A well-known contemporary artist was found dead last night, Tuesday, the 4th of June 2024 in his Nice home. The victim has been identified as Ben Mort.
According to reports, artist Benjamin Vautier affectionately known to many as “Ben Mort” died by suicide. He passed away from gunshot injuries, his daughter confirmed to Le Monde on Wednesday, June 5. He was 88 years old.
Reports claim that his wife had died shortly before. Initial reports indicate a gunshot wound, according to the Nice public prosecutor, Damien Martinelli. An investigation has been opened to determine the cause of his death.
The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, said he was “devastated and inconsolable. “My friend Ben, this amazing artist who embodies a big part of the culture in Nice, has left us.
I learned yesterday that Annie’s wife was missing. They are together just like they always were. The Nice school loses one of its main founders. Am missing him already. We already miss him terribly,” he wrote on Facebook.
He will leave the image of a wonderful artist who did so much to promote the Nice school. They are reunited with his wife, to whom he was inseparable. I am thinking of his daughter Eva.” “The world of culture has lost a legend,” wrote the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, on social media.
His wife Annie Baricalla, whom he had married in 1964, died recently according to the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi. According to information from France, 3 regions, she would have suffered a stroke on Tuesday, June 4.
The couple had two children, Eva Cunégonde and François Malabar.