Almighty painter

Chapter 836: Brave Rosings

"Why can't you assume that the painting is authentic? Countless scholars have provided reasonable research and inferences. You just casually say it's fake, and it's fake. What's the logic?"

Alexander was dissatisfied with the sense of superiority in Rosings' tone, which showed that he was the only one sober while everyone else was drunk.

"Are you accusing all the scholars and research institutions that endorsed the article 'Savior' of being liars? This is a farce. Who is deliberately creating this farce? Is it you, or everyone else?"

"No, on the contrary, those papers and studies convinced me. As for authenticity..." Rosings thought for a moment, his fingers subconsciously rubbing the lining of the hem of his coat. "My personal position is that I am willing to believe that the Salvator Mundi is indeed the work of Leonardo da Vinci."

"You asked me why I didn't express my opposition at the time, and this is why."

He replied.

"Ha. That's a weird logic." The chestnut-haired young scholar raised his hand exaggeratedly and said in a teasing tone, "So what was the purpose of your heavy tone just now? If that was a fake painting, Mr. Rosings, were you going to do a talk show?"

"Do not."

Rosings looked him straight in the eyes.

"You never understood me, Mr. Alexander. What I'm saying is that if the Salvator Mundi is a fake, and it goes from being a badly damaged sketch to the most expensive work of art ever sold simply because it bears Leonardo's name, that's a joke. It seriously undermines the foundation of the entire art industry."

"What if this painting is real? You said yourself that the research and papers of those scholars convinced you that this painting is real," Alexander pressed.

"So there is a second part to what I said. If the painting is real, then Leonardo da Vinci has one more work to sell, collectors make a lot of money, scholars who write papers gain fame, Christie makes a lot of money just from commissions, and the Saudi royal family who is rumored to have bought the painting has obtained a precious collection. It seems to be a win-win situation."

Rosings shrugged. "I heard that Leonardo Dicaprio is going to make a movie based on this incident. It might be something like The Da Vinci Code. I'm not sure. But I always feel that there aren't that many win-win things in the world, at least not this one."

“You think the entire art industry is hurt, right?”

Anna spoke again.

She stared at Rosings.

"You feel that the entire process is too heavily influenced by commercial marketing, with auctions, Hollywood, market hype...all these factors are combined, and you don't like this," the woman asked.

Rosings nodded vigorously.

"To me, that's Leonardo da Vinci. If even Leonardo da Vinci could suddenly have an extra painting, then can others also... um." The man scratched his hair, "Sorry, I can't really describe how that feels."

"It feels unreal, right?" The female host turned her head away.

"Almost." Rosings nodded. "Academically, the inferences in those papers have convinced me to a certain extent. But emotionally, I feel that they are not down-to-earth enough. I think we should be more conservative."

"It's like Heinrich Schliemann. The businessman and archaeologist who grew up reading Homer's epic, hired a bunch of diggers to dig all over the plains of Asia Minor, dug out two thousand-year-old pottery jars under the soil, and then wrote a paper and published a news report, shouting to the world, Hey, all the idiots who doubted me, look, I found Troy."

"He carried the ridicule of the academic community and wielded his shovel with such a strong desire to find the ancient city of Troy. When one day he really dug something out of the ground in Asia Minor, at that moment, did he really find Troy, or did he really believe that he had found Troy?"

"The Salvator Mundi is the Troy of the art world. People can't be sure if it's the real Troy, they just treat it as Troy. People can't be 100% sure if it's a Leonardo da Vinci painting, they just want to treat it as Leonardo da Vinci's work."

"But this is archaeological research. It's the study of the dead by the living." Miss Elena took her hands away from her face and sat more formally.

Her fingers dropped to her knees.

Eyes drooped slightly.

Anna said, "Time cannot be reversed. No one can ever see Troy burning in the fire again. You can find five centenarians in the world, but you can't ask them to hold hands and travel through history to see Florence in the 16th century and ask Leonardo da Vinci how many paintings he actually painted. This is how art history and archaeology research works."

"Mr. Rosings."

Anna's tone was calm.

"In many cases, people are destined not to get a 100% accurate answer. So, it's a question of choice. Choose what to believe and what to doubt."

"Then let the debate continue until a conclusion that convinces most people is reached. Papers have been published and overturned one after another about the authenticity of the ancient city of Troy for nearly a hundred years. No definite conclusion has been reached yet." Rosings spread his hands. "How long has the discussion about Savior been going on? Fifty years ago it was only worth 45 pounds, and 20 years ago it was considered a later imitation. A few years later, it was sold at a sky-high price."

His voice was low and somewhat sad.

"It shouldn't have been rushed. It shouldn't have been sold in a hurry, and it shouldn't have been sold for $500 million. Really."

Miss Elena sat next to her.

She neither echoed Rosings's point of view nor interrupted him or made sharp comments, thinking that his attitude was too pessimistic.

She just listened quietly and made an inviting gesture, indicating that Rosings should continue to speak freely.

"Go on, I'm listening," Anna said.

"Compared to an art myth, it is more like a financial myth or a wealth myth. It has pointed out a path for many people. Even a famous painter like Leonardo da Vinci suddenly had an extra work... Then, what about other painters? What about other works? Is there a shortcut to wealth there?"

“I know a lot of people think that way.”

“And some people have already put it into practice.”

Rosings set his sights on Gu Weijing - "I don't care what the scholars gained from their research on "Salvator Mundi", maybe it was fame, maybe that top scholar group received some generous rewards, I don't know the inside story. But I at least know that none of the scholars who studied "Salvator Mundi" is the owner of the painting. At least they should not get any money from the $500 million."

"But you are different, Mr. Gu."

"You are not only the discoverer of the painting 'Old Church in a Thunderstorm', but also the first author of the paper published in 'Asian Art'. Do you want me not to have any associations? Every penny from the sale of that painting will go into your pocket."

The British scholar looked at Gu Weijing with sharp eyes.

"I didn't speak out about the Salvator Mundi incident, so today, I have to come. I think this is my responsibility as an art scholar and critic."

"I must expose this scam to the public. I can't let this happen any more. 'The Savior' is fine. But 'Old Church on a Thunderstorm'? An old oil painting whose authenticity is unknown, a painter whose history can never be found. You say she is the first female Impressionist painter in history. Is she the first female Impressionist painter?"

"Then I would say that this matter is a scam!"

"Yes, I think you are a liar, Mr. Gu Weijing."

Rosings smiled, and the smile gradually spread from the corners of his brows. After saying this in person, the critic seemed to have laughed away all the depression and frustration in his heart.

He stared into the young man's pupils and spoke word by word.

"Yes. That's what I think. I know that Kazunari Sakai's daughter is also the author of this paper, but I still want to say it. This paper is a scam. He, you, Carol, your papers, including "The Old Church in the Thunderstorm" itself, are all part of this scam."

"Yes, it's a serious accusation, and I know what it means. Usually, there should be stronger evidence to make such an accusation... But, this is my inference and judgment based on the facts I saw. This is my true opinion in my heart. If you want, you can sue me for defamation."

As his words came out, the entire opera house fell silent.

Rosings paused, enjoying the silence around him for a moment.

Then he smiled contemptuously.

"I don't care, Mr. Gu."

"I——don't——fucking——care."

After a while, continuous applause was heard in the opera house, and constant cheering voices came from the audience who were watching the fun.
-
Perhaps, there are stubborn and obstinate people in this world.

There are indeed some people in this world who possess a heroic temperament.

Rosings felt like one of them.

Even if his position is not on Gu Weijing's side, or even if he is considered Gu Weijing's enemy, his words may cause a devastating blow to Gu Weijing.

But it cannot be denied that in his heart, Rosings is indeed full of the urge to be a brave man.

He wants to be the child who reveals the emperor's new clothes.

Miss Irina did not invite clowns as guests like the American variety media did during the donkey-elephant debate, to participate in the dialogue interviews she hosted as debate opponents.

Rosings was one of those old-fashioned serious academics.

He and Gu Weijing did not have too many conflicts of interest. Gu Weijing's "Old Church on a Thunderstorm" could be sold for a sky-high price of 1.8 million euros, but he would not share a penny with him. Gu Weijing's "Old Church on a Thunderstorm" could not be sold for a penny, and he would not be able to make 1.8 million euros from it.

in contrast.

As a researcher and critic who has been active in Europe, it takes courage to say that he thinks that selling "Salvator Mundi" at such a high price, turning academic research into a carnival of wealth, and perhaps destroying the foundation of this industry.

Maybe not as brave as Anna’s performance at the European Art Conference.

But as Katsuko Sakai said, there is almost no one in the world who can have Miss Elena's status and conditions.

If we really compare, given Rosings's status, the courage required to pour cold water on the entire industry is not necessarily less than that required when Anna slapped Sir Brown in the face at the annual meeting.

He would say that Gu Weijing's Impressionism essay published in Asian Art was a hoax.

He can sue him.

Even if Gu Weijing sued him, he would still say this. This was the inference he believed to be reasonable based on the actual situation he knew.

In Rosings's own opinion, for the sake of justice in his heart, he bravely stood up and exposed Carroll's illusory veil. At the interview site of "Oil Painting" magazine, he told all the audience in the opera house that this so-called female painter had never existed.

It is of course also a kind of courage and determination.

Anna sat on the sofa.

She watched everything that happened around her with a calm expression, like the hostess of a 19th century court salon.

No matter how the guests quarreled and debated, one of them made the whole room burst into laughter, or two gentlemen were ready to duel with gloves because of the other's offense.

As long as the hostess is still sitting quietly on the sofa.

The scene was orderly and controllable. As long as they wanted to stay at this social gathering, no one would actually draw their swords or guns.

No matter how much they quarrel or make a fuss, the hostess still has to speak up and make a fair judgment.

Miss Elena was thinking.

Do you want to take action now and help Gu Weijing get through this difficult time?

She had a slight headache.

Rosings's toughness exceeded her original expectations. She did not expect the other party to say such irreversible words during the conversation.

Ms. Sakai once said something similar in style but with different content at the Esplanade.

In front of herself and the curator Tonks, she accused Cui Xiaoming of being a despicable plagiarist who had plagiarized Gu Weijing's work. She had no evidence and it was difficult to prove it, so Cui Xiaoming could sue her.

Just one week later.

Rosings made the same statement.

It was just that Gu Wei, who was once the object of protection through discourse, became the object of accusation by the British.

It must be said that this is a matter of time.

If Cui Xiaoming had heard what Katsuko Sakai said, he would probably have wanted to hug Rosings' thighs at this moment and would have been so moved that he cried out "wow".

Cui Xiaoming didn't know this.

At this moment, he was in an extremely happy mood. He didn't want to cry at all. He just wanted to laugh out loud.

It feels good to curse.

So cool.

Cui Xiaoming clapped his hands so hard that his fingers were almost red. What a wonderful speech. The criticism against Gu Weijing at the interview site was even more intense than he had expected at the beginning.

These words gave Cui Xiaoming a chance, but Cui Xiaoming didn't dare to say anything, because he was really afraid of completely offending Cao Xuan. Unexpectedly, this guest pointed at Gu Weijing's nose and scolded him, and he directly went up to start a fight without any fancy moves.

What a tough guy!
Bullish.

As expected, this interview is hosted by Oil Painting magazine, there is no shortage of tough guys.

Cui Xiaoming had only one small regret in his heart, that is, these words were said by the guest on the right, not Miss Elena.

"I don't care, Mr. Gu."

"I——don't——fucking——care."

If Anna could say this, Cui Xiaoming could open a bottle of champagne and declare his victory right now.

(End of this chapter)