musicians of old

Chapter 797: Llangefni Workhouse

"thump--"

When Fanning jumped off the carriage, the strong light made him cover his eyes out of discomfort.

Then he looked at the high wall in front of him which was surrounded by several gray-brown buildings.

Llangefni Workhouse.

Although it was not the first time for him to come to such an occasion, every time he visited and looked around, Fanning still sighed. Just like today, in Vienna in 1790, under the influence of the Enlightenment, there was such a "social welfare institution" with conditions as bad as a prison just a few streets away from the bustling city center.
The rectangular square in the central main area of ​​the workhouse now has a considerable number of people.

Well-dressed gentlemen and ladies were chatting in twos and threes, the staff were busy preparing things, their uniforms also neat and exquisite, while the ragged poor people and children were still standing on the edge looking in, with expectation and curiosity on their faces, but also a hint of confusion.

"Long table! The long table should be positioned a little closer to the middle! Um, Fanning, both sides should be closer to the middle!"

"Flower pots, straighten the flower pots!"

The sound of orders to work immediately reached Fanning.

Fanning sighed, rolled up his sleeves, and joined the show along with the rest of his colleagues at the VanderSchaaf Collection.

Logically speaking, as a senior technician of "Collection Conservation and Restoration" of VanderSchaaf Auction House, he should not be here to move tables and place flower pots.
I should focus on serving "charity auctions" and spend all day shuttling between the collection and the Vienna Art Foundation.

but
The summer sun was blazing brightly. Fanning wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked around the workhouse grounds.

The collection hall’s waiters and waitresses who were in charge of etiquette and welcoming guests, the manager who maintained customers, the chief hammer bearer who brought down the hammer at the auction ceremony, the person in charge of equipment engineering, the person in charge of cleaning and logistics. Well, even the accountant from the finance office came.

Is it to gather people and support the scene?

The favorite of the respected curator.

"Crash, lala, lala -"

Warm applause broke out, along with colorful ribbons and gold foil sweeping across the sky.

A man walked steadily towards the makeshift podium and nodded slightly to the director of the workhouse, the priest and the celebrities present.

This man is tall and slender, about sixty years old, wearing a well-tailored dark blue velvet suit, the taste of which may make people think of words such as "responsibility" and "stability". On his chest is a small, gilded Sacred Heart badge, which is the highest honor symbol of the official charity organization of the empire.

Ivo Lerici, director of the Van der Schaaf Collection and a famous social philanthropist in Vienna, was also considered an "art insider" in his early years and a leading amateur oil painter. However, as time went on, his talents in "social activities" and "resource integration" increasingly overshadowed the former.

"Dear dean, priest, respectable ladies and gentlemen, and my dear compatriots who are experiencing the hardships of life——"

“Today, we gather in the Almshouse of Llangefni, a temple built by the foresight and kindness of His Majesty the Emperor, not just for the so-called ‘alms’, but also to practice together a great contemporary spirit and to remember the glory of our beloved Majesty Joseph II who has recently passed away.”

"Your Majesty clearly stated in his Poor Relief Edict that the responsibility of the state is to effectively control the unfortunate and protect the poor in an orderly manner, rather than indulging in meaningless sentimentality or flashy display. This is exactly the highest principle upheld by the Imperial Art Foundation!"

Lerici paused for a moment and scanned the audience to make sure everyone was paying attention.

He had a pair of light, almost transparent gray-blue eyes, which could quickly show a moist, sympathetic glow at the right time, but Fanning often felt that at some inadvertent moments, the mist would instantly dissipate, revealing an eagle-like, cunning, and unyielding cold gaze underneath.

"VanderSchaaf Auction House has always worked hand in hand with the Imperial Art Foundation under the guidance of His Majesty the Emperor's noble spirit"

"Over the years, we have purchased cultural treasures that were on the verge of being lost at a rational valuation, which not only solved the urgent needs of some friends, but also saved a group of nobles dragged down by extravagance. Of course, more importantly, it prevented these treasures from being lost in foreign countries or destroyed by ignorant people." "Under the professional custody and operation of the collection museum, they have become connected with those discerning collectors, and thus the value of art has been transformed into a spring that nourishes society."

Fanning, who felt sleepy at noon, finally didn't have to work anymore. He sat aside to rest and yawned.

Lerici's speech was substantial and infectious, from recalling the emperor to reviewing the history, from introducing the agenda of the meeting to calling for donations.

But as a senior technician at the VanderSchaaf Collection, Fanning had already noticed some clues after working with it for more than three years.

Know what this person might be doing behind the scenes.

For example, when Fanning was analyzing the pigment composition of the donated items in the appraisal room, he discovered that a corner of the Rubens painting "The Rape of the Daughters of Eusippus" that the foundation claimed to have "discovered" actually contained Prussian blue, which was accidentally invented in 1704. When helping to sort out the auction archives of the collection, he also discovered that the "anonymous donation" bronze statue they purchased at an unreasonably low price seemed to be a national treasure stolen by the Elector of Saxony.
Let’s not talk about cultural relics, but the works of contemporary painter Vincent, which are currently very popular in the market.

Fanning once accidentally witnessed that when Lerici was receiving a buyer, he marked four Vincent's "Swing" series oil paintings that were obviously authentic as "academic imitations", and then sold them to a Russian duke at less than one percent of the price.

Was it that the Russian duke was too clever and had gotten a great bargain? Or was Lerici himself a fool?
The real is made fake, and the fake is made real, what is the purpose behind all this?
Well, Vincent, who was unkempt, brown and gray, and wrinkled like a piece of linen canvas, just went on stage to shake hands with Lerici. He himself probably didn't know that his enthusiasm for public welfare might make him look like a fool in the eyes of the other party.
While the speech and fundraising appeal were going on, the staff arranged by Lerici began to walk off the stage and distribute comfort items to the poor and orphans in the orphanage.

Cheap Bibles, brown bread, hard-boiled eggs, wool blankets stuffed with mold, and commemorative medals that probably only contain one percent silver, but whose brightness and round shape barely arouse some interest in children.

Several senior executives of the collection hall took their employees to the group of children and pretended to play games with them.

The reporters from various newspapers who were invited to the event had already arranged their interviews. Their accompanying personnel were all professional stenographers, and there were even sketch artists who were responsible for providing news illustrations afterwards.
The scene suddenly became noisy.

After resting, Fanning also stood up and walked into the area where he was designated as "responsible for activities".

"Hey, little painters, what are you drawing?"

"Look, like this, use your hand to compare, yes, move it over here."

"Oh, the color is out, is this your extra 'creation'?"

Fanning put on a smile and taught several orphans to copy cartoon prints.

He then took out some things from the woven bag and distributed them one by one, including medicines, underwear bags, socks bags, compressed foods and the like. They were all bought with his own money, and they were small, portable and of practical value.

Regardless of the motivations of the person on the stage, this is the only part worth your effort, isn't it?
Of course, Fanning's dedication doesn't represent the same for everyone else.

In fact, most of the participants in the collection museum's activities just drag a bunch of confused children here and there, have them pretend to be serious, say a few words to the reporter's interview book, and then move to another place.

Charity activities are not simple, they can even be said to be of extraordinary significance.

Places like the almshouse seem to be one of the "main battlefields" that are popular among Viennese celebrities at the moment.

By taking advantage of the compassion and sympathy of some people with a social conscience and uniting with some "like-minded people" who are also well versed in this, and by the way, obtaining a considerable amount of imperial tax relief, it is a very profitable business.

Fanning believes that he is also a "consumer".

Of course, who is he? The sympathy he deserves for being "consumed" is negligible.

But this cannot erase the significance of what is happening now, even though this significance is insignificant in the context of the whole of Vienna.