Photographer René Robert freezes to death after falling on a Paris street and being ignored for hours

Swiss photographer René Robert (Freiburg, 1936) died of hypothermia on January 19 at the age of 84 after falling to the ground in a central Paris street and not be helped by any passerby, as reported by the artist’s circle in the local press. The Cervantes Institute in Paris, with whom Robert worked on several occasions, lamented on Thursday the news of his loss, which he received “with great pain and sadness.”

“The photographer developed an irreplaceable testimonial work of Flemish art of the 20th century. Moved by his love and deep understanding of the Hispanic tradition, He was a faithful collaborator of this center“, indicated sources from Cervantes, a collaborator of the Nantes Spanish Film Festival in whose framework the exhibition “The camera to the rhythm of flamenco” was held in 2019.

In it, it was Robert himself who selected his most emblematic works “with great generosity, dedication and love of work“. “His gaze is now perpetuated in his work and his absence cannot leave us indifferent without questioning ourselves,” says Cervantes in a statement. The journalist and friend of the photographer, Michel Mompontet, advanced on the BFM TV network that Robert he had been “killed by indifference” after nine hours on the ground as he could not get up until a homeless man called the emergency services.

The photographer was taken to hospital, but the health services could not do anything to save his life, according to local media. Robert was a great connoisseur of flamenco and portrayed artists such as Paco de Lucía, Camarón de la Isla, Sara Baras, Vicente Amigo, Eva Yerbabuena, Marina Heredia or Estrella Morente. Throughout his life, Robert exhibited in numerous exhibitions in cities such as Paris, Rome, Luxembourg or Nîmes.

“Flamenco art arises from the depths of the artist. Whether through singing, the basis of this art, guitar or dance, it brings us moments of joy, grace, resigned pain or rage, but also of elegance, sensuality and often of great depth“, declared the artist on one occasion about this art.