His godfather, Silvio Berlusconi, had told him „You will find God in art.“ Ten years later he would also find a €10 million fortune. He earned it and keeps growing it by cheaply buying little known artists whom he feels would be very appreciated one day. Is it a calculated gamble? Or a particular science of buying art? It’s probably a bit of both, but it’s mostly a relentless research work that has turned Jean-François Caracci – who still feels „forever Romanian“, although he was discarded in an orphanage in Bucharest 34 years ago – into a successful art merchant.
Who are you, Mr Caracci?
I was born in Romania in 1981 under the Ceauşescu’s regime and I was adopted by the rich Italian family Caracci, whose history goes back to the times of Michelangelo. I grew up moving between Castellamarre del Golfo (near Palermo, Sicily) and Montpellier (south of France), among rich and important people such as Silvio Berlusconi, my godfather. However, as I was growing up, I realized the cultural difference between the Romanian boy that I still was and the Italians and French around me. My feeling is that I am forever Romanian.
You left Romania when you were only three. How could you still feel like a Romanian?
I remember when my adoptive parents came to choose me. When I first returned to Romania and visited my former orphanage in Bucharest, in District 1, I remembered my Romanian… mood. I live and work in France and Italy, but my inner mood is Romanian. I was adopted by a rich Western family, but I am proud to have been born in Romania. A lot of Romanian babies adopted here hate their Romanian origin, but I want to show that you can be successful in spite of this.
