News from the art world
The statues of Turkmenistan
The unveiling of a huge statue of a golden dog in Turkmenistan has prompted a surge of interest in the oil-rich state’s public art, said Vice. The 19ft-tall effigy of the alabai, a hardy sheepdog that is a symbol of national pride, was unveiled by the Turkmen president, former dentist Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, earlier this month. It was the latest addition to the capital Ashgabat’s growing collection of monuments, which includes a vast 24-carat-gold-plated statue of the president himself, seated on a horse atop a 65ft cliff of white marble. His officials insisted that such statues – including a 100foot “tribute to cycling”, featuring golden riders on golden bikes – are built “in response to overwhelming public demand”. These opulent monuments stand in stark contrast with the everyday lives of many in Turkmenistan, said Helen Regan on CNN. The authoritarian former Soviet nation of six million is facing economic crisis and food shortages. However, Berdymukhamedov is relatively restrained compared with his predecessor Saparmurat Niyazov, who built – among many such edifices – a 246ft-tall tripod topped by a huge golden statue of himself, which rotates on its plinth to face the Sun. In 2010, Berdymukhamedov had it moved to the capital’s suburbs.
The princess and the lost Gauguin
An Italian princess has been accused of hiding a Paul Gauguin painting worth tens of millions, says Jessica Carpani in The Daily Telegraph. In the latest development of a decade-long dispute, Princess Camilla Crociani de Bourbon des Deux Siciles, wife of the Duke of Castro, was censured by the Royal Court of Jersey last week after failing to disclose the location of Gauguin’s Hina Maruru (1893), among other assets. The painting, of a Tahitian idol, is worth some £50m. The feud originated in 1987, when Princess Camilla’s mother, the film star Edoarda Crociani, set up a trust fund for Camilla and her sister Cristiana, to facilitate their inheritance of her late husband’s wealth and art collection. But later on, investments were removed from the fund, and Cristiana – fearing that her mother was doing so in order to favour her sister, as they “shared the same social ambitions and interests” – launched legal proceedings. In 2017, after a lengthy process in which Cristiana described her upbringing as a “golden hell”, the court ordered Edoarda to repay $200m and that Camilla disclose details of her mother’s wealth, including the location of Hina Maruru. Camilla has now been warned that she faces a fine of “millions” if found in contempt of court.