LONDON – He’s one of the most famous artists in the world, largely thanks to the fact that he wants to remain anonymous. He is also one of the richest artists in the world, although his works appear on public walls and he does nothing to sell them (although someone else thinks so). And he is one of the most politicized: a rebel who claims to fight against the system, in all its manifestations, although he himself inevitably ends up being part of it. But the contradictions are the reason for the success of Banksy, the artistic name of the English street artist who is the protagonist of the challenge of these hours in the Mediterranean, undertaken by a boat financed with its own money to rescue migrants in difficulty. And then he forced, even this contradiction, to launch an SOS in turn because he has saved too many and runs the risk of sinking.

Who is Banksy has been debating for years: it is assumed by various indications that he was born in Bristol, the western port city of England, some say they also know his year of birth, 1947. A 2008 investigation by Mail on Sunday claims to have identified him: his real name would be Robin Gunningham, alumnus of the Bristol Cathedral Choir School, a thesis also confirmed by a study at Queen Mary University. Others believe that he is actually musician and graffiti artist Robert Del Naja of the rock band Massive Attack. But there are also hypotheses that Banksy would be a woman or a collective of six artists gathered under her name.

It’s easier to say how much he’s worth: a recent estimate puts a fortune of £ 50 million, making him one of the richest performers of so-called concept art. His murals and drawings, even if they are on the walls of public buildings, are sold by auction houses and gallery owners: then the owner must find a way to remove and take home the work he has bought. “Devolved Parliament,” a 2009 satirical painting of his showing the chimpanzee-populated House of Commons, was sold for £ 9 million and £ 900,000 to an anonymous buyer (like the artist). Monkeys, mice and other animals often populate its graffiti, as well as girls and hearts, as is the case of the drawing on the side of the Louise Michel, the ship that rescues the migrants who spend these hours in the Mediterranean. Who knows if one day that too will be cut and sold.

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Banksy, the mysteries of the most famous and anonymous street artist in the world

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