Almighty painter

Chapter 849 Gu Weijing's Insistence
Alexander expected some people to question his views.

Rosings.

This guy is essentially an annoying troll. It's like he has a grudge against everyone he sees.

fortunately.

Gu Weijing attracted most of his firepower, and the incredible boat ticket that Oil Painting Magazine took out made him fall flat on his face. The Hydra was the first to have six heads chopped off, and when it bit people with its teeth bared, it was not as fierce.

Dr. Gustav is an expert in Impressionist studies, and he might throw out some tricky academic views, so he strategically just told a moving story.

As if writing a historical novel, Alexander proposed a possibility and then picked up the points that seemed to be favorable to this possibility, without discussing those academic doubts with Gustav.

Doubts are just doubts.

As long as he can't find any obvious unreasonableness in the story he is telling, it's fine.

Alexander spent so much effort and had a whole interview, especially the last thirty minutes, which he carried almost entirely by himself.

He finally chopped off the last three heads of Rosings, and Dr. Gustav was also speechless. He would wait for Miss Irina to make a summary, and then he would be able to welcome his great victory.

It was Gu Weijing who jumped out.

"Mr. Alexander, I disagree with you," he said.

This man must be sick.

Got a brain convulsion?
Alexander even considered whether there would be a scholar in the audience who would come up and want to debate with him, but he never thought that this person would be Gu Weijing.

"idiot!"

Didn't he know what he was doing? Didn't he know what this meant for the painting "Old Church in a Thunderstorm" in his hand? Didn't this guy understand the huge difference in market value between the painting by an unknown female painter and the painting by Claude Monet's wife?

A dusty, mottled and broken oil painting was once considered to be an imitation of Leonardo da Vinci's work by later generations.

It's worth £50.

When it was determined by appraisers that it might be the work of an unknown disciple in Leonardo da Vinci's studio who imitated his teacher.

It's worth $5.

After it was crowned as the authentic work of Leonardo da Vinci by scholars through academic discussions, dialogues and interviews, art papers and museum endorsements.

At Christie's, it sold for a full $500 million.

The work has always been that tattered and mottled oil painting. Even if it was later meticulously restored by the top art restorer, collectors did not buy the restorer's hard work. In essence, what they were trading was always that tattered and mottled oil painting.

The price differs ten thousand times for each different identity and historical meaning.

Doesn’t Gu Weijing know that after he put forward this point of view, he is actually... the biggest beneficiary?

Yes.

Alexander robbed the other party of his fame as the discoverer of the oil painting and took away the opportunity to become the focus of the art world... What robbing? These should not have belonged to Gu Weijing in the first place.

Alexander merely took what was his own.

But he couldn't snatch the painting from Gu Weijing's hand.

Isn’t what I’m doing equivalent to binding the background story of “The Old Church on a Thunderstorm” with a shining gold cover?
If the previous oil painting was the work of a little-known painter whose name no one had ever heard of and who had been buried in history for various reasons, well, even if the ticket proved that there was really a person named Carroll in 1876.

How much is this worth?

If the marketing is very, very good, the maximum amount can be 100 million, and the auction company's commission will account for a large part of it.

If it were transformed into the work of Monet's wife, it might even become proof of Monet's control, exploitation and oppression of his wife.

Even if this argument is questionable.

This painting can also become the focus and darling of the art market this year in an instant.

1000 million dollars is not a dream.

Even more than that.

In many cases, the investment market is all about cultural value and historical stories. The questionable original work of Leonardo da Vinci is not something that can be compared to some random imitation.

Alexander didn't think at all that Gu Weijing was at a disadvantage by him jumping out to steal the limelight.

No, no.

It would be ungrateful to think so.

It was all Gu Weijing's fault. If there was a way to do it, he felt that it would not be excessive for him to ask Gu Weijing for a million dollars, or even half the price of "Old Church in Thunderstorm", for marketing expenses.

Fifty percent of "Monet's wife" is better than one hundred percent of "nobody".

He looked down on Gu Weijing, but he believed that Gu Weijing was the person most obligated to stand by his side on the stage, and the two of them formed the most firmly bound community of interests.

He gets the name and the other party gets the benefit.

Very reasonable.

"Is this guy regretting his rash decision to donate the proceeds from the painting? Is he regretting it so much that he's gone crazy?"

Facing Gu Weijing's opposition.

Alexander's first reaction was confusion.

Then, he felt the anger of being betrayed.

The Dane looked at Gu Weijing, commanding him with his eyes to give him an explanation.

"When Ms. Sakai and I were writing our paper, we also discussed the possibility that Carol was Monet's wife Camille." Gu Weijing nodded first, "We checked one by one, searching for female painters who appeared in the early Impressionist circle, as well as the women around those male painters. Naturally, we found Camille."

"As Monet's wife and the protagonist of many of his works, she can almost be regarded as the most famous woman in the field of Impressionism. Her face, her image and her figure have been printed tens of millions of copies with Monet's "Woman with a Parasol", appearing on notebook covers, posters, art stickers, coffee cups or mouse pads all over the world. Perhaps she may be the most famous woman in the entire Impressionism."

"We also noticed the similarities between Camille and Carroll. Katsuko Sakai and I both hoped that we would make a sensational academic discovery. We even seriously discussed writing such a discovery into our paper - the oil paintings of Monet's wife, what an interesting discovery."

"No matter what, you didn't do that. You think this painting belongs to someone named Kara."

Alexander shrugged.

It turns out that he was not willing to be a sidekick and wanted to jump out and grab the credit.

He is very familiar with the struggle for fame and fortune.

"My friend, the fact is that you didn't discover all this. Anyone can say a few words, but you didn't write it in your paper—"

"I also thought about the context of this painting. I tried to piece together a complete background story for this painting. As we all know, Monet was very interested in Asian art and culture." Gu Weijing ignored Alexander's speech and continued to talk on his own. "But in the end, we gave up this tempting idea."

"No matter what, we didn't do it in the end."

"Because I have a better candidate."

"The Kara you mentioned, according to the information we found, she lived in an independent apartment on the Esplanade by the Seine River in Paris."

"When we were reading Monet's collection of letters, we found some relevant information, but only a few words. Monet praised her in his chat with his friends, but he was evasive. Many times, he referred to her by the location of the studio instead of her name... Later, we found a way to check the registration files of the Paris Telegraph Company..."

"Finally, we learned that such a painter existed. Her name was Carla, very mysterious, and she seemed to use another alias in the telegraph company."

"So, finally, this question is before us."

"Camille or Kara."

Gu Weijing said.

"Camille Or Kara." Anna repeated this sentence in her heart. She stared at the stage of the opera house and felt that this sentence seemed to be spoken to Grandma Kara who was sitting in the corner of the stage.

Miss Irene of the Irene family sat in a corner on one side of the opera house, and Claude Monet's wife, Camille Monet, sat in a corner on the other side of the opera house.

The two figures, as the discussion progressed and the two guests' respective opinions collided, changed from illusion to reality, and then from reality to illusion.

Anna also didn't know the details of the paper written by Gu Weijing and his colleagues.

It was the first time she heard that the other party had seriously considered the possibility that Carol's true identity was actually Monet's wife during the discussion.

What made the other party give up such speculation?
At that time, Gu Weijing obviously had not considered the possibility that the mysterious woman living in the apartment by the Seine was Ms. K. from Oil Painting magazine.

and so.

On the scale in his heart, it is not Ms. K., who is known as "a beautiful soul that will find freedom on its own", who is weighed against Camille, "the most important woman in Monet's life".

Rather, it is a weighing of the pros and cons between an unknown painter obscured by history and the most famous woman of Impressionism.

What kind of force forced him, forced Gu Weijing to give up the tempting idea of ​​claiming that he held the original painting of Monet's wife Camille, and chose to embrace Carla?

"Okay, okay. These things were already mentioned in the introduction to the paper at the beginning. There is no need for you to repeat them again."

Alexander shook his head irritably.

"I have carefully read your paper. It is all subjective speculation based on very little evidence. Is there no decisive new evidence?"

"Like a boat ticket?"

Gu Weijing shook his head: "No."

"I am just proposing a more likely conjecture and hypothesis. I think the possibility that a female painter who originally liked to use a pseudonym for some inexplicable reason that we don't know is the protagonist of this mysterious history is far greater than the possibility that an Impressionist celebrity like Camille is an outstanding painter who was exploited by her husband for art and did not leave his name."

Alexander frowned.

"What do you mean by much more likely? Do you think this won't happen? I have to remind you, Mr. Gu, that artistic exploitation caused by power inequality is much more likely to occur than you think throughout the history of classical European art. Artemisia? She was raped by her own painting teacher in the name of teaching perspective. And in order to prove her innocence in court, her fingers were almost crushed by torture instruments as an 'honesty test'."

"And there is Camille, another Camille, Rodin's student, lover and rival Camille. Rodin relied on her talent but refused to acknowledge her contribution. She worked for Rodin day and night, devoting her talent, energy and even her body. But in the end she was tortured to madness. Not to mention some others..."

Alexander put on the mask of anger again.

"The most respected masters in European art history also have such a dark side. Isn't it?"

"It's not nice, it's ugly, but it doesn't prove that Monet did the same thing to his other wife, Camille. You can't make everyone a demon just because demons exist. It's unfair to people who don't choose to be demons."

Gu Weijing shook his head.

"What are the facts?"

"The fact is, there is no concrete evidence to prove that there is such artistic exploitation or sexual exploitation. If you think that Camille used her body to exchange for work opportunities for a very meager amount of money while modeling for Monet, there may be sexual exploitation in the process, that's completely fine, there is no problem with it, and it should be taken seriously. But this was quite common in Paris at the time, just like those exploitation films in Hollywood in the last century. Note that I am not saying that common means it is correct, I am just saying that Monet may be just an ordinary person in many ways, and it is difficult to transcend the background of the times."

“That’s not what we’re discussing today.”

"The topic we are discussing is Carol. Not Rodin's student or wife, nor Artemisia, who is both heartbreaking and admirable, but Carol. The fact is that Carol's hair is a dazzling golden red, while Camille's hair is usually called light golden. There is a subtle difference. The fact is that I have also checked a lot of information. Although I can't find any detailed records about Monet's wife in the second half of 1876, there is no information to prove that such a trip existed..."

"...Of course, I don't have conclusive evidence..."

……

Alexander really couldn't understand Gu Weijing's train of thought.

Why does this guy have to argue with him here?

Originally, Alexander thought that Gu Weijing was jealous and couldn't help but run over to compete with him for the right to discover Camel.

Listen, listen.

He then realized that this was not the case at all.

This guy is really sick and is trying hard to prove that "Old Church on a Thunderstorm" was painted by Carla, not Carroll.

Why? Is Kara his biological grandmother?
Alexander now thinks that Rosings is not so annoying. Rosings is always spitting insults at everyone, because he is a big troll.

There are traces of his attacks on others and clear motives.

Gu Weijing: This is pure mental illness.

The mentally ill cannot communicate.

Alexander really couldn't understand why Gu Weijing was so stubborn.

Doesn't he understand that as the discoverer of the oil painting, every word he says at this moment is to lower the market price of the work he holds?
Take ten thousand steps back.

If Gu Weijing really had decisive evidence that Kara painted that picture, he would not be able to help but jump out to object, and Alexander had to endure it.

No.

Nothing.

What he expounded was just a conjecture, a possibility based on subjective speculation.

The possibility that Carol's true identity is Carla is only slightly greater than that Carol's true identity is Monet's wife. The difference in market prices caused by these two conjectures is more than a million miles.

Can a person really be so stubborn as to give up mountains of money just to get a little closer to the truth because of a possibility as small as a hair?

Alexander couldn't understand.

"You are just the evidence?"

He stared at Gu Weijing, his expression seemed to say -

seriously?
Just for such a small piece of shit, you jump out and become my enemy.

"Mr. Alexander, you still don't understand one thing. You don't understand what the painting "Old Church in a Thunderstorm" means to me."

"You don't understand what it meant to me to come across that painting at that auction."

Gu Weijing shook his head gently.

"I am grateful for my good luck. This is a gift from fate, and I found the strength to fight against fate in that painting."

and so.

Gu Weijing always reminded himself that he should live up to this good luck.

He needs to be honest about things related to "The Old Church in the Thunderstorm", and believe what he really believes in his heart, rather than what can bring him the greatest benefit. It is not Gu Weijing's power to do so, but Gu Weijing's responsibility.

Whether it is an offer of 300 million euros or 1000 million US dollars.

"When we were finishing the paper and writing down our speculation about Carroll's true identity, I almost decided to put Camille's name on it. I was once moved by what the title of Monet's wife might bring me. But I was thinking, do I really think that this painting was painted by Camille? Then, I subconsciously asked myself, what if this painting was really painted by Carroll?"

"Camille will always be Camille, the protagonist of Woman with a Parasol, and the person Mr. Monet loved most in his life. But who remembers Carla?"

"If I make the wrong decision, will I let Kara's last chance to be known and remembered again disappear into thin air?"

"I can't accept the possibility of this. It's like a curse to me. I don't want to spend my whole life immersed in this curse."

Gu Weijing glanced past Alexander and looked at Miss Elena.

"so."

"I know what to do for no other reason than to be honest with myself."

(End of this chapter)