Cover "Rubik Mona Lisa" by Street Artist Invader is Displayed at Artcurial Auction House in Paris. (Photo: Getty Images)

The rubik's cube collage was only expected to pull in the low six figures.

A modern interpretation of the Mona Lisa, made into a mosaic using 330 Rubik’s Cubes, sold for US$520,680 at a modern art auction held by Artcurial in Paris this past weekend, despite its estimated presale value of around $150K.

The sale coincided with the last few days of a Leonardo da Vinci exhibition at the Louvre museum, where the real Mona Lisa is displayed, that marked the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death.

“Creating bridges between the most contemporary art and ancient art! What better example than this Mona Lisa by Invader, presented in Paris, which is a major urban art scene internationally.” said Arnaud Oliveux, Associate Director at Artcurial in a statement.

The creator, French street artist Franck Slama, otherwise known as “Invader” is famous for his signature pixelated Space Invader mosaics which “invade” city streets around the world. Thanks to his internationally accessible work, he has amassed a large fanbase, particularly on an app called “Flash Invaders,” which encourages users to take photos of his mosaics around the world to garner points and compete with other players.

Created in 2005, The Rubik Mona Lisa is the first in Invader’s “Rubikcubism” series, which also includes pixelated reproductions of Edouard Manet's 1863 "Le Dejeuner sur l'Herbe" (The Luncheon on the Grass) and Gustave Courbet's "L'Origine du Monde" (The Origin of the World).

“To understand and really see the work, you have to stand back from it. Close up, the image is nothing but a mass of cubes and colours, which don’t make any sense. It’s only when you stand back that the work makes sense and the face emerges.” said the artist of the Rubik Mona Lisa.

See also: David Hockney's "The Splash" Fetches Nearly US$30M At Auction