Hubert Goldet:
A man of no compromise
by Philippe Bourgoin
Hubert Goldet left us on March 28, 2000. He was an original figure in
the tribal art world, and an outstanding person. His love of art led
him off the beaten track, far from the business world. In 1972, with
Catherine Millet and Daniel Templon, he started the magazine Art Press,
but his hopes were soon dashed and in his disappointment he drifted
away from a milieu that did not understand him. He was moved by high
ideals, yet was always the very image of discretion. As his interest
in African art grew, he poured all his energy into his collection. Goldet
had a feeling for the shape of a sculpture, a sensitivity for the material
it was made of and its patina, and each object was a further step in
his search for himself and his relationship with others.
All those who were lucky enough
to visit him at the Avenue Pierre 1er de Serbie will always remember
that mysterious, moving, and rather frightening place, a mausoleum built
to a cruel god whose ultimate act could only be to swallow up the man
who had organized it.
But how can we go beyond the
commonplaces of a "curriculum vitae" to hint at the rich inner life
of a tormented being without breaching his privacy… Sensitive and despairing,
Goldet lived every moment intensely, sometimes with an energy that surprised
and impressed those around him.
He was a true art lover-in the
sense of collecting art for the love of it-and his shade now roams through
the rooms of the Pavillon des Sessions at the Musée du Louvre, where
three very rare African sculptures from his collection are on display.
The three works were donated in 1999-three masterpieces that stand in
testament to the taste, authenticity, and passion of the man who was
capable of singling them out.
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