Almighty painter

Chapter 1022 The Magic Flute
The stage lights subtly shifted to the accompaniment of orchestral music.

The woman in the pleated palace dress, facing a prince whose heart was as hard as stone and who remained silent no matter how she spoke of her sincere love, could only turn and leave after singing a mournful aria.

The same scene seemed to unfold in the suspended private rooms outside the stage, which resembled drawers.

An Asian man who doesn't understand opera and a German man who doesn't understand opera either watched the actors' performance with different feelings.

No matter how tempting Lynch's words were, the young painter in front of him remained silent, as if he had made up his mind.

"I have received your applications to join the association, and Samuel is your recommender..."

Lin Qi leaned back in his chair, pretending to talk casually and quietly with the group about matters related to the arts association, while continuing to probe their reactions and pondering inwardly.

His personal views on Gu Weijing are quite complicated.

The other party's career started at an extremely high level.

At the age of eighteen, he won a gold medal at a major international biennial, and in his early twenties, he held a solo exhibition at a top art museum and was a great success.

That same year, a single print sold for a million pounds.

Of course, there are many artists in the art association who have achieved similar success.

This is nothing.

Arts associations themselves can "award" similar achievements.

It can recommend association members to participate in top art exhibitions, and it has its own well-known art exhibitions and even famous museums.

Even if a work sells for a million pounds, well, that's really nothing.

That's amazing, really amazing.

Place such a person anywhere—whether in unique Germany, the long-established art capital of Paris, or the two largest art trading markets in the world, East Asia and North America—he would be a top-notch money-maker.

But what kind of crocodiles aren't lurking in the depths of a pond like the Arts Association?

The social standing of any one of the renowned conductors of major symphony orchestras, museum directors, senior curators in the industry, or even the owner of the Intercontinental Gallery is likely to be higher than that of Gu Weijing.

Even when facing those renowned figures, Vice President Lin Qi remained unmoved.

He will show respect.

He will be very enthusiastic.

He would never be so uneasy about the other person's joining today.

It's astonishing that a single artwork can fetch a million euros, or even more. If you dig deeper, you'll find that there are several such artists in the association, if you include all the deceased painters.

Add another zero, and it reaches the ten million euro mark.

Not to mention... being able to sell at that price and being able to stand firm at that price are two different things. The fact that the other party's "Night Rhapsody" sold for such a high price has many additional factors. It was the first work of his life to be officially sold. Both the collector and the gallery were intentionally trying to create a commercial myth that "overwhelmed" Hearst.

Essentially.

It's nothing more than the same old tricks that Deckard Anlen used to play.

A reasonable market price for a mediocre painting by Gu Weijing would be around tens of thousands of euros, at most a hundred thousand euros. There are plenty of such painters in art associations, if not countless, but easily countable on one hand.

What's truly astonishing is the age.

Gu Weijing is far too young.

He is only 21 years old this year and has not even officially graduated from university.

Over the years, all the artists Lynch knew who had achieved similar success, if not all of them had turned white-bearded, were mostly middle-aged or older.

Taking inflation into account, Picasso was about 45 years old when he sold his work for that price, Rothko was probably 40. Damian Hearst would have been around 30, all at least ten years older than Gu Weijing is today.

For a profession like painting, unless one is a whirlwind who comes and goes like a whirlwind, the older one gets and the longer one has spent in the market, the more sought-after they become.

Once they're old enough, have secured their place in art history, and their fame is firmly established, there are plenty of people who can simply lie at home doing nothing but signing autographs, with art dealers all over the world scrambling to get their hands on them.

Take another step back.

If that's all there is to it.

Gu Weijing is certainly a shining star, even a young sun, but he is still not qualified to make Lin Qi, the vice president of the association, so conflicted.

Most art associations are non-profit organizations, at least in theory.

Gallery owners may need to fawn over these beloved painters, carrying them on their backs, hugging them, coaxing them, lifting them high, and fulfilling all their reasonable and most unreasonable demands. Because no matter how rich, wealthy, or high-status the gallery owners are, they are still the ones who want to "get" something from the painters.

Do you know what kind of treatment Picasso received back then?

American art dealers lined up outside his villa like courtiers eager to see a "king".

Picasso might casually remark to an art dealer, "Hey, your hat is beautiful." That dealer would then fly overnight from Paris to London or somewhere else to have a tailor urgently commission a matching tweed hat, and then take the earliest flight back to present it as a gift to the master.

That's it.

Picasso ultimately didn't sell the painting to him.

The vice president of the Hamburg Association of Painters and Musicians doesn't need to do that. Money always surrounds power; it's the artists and gallery owners who surround him. It's the artists who want to "get" something from the Hamburg art association.

It's certainly a good thing that Gu Weijing has the ability.

Jeremy Lynch had the capacity to accommodate a talented painter.

As the president of the association, I naturally prefer the most capable, the highest social status, and the youngest painters in the association.

But when this name is associated with Anna Elena.

The meaning changes.

Such a high starting point.

Where exactly is his personal limit?
Lin Qi was a little worried that Gu Weijing was not content with just being a member of the association; his ambition might be so great that he wanted to take over the entire association as well.

"...Art exhibitions represent the part of artistic life, while art associations represent the part of the social life of painters."

The vice president seemed to be imparting some valuable life experience to all the young people, but his eyes were always on Gu Weijing.

"Only when artworks and social life are fully combined can a painter's most complete life be constituted." The vice president casually rambled on about some random things.

"European artists' associations often have the magic flute that painters possess, which can help them solve many unexpected problems." If conditions permit.

Lynch was eager to find a way to win over this young painter.

This is so vulgar, so incredibly vulgar.

Common methods certainly have their uses.

Even a hero can be brought down by a lack of funds. Exhibition resources, exhibition slots… these are all very practical matters. Moreover, Lin Qi himself maintains extremely good personal relationships with many art dealers. Money is a powerful force that can cloud people's judgments; even the most powerful painters often reveal a very calculating side when discussing matters related to the agency of their works.

But as he talked, even the vice president himself felt very bored.

He had no right to offer any bargaining chips to the young man beside him.

The offers were incredibly tempting, enough to entice even more successful artists than Gu Weijing—the problem is, while it's possible to entice Gu Weijing, trying to persuade him to choose sides between the Art Association and the Elena family is wishful thinking.

Stop being funny.

This is practically like offering your face up to the heiress of the Elena family, who would then swing her checkbook across his face and ask, "Are you talking to me about money?"

A vulgar process will inevitably lead to a vulgar ending.

Any fool knows how to choose.

History has proven time and again that in Central Europe, artists who are willing to befriend figures like the Elena family can achieve unimaginable success.

in contrast.

Choosing to be enemies with the Elena family usually doesn't end well.

The conditions offered by Lynch are not irreplaceable at all. If you have to choose one of the two and insist on licking his boots, why should he lick his boots instead of his own manager? Just because of his rock singer-like hairstyle?
Being close to power can lead to misunderstandings, the mistaken belief that one has acquired power.

The Hamburg Federation of Painters and Musicians merely holds shares in the magazine "Painting" on behalf of others; the association remains a second-rate player at this power game, with only the option of betting against others or folding.

The real players have always been only Sir Brown and the Elena family, who entered the game with huge sums of money.

"Everyone has a price tag, and I'll give you a price you can't refuse."

Such cool words are something only Sir Brown or Kruger Bank would say; this is not a game Lynch can afford to play.

Consequently, Gu Weijing was not qualified to accept such an offer at all.

However, he is just yet another person "chosen" by the Elena family. The Elena family can kick him out at any time, but he can never exist without the Elena family.

Being close to power can lead to misunderstandings, the mistaken belief that one has acquired power.

This statement has never applied only to Lynch himself.

Think about this.

Lin Qi's smile faded somewhat, but his tone became more candid.

"I heard... your overall score in the mid-term evaluation was lower than Williams', and you lost the piece you wanted to submit for the Master Project exhibition."

"It doesn't look like things are going very smoothly."

Lin Qi casually changed the subject.

As soon as he said this, Gu Weijing turned his head to the side, and the other students next to him, including Lily who seemed to be intently watching the opera, also turned their heads to the side.

Only Mr. Kozens remained immersed in his stage performance, as if he were in another, independent world.

"The magic flute you mentioned... that can help solve trouble... refers to..." Gu Weijing asked hesitantly.

"Of course not. The Arts Association is probably powerless to handle theft cases; this requires a professional police department."

"Lin Qi said."

"The theft is not important; we all know—that award will be yours. The fact that the stolen work has been found actually adds a lot of mystique to the painting. The award is definitely yours."

"If you can't find the artwork, just paint a new one from scratch, and the award will be yours. If you can't find the artwork, just forget about it and paint a new one; the award will still be yours."

"The answer is almost certain."

"After the semester ends, the judging panel will discuss the matter and then award you the prize. Sponsors, luxury goods companies, art academies, judges' teachers... everyone thinks the prize should be yours. So, the prize should be yours; there's nothing more logical than that."

"Just submit any painting that's decent enough, that will suffice."

"only--"

"Lin Qi said."

"After witnessing so much, do you know what the biggest feeling I have is? Life has its moments of joy, but no one can have everything they want. Van Gogh, Monet, or Picasso... none of them could."

“Even art projects like the ‘Master Project’ can generate so many setbacks. The bigger the exhibitions and the bigger the awards, the more setbacks there will be. One day, you will lose, you will tire the critics, you will disappoint the audience, and a more successful young painter will emerge and steal the attention from you.”

"It's like your appearance has stolen a lot of attention that originally belonged to Deckard Anlen."

"And do you know who can keep winning?"

“That’s people like Miss Irina. They just place bets; they don’t actually play the game, so they never lose. I noticed that Miss Anna mentioned Ambroise in the interview. Ambroise was once the most successful person in the European art industry. He was Cézanne’s agent and curator.”

"to be honest."

“People always think the painter is the more important one, but in this collaboration, Cézanne needed Ambroise, but Ambroise may not have really needed Cézanne that much.”

“Cézanne is dead, but Ambroise has been representing Picasso, Gauguin, Bonnard, Matisse, André Derain, Georges Rouault… He was even one of the key figures who fueled the hype surrounding Van Gogh’s works in the capital market.”

"Cézanne is not the Magic Flute."

“Ambroise is the magic flute, and anyone who plays it can overcome any difficulty. It’s not that you have to be a prince to get the magic flute, but that you have to be the one who gets the magic flute to become a prince.”

"This is a metaphor for the right to art."

Lynch believed that Gu Weijing was just a puppet, a figurehead carrying Anna Elena's political ambitions.

You can't win everything.

“And I know people like Ms. Elena very well—believe me, she never tolerates or sympathizes with losers in any sense.”

Lin Qi said to Gu Weijing.

(End of this chapter)