Almighty painter

Chapter 786 The Balance of Humanity
"Gu Weijing, look at this! Go to the mirror and take a good look at yourself. You have a custom-made watch worth millions of dollars, a camel wool coat worth one hundred thousand dollars! The Ferrari sports car is parked at the door. You look so respectable, like a damn earl. You are the one who painted "The Hustle and Bustle of the World" at the age of 18! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! It's really fucking awesome, so fucking awesome. I think Impressionism is all old-fashioned stuff, but I want to kneel down in front of that proud and dazzling work and admire it with all my heart. Holy Shit! But what about now? What are you painting more than ten years later? Painting the beautiful and incredible Miss Elena, painting sailboats, painting sweet trips around the world... These are all good, really well painted. You are already a great painter who can be recorded in the history of art... But are you still the same person you used to be?"

This is what was circulated in the industry: after a dinner party at Elena Manor, Hunter Bull, a painter nicknamed Elvis Bull, said to Gu Weijing while poking his chest while drunk.

Elvis Bull was recognized as one of the most famous painters of the millennium, especially known for his lively brushstrokes, neurotic social behavior and his habit of inserting a few vulgar slang in his words from time to time.

handed down.

A guest who was staying in the manor at the time saw that Gu Weijing sat alone by the fireplace that night, staring at the crackling hardwood in the stove for a long time. His shadow was stretched out by the firelight.

No one knows what he was thinking that night.

do not know either.

Did he see himself at the age of eighteen in the flickering flames?

……

This story is widely circulated and it is difficult to tell whether it is true or not. Some people say that as the top general of the Muse Project of Oil Painting Magazine, Hunter Bull and Gu Weijing should have an irreconcilable relationship. Under the circumstances at that time, Elvis Bull should not be invited to the dinner party at Elena Manor. Even if Hunter Bull was invited, he would not say that he "admired Gu Weijing so much that he wanted to kneel down." Some people around Hunter Bull also said that he was an uncontrollable madman and his mental state was not very normal. Didn't you see his nickname? He was like Elvis in his later years. Whatever Bull said was possible... This is really his style.

But leaving all that behind -

"If one day you get a huge sum of money out of nowhere, what should you do with it?"

Any scholar who studies art history will understand that this seemingly easy question is actually a huge question of love and hate that lies between Gu Weijing and his agent Anna Elena throughout their lives.

Two people whose lives are intertwined have to face this issue again and again at different stages of their lives, have their souls examined, their hearts tortured, and have to give answers again and again.

In the summer when Gu Weijing was nineteen, he met Anna Elena, who was three and a half years older than him, in Singapore. This was a fate-changing encounter, just like Boucher meeting Madame Pompadour, Wang Wei meeting Princess Yuzhen, and just like the sixteen-year-old Rousseau escaping from the sculptor's workshop and meeting Madame Warrens.

The lives of great artists in history always have such experiences. Madame de Warens let Rousseau study music and literature, brought him to Lyon, and let him walk into the upper class society. Miss Irene brought him countless opportunities in the art world, allowing him to...

Gu Weijing has always stated in interviews that he is not a truly noble or brave person, and he is not even the kind of noble person who regards money as dirt.

He was not a truly great person in history who was willing to sacrifice himself for the fate of mankind and fight for his entire life.

All his life he said he could not touch the heights to which the souls of the truly great had reached.

He is just an ordinary, mediocre man. His life is already very good, so he hopes to make the world a better place.

That's it.

Like ordinary people, Gu Weijing also likes luxury cars, famous horses, red wine and beautiful women. From his life trajectory, we can all know that when Gu Weijing, who was less than 20 years old, met a rich and beautiful heiress, he, like ordinary people, quickly immersed himself in the fanatical joy of being recognized and given.

But there is another side of the artist Gu Weijing's character, the very artistic side. Throughout his life, in some aspects, he had a strong moral spirit.

When he was eighteen, he risked his life to refuse a $300 million check from a Southeast Asian underground money laundering godfather, simply because -

This money was dirty and stained with blood, so he treated it like dirt.

He criticized the British Museum many times in his life. It is true that the British Museum has very good collections and many excellent scholars in the industry, but no matter how it is explained or covered up, it will never be able to hide the fact that a large number of its most precious collections were plundered from all over the world through violence.

It owns more than 7 precious cultural relics from Egypt, and it also owns more than 2.3 precious cultural relics from China.

This is the imperial background that can never be concealed since the day it was established.

Can it be forgotten just because it is past history?

Many years later, the successful artist immersed himself in a luxurious and comfortable life, talking about poetry, philosophy and art with his friends. He lived the wonderful life he had dreamed of since he saw the chaotic environment around him when he was young.

But one day.

When our great artist Gu Weijing walked through the magnificent handrails of the manor, he looked at the portraits of successive Countess Elena on the wall.

Gu Weijing sleeps like an ordinary vulgar man, but his artistic soul will wake him up suddenly.

He would ask Miss Elena beside him, and also ask himself.

All these things that they enjoy peacefully today, all this wealth, land, everything within sight... weren't they also stained with the blood of Austrian child laborers during the imperial era?
Among the tens of thousands of cultural relics in the Irina family, there is not a single Egyptian or Chinese cultural relic. Because of the aesthetic preferences of the earls of all generations, almost 90% are various oil paintings. According to his agent, more than half of them were donated by artists who tried to please the Irina family.

But even so.

The luxurious life supported by the empire...even if it is very dull, no matter how dull it is...isn't it still the background color of the empire?
Is it just because it is history?

Can it be forgotten?
That's not how it should be.

"Life is like a balance. If you want to have something, you have to give it up. If you want to achieve something, you may have to give up a comfortable life. If you want to be a bad guy, you have to give up the right to face death with peace of mind, and you have to face the fear in your heart."

"So, what do you want to be happy?"

"So, what kind of chips are placed on one end of the scale - to weigh down the mountain of money?"

"So, what is true and what is false? What is the true meaning of life and what should we really pursue?"

This is a question from history and a gaze from the soul.

Gu Weijing and Anna Elena's story of their lifelong intertwining begins with such a question.

——Excerpt from "The Power of Art·Fifteenth Edition·Volume 36—Gu Weijing and Anna Elena: Follow Your Heart", page .
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The atmosphere in the office was very quiet.

Everyone was standing or sitting, surrounding the woman in the wheelchair, listening quietly to her speech with their ears tilted.

Writing room.

Anna's pen cap hit the teacup on the table. Her clear voice broke the surface of the water and ripples surged.

"There is a famous painting by John Collier called 'The Countess of Godiva on Horseback'. You should have heard of it, sir. It is not only a famous painting, but the Countess of Godiva is also one of the most famous and beloved historical figures in England."

"A thousand years ago, the Earl who ruled Coventry levied heavy taxes on the people every year. The Countess heard about this and felt sorry for it. She repeatedly asked her husband to reduce the taxes. The Earl was impatient with being entangled. He flew into a rage and told his wife that if Lady Godiva could take off her clothes, ride naked on a horse around the city of Coventry, then the Earl would agree to reduce the taxes. Who knew that the Countess really did it."

"On the second day, she rode naked, covered her face with long hair, and paraded through the streets. No one appeared on the street, and all the citizens of Coventry closed their doors and windows to express their respect for this great benefactor. Legend has it that a tailor named Tom did not keep his promise, so his name was nailed to the pillar of shame in history."

"Today, a thousand years later, in English culture, 'Peeping Tom' is still a synonym for a voyeur..."

Anna paused for a moment and wrote down a line in her notebook.

She then continued.

"If we look at it from today's perspective, Lady Godiva's story may also be a bit hypocritical. Didn't she have a share of the wealth her husband extorted? In other words, since the Countess was the wife of the Lord of Coventry, wasn't her daily living necessities also provided by the hard work of the people in the territory? Didn't all those people-loving officials in Roman and Greek history receive support from the empire? It is said that Lady Godiva was born into the richest aristocratic family."

"Then why can this story and Lady Godiva's painting become a work of art with a strong humanistic spirit?"

"I think. That's because compared with all the countesses of the same era a thousand years ago, she has the side of being a countess, but she is willing to get naked and mount a horse for the benefit of the citizens, which is the spirit of humanism. Socrates is willing to speak out for freedom, which is also the spirit of humanism. They have the limitations of the times, and they also have their own courage. The two are not contradictory."

"So does Ms. K."

"You are right. Ms. K certainly has her own limitations. She has the side of being a wealthy, carefree aristocratic lady. But this does not mean that her courage to fight against her family with her life is not worthy of respect." "Whether it is Ms. K, Mary Xart, or even Nightingale, they all have the side of being rich ladies, and they also have the side of being not rich ladies, the side of being female pioneers. You can't think that because Nightingale was born in the upper class and had better social resources, her efforts, her courage, and her career are easy or not worth mentioning. And you can't deduce from this that everyone is a bad person. Even if I am a bad person, as long as I have power and influence, I will be praised by people."

"Brother Hao. This is the difference between you and Ms. K, and this is the difference between you and Mr. G. They are always taking on their own responsibilities, and even want to take on responsibilities that do not belong to them, but you——"

Miss Elena looked up at the phone on the desk.

"——You are always avoiding your responsibilities."

"Responsibility. People want to fight wars, politicians want to launder money, and society has become what it is. It's easier to buy drugs than flour. When I go out, I worry whether I can come back alive... It's been so chaotic for so many years. It's like a curse that can never be solved. Is this my responsibility?"

Brother Hao seemed to have grasped the sore spot in the woman's words and questioned angrily.

"You said that everyone in the world is the same. You said that some people are just too young. Once they grow up and encounter similar situations as you, they will understand you and become people like you. You said that you are no different from the Elena family—"

Anna replied calmly.

"I believe that is not the case."

Miss Elena was thinking about how the young man suddenly laughed yesterday, with a wild look but peaceful eyes, and then pushed the check for 3 million euros back to her.

“That’s not what I saw.”

Anna repeated.

"You said that all people are the same. If you mean, if you were born with Mr. G's conditions, and exchanged lives, came into contact with him and everything he had, and had his parents and family, would you become Mr. G? Or if Ms. K was born in your body, and exchanged lives, came into contact with everything you came into contact with, and had your parents and family, would she become you..."

The woman raised her pen, leaned back in her chair, stared out the window, and thought for a moment.

"That's an overly deterministic statement, too philosophical. Maybe I can't give a real answer."

"However--"

"But I can tell you with certainty that the current you and the current Mr. G. The current you and the former Ms. K are absolutely not the same person at all."

Anna continued to write on the paper with her head down.

My aunt said that I should concentrate on what I do.

Mental power is a precious resource. There is no such thing as multitasking or multitasking in the world.

The mind is like a passenger waiting for a ride on the side of the road.

People can process multiple pieces of information at the same time, but the two words "concentration" and "multitasking" are essentially conflicting.

"Multitasking" means distraction.

A passenger can only be in the back seat of a taxi at one time.

No passenger can read a newspaper in the back seat of a taxi heading to Vienna and at the same time talk to the driver about the weather in the back seat of a car heading back to Griez.

therefore.

No one can play the piano, read Shakespeare, practice singing, and play tennis at the same time.

This either means not being able to play the piano well, or not being able to read Shakespeare well.

Or it means both being bad at playing the piano and being bad at reading Shakespeare.

Interviewing one person and writing a review article about another person are two conflicting things that cannot be done at the same time.

Miss Elena did it very easily.

It was not that she suddenly mastered the art of multitasking, but that at this moment, she suddenly realized that these two things could be completely integrated into one and together constitute part of the same thing.

Good and evil.

Courage and cowardice.

Taking responsibility and avoiding responsibility.

Both sides.

Yin and Yang poles.

Events do not exist independently, and neither does time.

They all overlapped and in an instant, ten million roses bloomed and withered together.

If there is a truth about courage, then it must be universal, applicable to everyone and everything.

It does not change due to culture, race or region.

An appropriate opportunity.

The story of Mrs. K passed down in the family, Kara's diary, the flying butterflies in front of the grave, Goethe's poems, Gu Weijing's description of his feelings when he watched "Old Church in a Thunderstorm", Anna's own feelings when she watched "Old Church in a Thunderstorm", her feelings when she talked to the young man in the cafe of Raffles Hotel yesterday, and her feelings when she interviewed the middle-aged man on the other end of the phone in an office in Yangon today.

Strong sunlight and strong dusk.

All kinds of things here.

It all came together.

[When artists pick up their brushes, they are the masters of the canvas. When they stay in their own studios, they are the kings of free will. But when they walk out of the studio, the sun shines through the darkness on their faces, and they hear the horns of buses in the early morning, they become ordinary people again.

An ordinary beast——】

As Miss Elena wrote, she whispered, "An ordinary beast."

"what?"

Brother Hao didn’t understand.

"I'm talking about an ordinary beast. Many people are very powerful in their own fields. But outside of their own fields, they become an ordinary little beast."

"How the little beasts resist the waves of this world and the test of fate determines what kind of people they are and proves what kind of people they are."

"Sir, don't you understand?"

"If you were Ms. K, you would enjoy the dedication of ordinary people with peace of mind, but you would not fight against your fate. You would live comfortably and well, become a princess, marry a super-rich businessman, and live a life of pampering and frivolity all your life."

"You won't have the courage to go into the cellar. You will say you have no choice. This is the predetermined path that fate has arranged for you. It's not your fault at all."

(End of this chapter)