Almighty painter

Chapter 1021 President of the Association
"January 2, 1678. John Taylor's mythological play 'Adam and Eve' opened to the public, which was also the Adam and Eve of the entire Free City of Hamburg's music and art industry."

Today, Mr. Kozens wore thick-rimmed glasses and was sunken into the burgundy seats of the opera house, which made his skin appear vampire-like pale.

"An unprecedented first time."

"The first theater, unrelated to European courts and nobles, was built. Compared to other theaters at the time, it was not grand in scale, nor was its architecture particularly magnificent. However, the theater was entirely funded and built by wealthy music lovers among the citizens of the Free City of Hamburg, and it staged works that perfectly represented the aesthetic tastes of the citizens."

"Water, trade, freedom."

The scholar rested his fingers on the railing of the box that protruded outward from the wall, his eyes gazing ahead at the stage spotlights that cast a golden, powdery glow through the deep red curtain.

"Since the 11th century, when Hamburg obtained a trade license from Barbarossa, granting it freedom of customs, navigation, and trade, these have been the most symbolic elements of this land."

“In the thousand years since then, countless important artists have come to this place. Painters have opened their own studios, musicians have created their own musicals... but nothing has such a strong and unique historical significance as the establishment of this opera house.”

"It is the epitome of illusory spirit, a symbol within a symbol."

"It was built beside the Elbe River, born from thriving trade, and where unrestrained art flourished. Mendelssohn and Brahms spent the golden years of their artistic careers here. Handel played second violin in the theater's orchestra—"

“I have a habit of bringing my favorite students here, sitting here, introducing them to my friends, and watching a whole show.”

Professor Kozens clapped his hands.

Precisely to the second.

Just as the scholar clapped his hands, the opera house lights went out and the stage went dark.

The fun has begun.
-
"It's so beautiful."

Professor Kozens leaned forward, his hand supporting his chin, his eyes almost glistening with tears.

the other side.

Under the stage lights, facing her silent lover, a woman dressed in magnificent palace attire sings something in the high-pitched voice characteristic of opera singers.

What is she singing?

Gu Weijing turned his head and couldn't help but ask softly.

“Oh, the passion of love has faded,” said Lily, a junior student who was also intently watching the scene. “Don’t you understand German?”

“I don’t understand to the point of appreciating musical arias,” Gu Weijing replied. “It would be great if there were English subtitles next to the stage.”

He turned his attention back to the stage.

The difference between opera and symphony is that with symphony, you only need to "listen" to it; all the meaning the composer wants to express is condensed into the melody, whether it is magnificent or hazy.

Painting is a common language for all mankind; melody is a common language for all mankind.

Stop talking about people.

Even Dutch dairy cows can understand it!
If it were drama, especially classical drama, the threshold would be higher, and the cultural background required for appreciation would likely be correspondingly greater.

on the stage.

Just moments ago, two young men—the prince and his bird catcher friend—were trying to remain calm and quiet in the face of temptation from several young and beautiful women. The prince remained composed and silent. The bird catcher in the green robe, however, looked hesitant and conflicted.

This is Mozart's most representative opera, *The Magic Flute*, based on a long-standing folk tale from Central Europe. A prince falls in love with a beautiful woman depicted in a painting, and to win her love, they must pass a series of trials designed by temple priests, much like a game of navigating levels.

This is one of them.

No matter what happens, what sounds they hear, or how many temptations and illusions they see, they must remain absolutely quiet and silent.

"The Magic Flute" is arguably the most classic opera in Central Europe. The value of Mozart's last work is self-evident, and the Hamburg State Opera's performance quality is also top-notch, having been rated as the world's best opera house for several years.

Gu Weijing thought the play was good and the people were good, but his German proficiency was probably limited to listening to a modern musical.

With its strong classical style of singing, one can barely grasp the general plot of the story, but never truly immerse oneself in it.

"It's alright. I'm German, and I've never really been able to appreciate it either."

Low laughter came from the row of seats behind them.

"It seems you are Samuel's favorite students this year." A slightly shorter old gentleman with two strands of hair playfully hanging behind his ears leaned over.

“Samuel introduced you to me. He said the school has had several promising talents in recent years, and asked me to guess who they were.”

The old gentleman carefully examined the two classmates next to Gu Weijing for a moment.

"Yes, you must be Lily."

He reached out his hand directly to the tall black man on his right.

Viktor looked completely bewildered.

"Is this... a joke?"

The friendly old man chuckled, "Of course I was just joking. You're definitely not Lily, Lily is a girl's name..."

He took Victor's hand and shook it gently, which was his way of greeting him.

“Hello, Gu Weijing,” he said.

Viktor was stunned again.

The elderly man, whose head shape was somewhere between Einstein and a down-on-his-luck rock band lead singer, finally let go of the young black man who looked like he'd been thoroughly humiliated.

"Victor Rooney."

He let go.

“Lily Strauss.” He peeked out and gave a cheek kiss to the blonde junior next to Gu Weijing.

"at last--"

He turned his head, tilted his head to the side, and scrutinized Gu Weijing as if he were a plaster sculpture.

"I don't need Samuel's introduction, I know who you are, a real superstar. The super newcomer who sold his first work for a full million pounds, Gu Weijing."

The old man took out a business card holder from his pocket and distributed them to the three people present.

Gu Weijing took the business card, which read—

Jeremy Lynch

Vice President of the Hamburg Association of Painters and Musicians
-
Mr. Kötzenberger said that the spirit of Hamburg is composed of three elements: water, trade, and freedom, and the Hamburg Opera House is a symbol of this spirit.

It is a pool of clear water that nourishes the spirit of art, a glass fish tank with a transparent curtain wall.

Then.

Artists are like the fish in this pond. Those who frequently go into the air, or like Gu Weijing who often watched his grandfather go into the air, know that fish are typically social animals.

If there are no fish in the pond, there are no fish. Even if a god came, there would be nothing he could do. He could only take his empty fish basket home.

As long as he can see someone else catch a fish, it means there is a school of fish, big or small, underwater. Gu Tongxiang can then sit coolly by the water for an entire afternoon, fully enjoying the spiritual pleasure of fishing. He can then take photos with his fellow anglers, check in, and post them on Instagram.

Then I carried the empty fish basket home.

Artists are like fish in a pond, living in groups. Since the birth of this industry, they have always gathered in small groups, forming schools of fish of all sizes, swimming in the vast pond.

Different schools of fish occupy different ecological niches.

Sometimes they depend on each other, coexisting and prospering together.

They sometimes fight each other, vying for the nutrients and resources in the same pond. The Hamburg Association of Painters and Musicians is one of the largest and most competitive groups of fish in Central Europe.

As a picky Magikarp, aside from throwing his watch at other people's stupid faces, Kozens always enjoys telling the little magpies in the school who have the potential to leap over the Dragon Gate about what it's like to enter a large school of fish, as his student.

And as a large European art association with vast resources.

The Hamburg Federation of Painters and Musicians possesses top-tier social resources. It maintains close cooperative relationships with many art galleries, museums, and galleries, including the Hamburg State Opera.

Strictly speaking.

This performance of Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute" was not open to the public; all guests were members of the association and its staff.

This is a grand event for Hamburg's art world professionals.

Every year, Kertzens brings his most promising students here to see an opera performance, such as Ben, Paul, and Sofia. They are not first-time attendees of the Arts Association's activities, and they all seem to know Jeremy Lynch.

German society has a natural reverence for authority.

When they greeted each other, they looked relaxed but were very respectful.

“I actually knew about you before Kecens, Gu.”

Mr. Lin Qi and Gu Weijing spoke in hushed tones.

“Do you remember Watt?” the other person mentioned a name. “He emailed me and mentioned you.”

Gu Weijing immediately thought of the German teacher with a square face who liked to drink beer at Fitz International School.

Do you know Professor Watts?

Gu Weijing was somewhat surprised.

“The Hamburg Federation of Painters and Musicians is a large arts association, so it’s only natural that the president knows a lot of people,” he said casually, his eyes fixed on the performance on stage.

“We have a large number of artist members and our own art museum and exhibitions.”

the man said.

“I know not only Watts, but also Kozens.”

“I also know Ms. Elena.”

Lin Qi scrutinized Gu Weijing.

"Furthermore, it can recommend association members to participate in the most prestigious art exhibitions in Europe, such as Documenta in Kassel or Cologne Art Fair."

He had indeed seen the name "Gu Weijing" earlier than Kecens. At first, he simply regarded Gu Weijing as a young man with amazing painting skills.

however.

The name Gu Weijing first appeared in some kind of secret connection with Anna Elena—before his works sold for millions of pounds, before his solo exhibition in Abu Dhabi, and even before the ship robbery—after the art dialogue hosted by the magazine "Painting" at the Singapore Opera House.

Lynch reread the email and even contacted Wattel to learn as much as possible about the young man.

A few years later.

Similar places, different people.

The venue changed from the Singapore Opera to the Hamburg State Opera. Gu Weijing went from being a guest being questioned on stage to being an audience member in a VIP box, and he had a completely different feeling about the person he was talking to.

When the names Gu Weijing and "Anna Elena" appeared together.

Lynch couldn't help but recall that famous bet.

The Hamburg Union of Painters and Musicians was once the third largest shareholder of the magazine "Painting," after the Austrian National Publishing Group and the Elena family.

The association's stake in the magazine "Painting" appears to be worth close to ten million euros, but the "artistic authority" it represents is incalculable in monetary terms.

This is the main reason why the art association is able to become the most influential association in all of Europe, even though, apart from the last vote on the Muse Project, the art association rarely exercises its rights on the board of directors.

It is a silent reef.

It is also an indestructible and unshakeable reef.

As long as these shares exist, it will always be at the very top of the hierarchy of all artists' groups in Europe, and in terms of influence, it may even be slightly above the Royal Society of Arts in the UK, which symbolizes the ancient authority of the royal family.

No matter how the art world may churn, turmoil, or even bloodshed, it has absolutely nothing to do with the Hamburg Painting and Musicians Association. It is the association's most valuable asset, surpassing even its historic art galleries, exhibitions, and—

All the artists.

This statement may sound politically incorrect, as all artists' associations would say that artists are their foundation and everything to them.

Lynch, however, used a darker mind to weigh the weights on both sides of the scale.

It's probably still more about the shares.

As long as the shares exist, the association's members will always have them. The artists are the fish, and these shares are the sweet sustenance in the water, the dissolved oxygen, or even the ripples themselves.

The real problem is...

They don't actually produce water; they're just nature's porters.

They don't actually own shares in the "Painting" magazine; they're just temporarily "holding" them on behalf of others. But this world has been around for so long that the Hamburg Federation of Painters and Musicians has almost forgotten about the original agreement.

As an award for nurturing a new generation of artists, if a member of an art association participates in three of Germany’s most important art exhibitions within a year and successfully makes a name for himself, he is eligible to receive such recognition.

Then.

He would then acquire shares in the "Oil Painting" magazine held by the Fine Arts Association.

From the very beginning.

Vice President Lin Qi couldn't help but have great suspicions... Could this guy be after the association's most precious treasure?
(End of this chapter)