German photographer, author, and industrialist (1932?2011)
This article is about the industrialist. For the World War II officer, see
Gunther Sachs
.
Gunter Sachs
|
---|
Gunter Sachs in 1978.
|
Born
| (
1932-11-14
)
14 November 1932
|
---|
Died
| 7 May 2011
(2011-05-07)
(aged 78)
|
---|
Nationality
| German
(1932?2011)
Swiss
(1976?2011)
|
---|
Occupation(s)
| Author, photographer,
industrialist
|
---|
Spouses
|
Annemarie Faure
(
m.
1956; died 1958)
(
m.
1966;
div.
1969)
Mirja Larsson
(
m.
1969)
|
---|
Children
| 3
|
---|
Relatives
| Wilhelm von Opel
(grandfather)
Fritz von Opel
(uncle)
|
---|
Fritz Gunter Sachs
(14 November 1932 ? 7 May 2011, also Gunter Sachs von Opel) was a German photographer, author, industrialist, and latterly head of an institute that researched claims of
astrology
. As a young man he became a
sportsman
, then gained international fame as a documentary
film-maker
,
documentary
photographer, and third husband of
Brigitte Bardot
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Sachs was born in southern Germany.
[1]
His mother was Eleanor, the daughter of
Wilhelm von Opel
, co-founder of the automaker
Opel
; his father was
Willy Sachs
, sole owner of
Fichtel & Sachs
, a leading manufacturer of ball bearings in
Schweinfurt
and one of Germany's biggest automobile suppliers.
[2]
Willy was friendly with
Hermann Goring
and
Heinrich Himmler
[3]
[4]
and arrested by the American military after the war but finally declared a follower and released. Gunter Sachs commented on his father's past in several publications.
[5]
Willy committed suicide in 1958 by shooting himself.
[6]
Sachs' brother, Ernst Wilhelm, died in an
avalanche
in 1977.
[6]
Sachs is said to have been educated at
Institut auf dem Rosenberg
in
St Gallen
,
Switzerland
.
[7]
He later studied maths and economics.
[2]
Personal life
[
edit
]
A
playboy
[6]
in his early years, Sachs was romantically linked to the former Iranian empress
Soraya Esfandiary
. He married three times. His first wife, Anne-Marie Faure, died in 1958 during surgery.
[8]
He married Anne-Marie at the age of 23.
[9]
He courted his second wife,
Brigitte Bardot
, by flying over her villa on the
French Riviera
in a helicopter and dropping hundreds of roses. The couple were married on 14 July 1966 in
Las Vegas
;
[1]
they divorced in 1969.
[8]
His final marriage was to
Swedish
former model,
Mirja Larsson
(who was 26 at the time of their engagement),
[10]
which lasted from 1969 until his death.
[8]
He had a son
Rolf Sachs
(born 1955),
[6]
with his first wife, and a further two sons (Christian Gunnar and Claus Alexander) with his third wife.
[
citation needed
]
In addition to his German nationality, Sachs received Swiss citizenship in 1976.
[6]
Sports
[
edit
]
From 1969 until his death, Sachs was the chairman of the
St. Moritz Bobsleigh Club
.
[11]
Turn 13 of the
St. Moritz-Celerina Olympic Bobrun
is named in his honour.
[
citation needed
]
Art collector
[
edit
]
Sachs' extensive art collection included works by
Jean Fautrier
,
Andy Warhol
,
Rene Magritte
,
Salvador Dali
,
Roy Lichtenstein
,
Tom Wesselmann
,
Mel Ramos
, and
Allen Jones
. He also owned important pieces from the
Nouveau realisme
school including
Yves Klein
,
Jean Tinguely
,
Arman
, and
Martial Raysse
.
[12]
Many of these artists were involved in the 1969 design of the legendary pop-art-apartment in the tower of the
Palace Hotel
in St. Moritz, which quickly gained the art world's attention. From 1967 to 1975 Sachs, together with
Prince Konstantin of Bavaria
, co-founded and headed the association for the Modern Art Museum in Munich (MAM), which lobbied for the construction of a comprehensive museum of contemporary art in Munich and mounted monthly exhibitions at
Villa Stuck
.
Victor Vasarely
,
Georg Baselitz
,
Heinz Edelmann
,
Christo
,
Cy Twombly
,
Alexander Calder
,
Heinz Mack
and
Jean Tinguely
,
Roy Lichtenstein
, and
Gotthard Graubner
found their way into the rooms of the museum.
In 1972 Sachs opened a gallery in Hamburg and organised the first European exhibition of his friend Warhol. In 1974, he commissioned Warhol with a series of silkscreen portraits of his ex-wife
Brigitte Bardot
.
[13]
In May 2006, Sachs sold one of Warhol's silk screens of Bardot at auction for $3 million.
[14]
The Sachs family sold part of his collection of Pop Art and Nouveau Realisme through
Sotheby's
in May 2012.
Photographer
[
edit
]
From 1972 Sachs worked as a professional photographer. In 1973 he caused a stir with the first nude photograph for French Vogue. In 1991 he worked with
Claudia Schiffer
on the "Heroines" series. He gained international recognition in 1974 with a special show at the
photokina
trade show for which he also designed the official exhibition poster. In 1976 he was awarded the
Leica Award
. At the 'German photo days' and the photokina he received prizes for "Die Farbe Weiss" in
1994
and for "Die Farbe Rot" in 1995.
[
citation needed
]
The focus of his photography are surreal nudes and landscapes, which were published in no less than seven image volumes. Early on, Sachs also experimented with digital photography. The proceeds from the sale of his photographs and illustrated books went into the Mirja Sachs Foundation, which helps children in need.
[15]
[
citation needed
]
Astrological research
[
edit
]
Sachs' methodology and the statistical analysis have been criticised by mathematicians. They found serious errors in all parts and deny any
statistical significance
after the necessary corrections in his data.
[16]
Death
[
edit
]
Sachs died by suicide on 7 May 2011 by a gunshot wound to the head
[17]
[18]
at his home in
Gstaad
, Switzerland. The suicide note stated that he acted because of what he defined as "hopeless illness A." (which some have speculated to be
Alzheimer's
[19]
) adding that "The loss of mental control over my life was an undignified condition, which I decided to counter decisively".
[8]
Literature
[
edit
]
- Sachs, Gunter:
The Astrology File: Scientific Proof of the Link Between Star Signs and Human Behaviour
. Orion Books (December 1999).
ISBN
0-7528-1789-2
- Elwell, Dennis
:
Cosmic Loom
, 2nd edition 1999. The Urania Trust.
ISBN
0-04-133027-7
. Discussion and interpretation of some of Gunter Sachs results and related material.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Billionaire playboy Gunter Sachs commits suicide over illness"
.
The Montreal Gazette
. 8 May 2011. Archived from
the original
on 10 May 2011
. Retrieved
8 May
2011
.
- ^
a
b
"Ex-German Playboy Gunter Sachs commits suicide"
.
Asian News International
. London. 9 May 2011
. Retrieved
19 July
2013
.
- ^
"
'Schweinfurt Under the Swastika'
"
.
Archived
from the original on 27 March 2019
. Retrieved
12 February
2009
.
- ^
Wilfried Rott: 'Der braune Schatten' (German)
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
'Ich stand nie fur das Ewig-Gestrige', (German)
Suddeutsche Zeitung
, 13 February 2006.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Legendary Playboy Gunter Sachs is Dead
Archived
9 April 2012 at the
Wayback Machine
(German)
Der Spiegel
, 8 May 2011.
- ^
Aschwanden, Erich (19 January 2022).
"Behind the doors of Switzerland's most elite boarding school"
.
Neue Zurcher Zeitung
(in German)
. Retrieved
4 February
2023
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Bruno Waterfield (8 May 2011).
"Gunter Sachs, former husband of Brigitte Bardot, shoots himself in Swiss chalet"
.
Telegraph
. London
. Retrieved
8 May
2011
.
- ^
"Playboy auf Lebenszeit"
.
www.merkur.de
(in German). 13 November 2002
. Retrieved
18 June
2021
.
- ^
"People: Nov. 14, 1969"
.
Time
. 14 November 1969. Archived from
the original
on 19 August 2008.
- ^
"Brigitte Bardot's ex commits suicide"
.
Toronto Sun
. 8 May 2011
. Retrieved
8 May
2011
.
- ^
Mark Brown (7 May 2011),
The Gunter Sachs appeal ? life and legacy of the playboy art collector
Archived
19 February 2019 at the
Wayback Machine
The Guardian
.
- ^
James Tarmy (October 10, 2014),
Warhol’s Screen Sirens, Socialites May Fetch $57 Million
Archived
15 December 2014 at the
Wayback Machine
[Bloomberg]
- ^
Dennis Heves (9 May 2011),
Gunter Sachs, Ex-Husband of Brigitte Bardot, Dies at 78
Archived
15 March 2016 at the
Wayback Machine
New York Times
.
- ^
Koruhn, Petra (8 May 2011).
"Gunter Sachs - Freitod wegen Alzheimer"
.
www.derwesten.de
(in German)
. Retrieved
18 June
2021
.
- ^
Basler, Herbert (1998).
"
"Die Akte Astrologie" von Gunter Sachs aus Sicht der Mathematischen Statistik"
.
Skeptiker
(in German).
11
(3).
Gesellschaft zur wissenschaftlichen Untersuchung von Parawissenschaften
. Retrieved
1 September
2014
.
- ^
Belgian news report
Archived
11 May 2011 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"German news report"
.
Archived
from the original on 11 October 2012
. Retrieved
8 May
2011
.
- ^
"German photographer and 'playboy' Gunter Sachs commits suicide"
.
Deutsche Welle
. Retrieved
9 May
2011
.
External links
[
edit
]
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International
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National
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Artists
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People
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