate applications of this technology. We’ve passed the point of merely bending digital art without any purpose, as well as the tasteful way these emerging technologies are being applied to traditional art.
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