English auction house Christie’s recently sold a photograph (entitled Rhine II) by Andreas Gursky for 4.3 million dollars: the previous record – now gone – was set by Cindy Sherman’s Untitled #96, which sold for 3.89 million dollars.

Actually it’s not the first time a work by Gursky has sold for millions; the German artist, indeed, is known for his big format photographs, akin to paintings in the way he creates surreal scenes through stitching and digital manipulation. With strictly limited prints of each work.

The buyer of the huge glass-mounted 350cm x 200cm print is unknown. Francis Outred, Head of Christie’s Post War and Contemporary Art Department in Europe, explained how this photograph reached such a high quotation: “Working on an unprecedented scale with outstanding printing techniques and colour and grain definition to challenge painting, he has led a group of artists who have re-defined the medium in culture today”. And he added: “Of the edition of six, three are in public museums (Moma, Tate, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich), one is with a private museum (Glenstone, Potomac) and only two are left in private collections, of which this is one. In other words this is almost as rare as a one-off painting”.

The millionaire shot portraits a grey Rhine river under grey skies; the artist carefully digitally removed any intrusive features – dog walkers, cyclists, a factory building – until it was bleak enough to satisfy him

Watch the photo in high definition here.