French actor Gerard Depardieu, who’s dealing with a collection of sexual assault allegations, is to promote a lot of his artwork assortment price an estimated 3-5 million euros, his auctioneers introduced.
The 74-year-old is on the centre of an ongoing rape investigation and the press has just lately reported on a number of new sexual misconduct allegations.
Auctioneer David Nordmann mentioned Depardieu had given no particular causes for ridding himself of the works, which make up most of his assortment in Paris.
“He’s 74-years-old and, as he says, he’s had several heart operations, several motorbike accidents,” mentioned Nordmann. “He’s lived an enormously full life and needs to lighten the load a little.”
The auctioneers mentioned that they had begun organizing the sale earlier than the most recent allegations emerged.
“We would prefer there weren’t these judicial problems,” mentioned Nordmann. “In theory, the art market is sufficiently independent from these concerns… but we have no idea.”
The sale of the actor’s 250 artworks is about for September 26-27 on the Hotel Drouot in Paris.
Depardieu, arguably France’s best-known actor worldwide, has performed a number of the nation’s most iconic roles together with Cyrano de Bergerac, Obelix and Auguste Rodin.
He has lengthy been an avid artwork collector, largely of summary modern artwork and statues.
The auctioneers mentioned that they had by no means encountered somebody who lived with their artwork like Depardieu.
“The collection at his home is unique because there are no paintings hanging on the wall,” mentioned Nordmann. “He piles them up towards the wall and strikes them ahead and again within the pile because the temper takes him.
“I’ve never seen that. He can’t stand being face-to-face with them.”
A putting Germaine Richier statue — whose “ogre-ish” stance bears some resemblance to the actor, Nordmann famous — is the centre-piece of the public sale, valued between 500,000 and 800,000 euros.
It additionally features a Rodin statue and works by artists resembling Odilon Redon and Hans Hartung.
The auctioneers admitted they might like to get their arms on another objects within the actor’s collections.
“We fantasise a bit about Gerard Depardieu’s wine cellar — you can’t even imagine,” mentioned co-auctioneer Xavier Dominique.
French investigative web site Mediapart reported in April that greater than a dozen girls had accused Depardieu of sexual violence, with some allegations going again a long time.
© 2023 AFP