The last poem by Vladimir Vysotsky was auctioned for 200,000 euros

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The last poem by Vladimir Vysotsky, written on both sides of the letterhead of a Parisian travel agency on June 11, 1980, a month and a half before his death and dedicated to Marina Vladi, was sold by her at the Drouot auction for 200 thousand euros. Death mask - for 55 thousand …

The French capital has been preparing for the auction organized by actress Marina Vlady for over a month. And even the terrorist attacks committed by Islamist radicals could not prevent. The handwritten draft became the most expensive lot at the auction of Marina Vlady's personal belongings.

The organizer of the auction was the auction house "Drouot", the leader in public auctions - anyone entering from the street can take part in the auction. So this time the auction was a success, and the owner of the lots on display, Madame Vladi, can safely celebrate commercial success - almost each of the two hundred things put up for sale has found its buyer with two, three, or even ten times the initial price. True, the 77-year-old Marina Vlady herself did not come to the auction, as they say, frightened by the hype that arose around the sale.

THIS IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE LINES

Despite the small premises of the auction room, more than 200 people took part in the auction, the same number of buyers participated in the auction on the Internet. The fiercest battle unfolded over the last poem by Vladimir Vysotsky, dedicated to his wife Marina Vlady and written on a postcard by a travel agency a month and a half before his death. Ural businessman Andrei Gavrilovsky (in Yekaterinburg he was engaged in the construction of business centers, now lives in France) raised its cost to sky-high heights - 200 thousand euros. And along with taxes, he had to pay 250 thousand for the manuscript.

- These are the most expensive lines in our history. I specifically looked - in Russia there is not a single handwritten artifact for such a price. Neither the letters of Peter I, nor the poems of Pushkin are worth so much, - says the happy owner of the poem by Vladimir Semenovich. - Money is not the main thing here. This is the price of Vysotsky's creativity! There were also jewelry items at the auction, but they were cheaper than Vysotsky's photographs.

The poem will be exhibited at the Vysotsky Museum in Yekaterinburg on important dates: the day of death and the birthday of the poet. All in all, Gavrilovsky purchased 37 lots for a total of 365 thousand euros.

- It is clear that Marina Vladi began to sell things not from a good life, - adds Gavrilovsky. - She is 77 years old, she has three children, whom she helps. And life in Paris isn't cheap. But to accuse her of commercialism is dishonest. She donated a collection of letters, photographs and things of Vladimir Semyonovich to the State Archives of Russia. When I spoke on the phone with Nikita Vysotsky after the auction, he said: “Dad in the next world will thank you. After all, with this money you are helping his closest person - Marina!"

THERE IS NO DEATH MASK MARKET

But another rarity of the auction - the death mask of Vladimir Semenovich, cast in a bronze alloy - was not so in demand: with an initial price of 30,000 euros, the mask found its buyer for only 55,000 euros. Local experts explained that the market for death masks still does not exist, so dealers did not flatter it. To the delight of a true admirer of Vysotsky's work, also a Russian, who participated in the auction incognito through his representative, the famous art critic Artur Gamali. Alas, he did not disclose the identity of the buyer, citing an agreement with the client.

MADAM VLADI IS NOW MOVING TO A NEW APARTMENT

It can be stated that the Marina Vladi brand, even in relation to everyday things, remains in demand both for the French and for Russians. At the auction, the actress earned more than 600 thousand euros. Yes, and Vladi herself does not lose popularity, continuing to appear in television series and films. The organizers of the auction noted that the reason for the sale of many of Vladi's things was the decision to sell the family estate located near the capital of France. It is difficult for an elderly actress to maintain a two-story mansion and live there alone. She moves to an apartment in the capital, and will put up all her belongings for sale.

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And ice below and above. I am toiling in between. Whether to break through the top or drill through the bottom? Of course, to emerge and not to lose hope, And there - for business, waiting for visas.

The ice is over me, break and crack! I am covered in sweat, like a plowman from a plow. I will return to you, like ships from a song, Remembering everything, even the old verses.

I am less than half a century old - more than forty, I am alive, I have kept you and the Lord for twelve years.

1980 © Vladimir Vysotsky

There are rare moments when two geniuses meet. This is exactly what happened in the film, where Mikhail Baryshnikov dances to the song of Vladimir Vysotsky.