Johnny Depp artworks feature tribute to ex-partner Vanessa Paradis
Johnny Depp pays tribute to his ex-partner Vanessa Paradis in new artworks inspired by tarot cards.
The four artworks, titled The Lovers, The Emperor, The Empress and Strength reference the ancient card deck, with one featuring the mother of Depp’s two children.
The couple were together for 14 years before their split in 2012 and are parents to actress Lily-Rose Depp and actor Jack Depp.
Depp said: “I’ve always been tremendously curious about tarot and there’s a great art to the cards dating back to forever ago.”
He added: “These are things that identify certain periods in my life, each of these cards, each of the paintings are my idea of my tarot set.”
The Empress features Paradis wearing a burnished crown and takes inspiration from a painting he did that was used for the cover of her studio album Divinidylle.
He said of the artwork: “Of course it is the image of Vanessa, the mother of the children. We have been very, very close for almost a few decades and I know her, I know who she is inside. She’s kind of everything that I could never be.
“It looks like a crown that has weathered storms. It shows a certain courage and strength of commitment and then whatever is happening in the world behind her, she still shines. The crown has been through a lot, she still shines.”
Paradis previously spoke out in Depp’s defence during his high-profile UK legal battle in 2020, saying that allegations of domestic violence made against the actor by his ex-wife Amber Heard were “false facts.”
She said in a witness statement that he was “a kind, attentive, generous and non-violent person and father.”
Another painting in the set, titled The Lovers, shows a couple with the male figure holding a red rose and Depp described it as “the beginning of the story”.
The Emperor shows a faceless figure, with only red lips and rouge on his cheeks and Depp said he is “not to be trusted”, while Strength shows an elephant and is inspired by a large-scale painting Depp created when Paradis was heavily pregnant.
He said of the animal: “They don’t live with any sort of menace in their bones and are protective their own to the bitter end.”
The collection will go on sale with Castle Fine Art from July 18.
Ian Weatherby-Blythe, managing director of Castle Fine Art, said: “This latest collection from Johnny Depp is perhaps his most revealing and evocative.
“The four artworks are clearly deeply personal and showcase Johnny’s formidable skills as an artist.”
The works will be available through www.castlefineart.com and their nationwide UK galleries.
