SHARE
COPY LINK

CULTURE

Artists pay homage to Oscar Wilde in Paris hotel where he died

Contemporary artists are paying tribute to writer Oscar Wilde with a series of works displayed in the Paris hotel where he died at only 46.

Artists pay homage to Oscar Wilde in Paris hotel where he died
The tombstone of British writer Oscar Wilde at the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris (Photo by JOEL SAGET / AFP)

After a glittering career as one of the greatest playwrights and all-round wits of the 19th century, Wilde (1854-1900) fell into poverty and disgrace after being persecuted — and imprisoned — for his homosexuality.

His last days were spent in a humble hotel on the Left Bank called, simply, L’Hotel.

These days it is a five-star establishment graced by celebrities, and this week has been adorned with artworks related to Wilde, brought together by curator Daniel Malarkey.

In the very room where Wilde died — number 16 — hangs a portrait of him on his death-bed by British artist Maggi Hambling, whose famous statue of the Irishman sits close to Trafalgar Square in London.

“It’s a moment when he’s getting close to death and famously says ‘Either the wallpaper has to go or I do, I fear it shall be me,'” Malarkey told AFP.

The gaudy wallpaper that horrified Wilde has long since been replaced, but Malarkey said something of Wilde’s presence still remains.

“Maggi was thrilled to put the portrait back in the room where the scene takes place,” he said.

Among the other pieces in the show, which has a short run until Sunday, is one by late filmmaker and gay activist Derek Jarman, a portrait of Tilda Swinton taken in the same hotel by Katerina Jebb, and two wooden sculptures by Eleanor Lakelin made from a tree outside Reading prison where Wilde was an inmate between 1895 and 1897.

It is titled “De Profundis” after Wilde’s final work, a long letter in which he recalls his love for the young Lord Alfred Douglas that led to his downfall, and reflects on art and life — “one of the greatest works of literature in history… everyone should read it,” said Malarkey.

“He was very unhappy here, but in ‘De Profundis’ he’s trying to return to a sense of spirituality — he’s looking at his life and realising his mistakes,” he added.

“With these works I’m trying to give him some of that mysticism that he craved.”

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

CRIME

French cinema boss on trial for sexual assault

The head of France's top cinema institution Dominique Boutonnat denied sexually assaulting his godson as he went on trial Friday in a case that has led to calls for him to step down.

French cinema boss on trial for sexual assault

The trial comes as French cinema reels from a renewed #MeToo reckoning that has seen several big names, including acting legend Gerard Depardieu, accused of sexual abuse.

READ ALSO: French actor Gérard Depardieu to be tried for sexual assault in October

Activists have denounced Boutonnat’s continued leadership of the National Centre of Cinema (CNC), whose role includes overseeing measures to curb sexual violence in the industry.

His godson accuses him of trying to masturbate him during a holiday in Greece in 2020 when he was 19.

“I looked at him to find my godfather and that’s when I saw someone completely different… It was someone using me to masturbate,” the godson, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court.

Boutonnat responded in court that it was his godson who had initiated the situation and kissed him.

“I feel bad about leaving an ambiguous situation, but to say there was a sexual assault is false,” he told the court.

He was placed under investigation in February 2021 but still reappointed by the government as head of the CNC in July 2022.

Training to prevent abuse has in recent months become obligatory for films seeking public funding via the CNC.

The CNC told AFP that the case against Boutonnat came from “the private sphere” and had no relation to its activities.

SHOW COMMENTS