Almighty painter

Chapter 906: The third meeting between the two people unfolded in a way that neither of them expected (Part )

"That was when he was writing The Human Comedy, and his more important goal in life than writing was to please Mrs. de Hancas, whom he had just met."

"A true 'De'."

The woman rolled up her tongue and pronounced "De" in French, which, like "Von" in German, was a name prefix that indicated a respectable status.

"A true Miss Hancas should and must live in a palace-like house, a magnificent art gallery, a Louvre. The hallway should be filled with paintings by Tintoretto and Holbein, and the reception room should be filled with paintings by Rembrandt and Raphael. That's not enough, there must be a commemorative portrait of their marriage painted by a contemporary artist. Maybe Turner? That was also the era when Turner became famous, but unfortunately he was British."

"Daily clothing and food must also be decent enough. The plates on the table must be foreign trade porcelain from Dongxia, and the wine glasses should be from Saxony..."

Gu Weijing imagined such a scene.

At first he was immersed in the extremely luxurious scene described by Miss Elena, but gradually he had a strange feeling.

This doesn't feel like a home.

Just as the woman described it.

It was like a magnificent art museum, a Louvre rather than a love nest.

The gilded portraits on the walls enveloped the room, a glittering golden light wrapped in a cool chill.

"Is this how much money you can make by writing novels?"

Gu Weijing sighed.

"No, Balzac spent half of his life chasing women, and the other half was spent with his editors and creditors chasing him and urging him to write." Anna casually stabbed the poor writer in the chest with a sharp knife. "Ms. Hanks gave him about 100,000 francs to decorate their house."

Miss Elena glanced at Gu Weijing.

It's clear that he probably had no idea about the currency in Europe at that time.

"It was a large sum of money, equivalent to millions of dollars today. It was enough to buy a comfortable house in Paris at that time and decorate it with luxury. But if it is judged by the standards of the Louvre, it is probably a bit far."

"So how does he realize his idea?"

Gu Weijing asked curiously.

"Buy cheap stuff. Some Rembrandts sold for 7000 francs at the time, but others, if you were good at finding and waiting, you could find them for only 700 or even 500 francs in the second-hand and flea markets."

Anna nodded.

"Balzac is such an outstanding art appraiser." Gu Weijing said admiringly.

If someone picks up a Leonardo da Vinci painting at a flea market, it may be a stroke of luck, or it may be a deliberately created wealth myth.

But if someone can consistently pick out a Louvre in the flea market.

It has to be said that this is an ironclad ability of appreciation.

It's unimaginable.

"Yes, Balzac insisted that his social identity should include the title of 'discerning gallery owner'. And the secret to becoming a discerning gallery owner is to find the second-hand dealer who sells art at the lowest price in the flea market in Paris, and unconditionally believe what he tells you. Then continue to believe that the work in the Louvre is a fake, and the one in his hand is the real one."

Anna nodded again.

"Then I think he is undoubtedly right."

With great respect for his predecessors in European collections, Gu Weijing spent some time seriously pondering the profound logical relationship here, and then he was almost choked to death by Miss Elena.

She spoke so seriously.

Gu Weijing didn't react at first.

So Balzac is...the national treasure of France.

He sincerely believed that if it was the woman in the wheelchair who told the humorous story in the crowd just now, the response would have been very successful.

The young man then thought that it would be a rather strange scene.

In the traditional scenes of ancient classical drama, it seems that the real superior rarely plays the same superior on the stage.

Playing myself in a play seems too boring.

Li Longji played and laughed with the actors in his opera house. In history, this powerful monarch who killed three sons in one day often played the role of a drummer and a clown on the stage. On the contrary, people who wear crowns in dramatic scenes on stage may often be the poor people who are laughed at in life, just like the Flower King, the Ugly King, and the Fool King Quasimodo after the carnival miracle play.

Quasimodo was ridiculed by people for his ugliness, but he himself embodied the redemption of beauty.

This is a strange dramatic mirror-like inversion of identity, with one thing nested within another, and the person in the mirror facing the person in the mirror.

Gu Weijing felt that it was like a strange metaphor: who was the more real person, on the stage or under the stage?
Liu Ziming suggested at the salon that everyone should imitate the Decameron and tell a story each. It was just a casual remark.

There wasn't much of a feeling with the others, it was just a simple party game.

On the woman next to him...

It would look rather odd.

It seems like a real story in the style of medieval Europe, and in such a dramatic story, Anna is the only one who cannot wear something on her head to "play" the role of a king for everyone's entertainment.

Whether it's a woven laurel branch or a plastic crown that says "Happy Birthday".

That would be boring.

Because I am the art director of Oil Painting magazine.

She rules the world of European painting as the Pope rules Holy Rome.

"Gu, do you know? Balzac madly mocked Dumas in a letter to the queen's niece. Dumas ordered a set of imported porcelain from China, which cost him nearly 300 francs. And he? He only needed francs to get something equally decent. He guaranteed that Miss Hancas would live like a princess when she ate with them."

"In a few weeks."

"Balzac finally had to admit that he was deceived by a group of Dutch counterfeit dealers. He wrote in his diary: These tablewares are said to be authentic Chinese products, but in fact, it is like saying that I am an authentic Chinese."

Miss Elena laughed happily.

Her laughter carries the classic Anna-style sarcasm and harshness about life.

Gu Weijing stared at Miss Elena's eyes, trying to catch some fleeting meaning from the chestnut pupils that were looking at him.

He saw an atmosphere of inescapable sadness.

The god of wine is brewing one tragic story after another while laughing loudly.

"You mean to say that Balzac didn't need to do all this, building a cold mansion based on his imagination and finally getting himself into debt. Even a real 'German', a Miss Hancas, doesn't need an illusory, luxurious, cold cage."

Gu Weijing recalled the story of Kara told by Miss Elena.

A true "Fong".

A true "Miss Elena".

She lived in a manor that looked like the Louvre, but was imprisoned in such a cold cage until her death.

“It’s a tragedy.”

Gu Weijing said.

"Do not."

Miss Elena shook her head.

"What I want to say is that maybe Balzac is right. Most of the real 'Germans', most of the real Ms. Hancas, the queen's grandniece, cannot escape the cold and gorgeous manor. Even if it is a cage for her."

The woman spoke in a tone similar to the one Gu Weijing used when he told her "Love Story".

“It’s a tragedy.”

Ms. Hanks probably loves Balzac. She knows everything Balzac did, but she didn't stop him halfway. Maybe it's because she is a woman who is used to being flashy and naive.

I was fascinated by the magnificent Louvre and the works of Rembrandt and Holbein described in Balzac's letters, and believed everything he described.

Or maybe.

She saw through it all, the Queen's grandniece knew it was just some cheap junk.

But I am immersed in such a dream with Balzac.

Long dream and no awakening.

Who knows.

"Spring in Prater."

Miss Elena said softly.

Gu Weijing didn't understand.

Anna didn't explain either.

She just said, "You just read a Love Story, and if it were me, and I just walked over, I would read a Prattle Spring."

That is also a classic story by Austrian writer Stefan Zweig.

A noble lady.

The count and the lover of many people, the rare beauty from Vienna, was furious and depressed because the new clothes she needed to attend the banquet had not been delivered. Finally, she had a sudden idea and found a shabby, dusty and wrinkled skirt with great difficulty, and went to Prater... Vienna's famous park for a walk.

Like a real country girl.

That day, the lady met a country youth in the park, and they spent an incredibly happy day together.

No fancy carriage, no jewellery, nothing.

They just took walks, had picnics, and talked.

The young man never knew who she was, but the lady seemed to be under a spell and felt unprecedented happiness in such a simple and pure relationship.

They are just pure "love".

The lady had many, many men in her life. If Anna were to criticize her harshly, she might have used the term "any man can have sex with her". She had countless upper-class suitors and had been a lover to many people, just in exchange for a luxurious life.

But when she and the young man kissed each other.

A simple kiss drove away all her memories. She had slept with countless people, but that was the first "love kiss" she had ever received in her life. They returned to the young people's home, the cramped student dormitory.

"She finally agreed to give him something that she had given to others hundreds and thousands of times before, like a beggar, as a priceless, exquisite and unique gift."

Anna stroked the fence with her fingers and recited in a low voice.

She found something that truly made her feel happy.

But the next morning.

The lady returned to her home in Vienna, where she found the lingering smell of French perfume nauseating.

Because this scent reminds her of her life at this moment.

The turbid, sweet and greasy feeling made her want to vomit. She had originally accepted her life indifferently, but now, a desire for true "love" sprouted in her heart.

however.

She immediately realized that -

"She can't turn back."

Soon a suitor would arrive, then a second, and a third.

A lot.

That dim and sweet life will continue to envelop her heavily.

"She can't turn back."

Miss Anna repeated it again, with the same sarcastic, cold, and malicious laughter as when she heard "Love Story" before.

"Love Story" may be a story in which Gu Weijing mocks himself.

So this "Spring on Plater" is what Anna Elena uses to mock herself.

She is the protagonist of this story.

A rare beauty from Austria, a noble lady.

Or a prostitute who is available to anyone.

She was not the mistress of the count, for she was the count herself, but she was the mistress of life, of art, of the name “Irene,” of wealth, of fame.

The lady sold herself to many people in exchange for a luxurious life.

Anna Elena.

She sold herself to Oil Painting magazine. Detective Cat, she was just a college student whom he met on a spring day in Prater Park.

She solemnly gave the other person her appreciation, something that she could give to many people thousands of times if she wanted, just like rewarding a beggar.

Life is a train running along a set track, a ship destined to its destination.

The lady realized what she wanted.

But she couldn't turn back.

Soon, with the end of that brief spring day, the lady's lovers, her admirers and suitors, no matter what they are called, will line up one after another to come to her door, unable to extricate themselves from the old life.

And immediately.

She would also become immersed in the tug-of-war on the board of directors of Oil Painting magazine and could not extricate herself.

At first, she didn't know what to do with the paintings of Detective Cat given her strange identity.

just now.

The art director of Oil Painting magazine doesn't know how to deal with Gu Weijing's painting Human Noise. Should he get a better reward or a worse one because of his relationship with Elena's family?

If she was afraid of gossip from within the magazine, would it be fair to Gu Weijing?

The story of Liu Ziming.

She understood it from the beginning.

Anna Elena ate the strawberry calmly, simply because she didn't know how to give a clever answer.

A person can have many identities and many titles.

Just know what you want.

Of course, a person can be a world-renowned literary giant, a young wolfdog with an overwhelming desire to fight, and a gallery owner with excellent vision (note).

But it's a pity.

The heart can only have one place.

One cannot be a mistress to many people and at the same time fantasize about pure and innocent love in Prater Park.

(Note: That’s right, the nickname of the great writer Balzac to Madame de Hanska is “Loup-loup” (dear little dog). Considering that Balzac was a very burly fat man... I have to say, it’s unexpectedly cute.)
(End of this chapter)