The auction of Juliette Gréco's souvenirs brought in a total of 1.2 million euros (with costs), including 134,400 for a painting by Serge Gainsbourg that the latter had offered her, said the auction house Crait- Müller.
This oil on canvas entitled "
Children in the square
", which represents Gainsbourg and his sister children, was sold Friday at a price much higher than its high estimate (50,000 euros).
To read alsoThe key objects of the auction of Juliette Gréco
A student at the Beaux-Arts, Gainsbourg (Lucien Ginsburg of his real name) was initially intended for painting and drawing before becoming a singer.
He had offered this painting to Gréco in 1959, after having confided to him during a program that “
painting is (his) only true love
”.
“
A few days later, Serge came to my house and said: + I burned everything, destroyed everything, I'll give you that.
It is the only one that remains ... + It is a very touching canvas.
(...) I love this canvas.
She was above my bed but I take her around the house.
It's more than a painting, it's a part of it.
And it's mine.
It would hurt me crazy if it were to disappear ...
”, confided the singer and actress later.
According to those around Gainsbourg, who died in 1991, only five paintings by him are still in circulation, including this one.
He had recently been the subject of an astonishing story: in 2015, Juliette Gréco appealed to AFP after his disappearance from her home.
“
I am very unhappy, I have the impression that a small piece of my life has been torn from me.
I give my thieves a few days to put it back where they found it, then I start the war machine!
», She had let know.
The canvas, visibly stolen by a loved one, quickly reappeared ...
Between Thursday and Saturday, some 750 lots, trinkets, furniture, works of art, dishes, jewelry and clothes of Juliette Gréco were dispersed, a little over a year after her death in September 2020. A large crowd of collectors and curious came to see them at the Hotel Drouot in Paris.
Among the most unusual pieces was a Van Cleef & Arpels directory with the telephone numbers of many celebrities from the Saint-Germain-des-Prés years, by Gréco.
It was sold for 12,160 euros (with costs).
The sale was organized by Julie-Amour Rossini, granddaughter of the singer and actress.
