Myriam Ullens, a German art collector who with her husband Guy transformed the Chinese art scene, died at the age of 70 on Wednesday after being shot outside her apartment in Lasne, Belgium. The local press, such as Het Laatste Nieuws, adds that it would have been Ullens’s stepson, Nicholas, who is the alleged shooter and has already been arrested. At the moment, an investigation is ongoing and a motive has not yet been determined.
According to VRT, Ullens, who was a personal friend of Queen Mathilde of Belgium, was already dead when emergency services arrived on the scene. Last week the uncle of the Queen of Belgians, Raoul d’Udekem d’Acoz (87), also died, as well as a friend and collaborator, Bernard de Launoit. For this reason, the wife of Felipe of Belgium would not be going through her best moment.
Within the international art world, the Ullens are highly regarded for boosting the profile of Chinese contemporary art. Featured on ARTnews’ annual Top 200 Collectors list between 2008 and 2015, Myriam and Guy have amassed a collection of around 2,000 works of art, many by Chinese artists.
Queen Mathilde of Belgium and Baroness Myriam Ullens have known each other for years and have met at various public events, but it was during the holidays when their bond became more evident. When the Belgian kings went skiing in Switzerland they met They stayed at the Ullens’ house. In addition, Matilde has dressed on more than one occasion for the fashion brand that Myriam founded in 2009.
According to the digitals, the alleged dispute between Nicholas and Myriam was due to an economic reason. The man was immediately detained and questioned and the legal process against him continues. The baroness was the second wife of Baron Guy Ullens, a Belgian businessman, patron and philanthropist whose fortune is estimated at more than 2,000 million euros.
