When Rubens' painting The Massacre of the Innocents was sold at auction in London for £49.5m (£76.7m), it became the third most expensive work of art in history.
BBC News Online gives a run-down of the 10 works with the biggest price-tags.
All prices are in United States dollars at the exchange rate at the time of sale.
At the sterling exchange rate at the time of sale, Van Gogh's Portrait of Doctor Gachet was worth £49.1m - less than the Rubens. But in US dollars, the Van Gogh wins.
1. Portrait of Doctor Gachet by Vincent Van Gogh. $82.5m. Bought by Japanese businessman Ryoei Saito at Christie's, New York, on 15 May 1990.
2. Au Moulin de la Galette by Auguste Renoir. $78.1m. Mr Saito bought this two days after he smashed the world record for the Van Gogh. Sold at Sotheby's in New York on 17 May 1990.
3. The Massacre of the Innocents by Peter Paul Rubens. $76.73m. Bought by an art dealer, Sam Fogg, on behalf of a private client at Sotheby's in London on 10 July 2002.
4. Portrait de l'artiste Sans Barbe by Van Gogh. $71.5m. Bought by an anonymous buyer at Christie's in New York on 19 November 1998.
5. Still Life with Curtain, Pitcher, and Bowl of Fruit by Paul Cezanne. $60.5m. Buyer unknown at Sotheby's in New York on 10 May 1999.
6. Les Noces de Pierrette by Pablo Picasso. $51.67m. Bought by a Japanese businessman at Binoche et Godeau in Paris on 30 November 1989.
7. Woman Seated in a Garden by Picasso. $49.5m. Painted by Picasso. Unknown buyer at Sotheby's in New York on 10 November 1999.
8. Irises by Van Gogh. $49m. Buyer unknown at Sotheby's in New York on 11 November 1987.
9. Le Reve by Picasso. $48.4m. Buyer unknown at Christie's in New York on 10 November 1997.
10. Nude in a Black Armchair by Picasso. $45.1m. Buyer unknown at Christie's in New York on 9 November 1999.
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