President Sarkozy of France is reportedly relaxed about the news that a nude photo of his wife is to go under the hammer in Berlin on June 4. The sale of the image of Carla Bruni-Sarkozy follows last year's bidding war over another nude shot which eventually went for £60,000.
"He has made it clear he has no problem with this because he knows that the only images of his wife in existence are tasteful," said a source at the Elysee Palace.
"Some may be nude, but she is a beautiful woman who was a model and only ever posed for pictures that had artistic merit," added the insider.
When the former model took Mr Sarkozy aside to warn him that intimate pictures of her might surface from time to time, her enamoured spouse apparently merely asked for a print.
"I said, 'OK, now I need to show you, because I posed in the nude'," she recalled. Having been shown a selection of images Mr Sarkozy is reported to have responded with: "Oh, I like this one! Can I have a print of it?"
The latest portrait to emerge was taken at the height of her fame as a cover girl in 1994, and is the work of respected US photographer Pamela Hanson.
Only ten copies exist of Carla Bruni In Bed, as the picture is titled. It's has a reserve price of £3,000.
Photo: Villa Grisebach Auktione
Photo: Getty Images
