1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 355 Professional Cotillard
After serving the last few customers, Cotillard closed the art shop.

"I've been working way too much overtime lately," she complained as she packed her things.

Ronan pursed his lips:

"I bet the one clinging to Thomas's arm, crying that she'd invested her entire fortune in this shop, even giving up the handsome guy in Ax, and making a desperate move to Lourmaran, but can't even afford the electricity bill each month, is your twin sister."

Why are they complaining when business is good?
Cotillard smoothed his hair a few times and said in an emphasizing tone:

"Don't forget, I have many identities, just like you. This shop is no longer my entire fortune."

Ronan shrugged:

"If you feel tired, just close this shop and become a full-time agent."

Codia's current revenue model mainly relies on buyouts.

Buying out an artist's work and reselling it at a markup carries some risk, as the acquired goods may become unsellable.

She could easily switch to a different way of making money.

Before March of this year has even begun, the three Lourmaran artists have already received invitations to art events next March.

Ronan, Zoe, and Barty discussed this privately, and they were willing to give Cotillard some commission so she could work full-time as an art agent.

Cotillard poured herself a glass of strong brandy that Zoe had brought her, and said in a complicated tone:
"If I close the shop, what will happen to those emerging artists? The shop's foot traffic has just started to pick up. Do you think other art shops will be willing to accept their works if it allows people at the bottom to earn some money? Or do you think those shops will be willing to accept cheap things like doorknobs and window decorations?"

Ronan asked unexpectedly:

"Did you have them make the door handles and window trim?"

Cotillard took a sip of his drink:

"Don't make such a fuss. I'm a professional art dealer, of course I need to develop different career paths for different artists. Do you think I'd just stand by and watch them starve to death?"

Ronan was speechless.

In some ways, Cotillard is actually the same kind of person as him.

Cotillard didn't want to waste any more time on this matter and got down to business:

"The Granet Museum has contacted me."

Ronan sat up straight instantly:

"Is there any result?"

The national treasure certification process took much longer than the official expectations, but finally there's news?
Seeing that Cotillard's expression showed no excitement or happiness whatsoever, Ronan's heart immediately sank again.
"Didn't pass?"

In fact, Ronan had already prepared himself mentally; if things had gone smoothly, it wouldn't have taken so long.

Cotillard smacked his lips:

"How could it not have passed? If it hadn't passed, I wouldn't be in the mood to chat with you in Lourmaran anymore. Instead, I'd be heading to Aix-en-Provence to confront the Grané Museum. They brought up the 'right of first refusal for national treasures' but failed to implement it, which will have endless consequences for your future development!"

Ronan leaned forward to confirm again:

"The application was actually approved? God, I thought it was hopeless!"

Cotillard rubbed his sore neck:
"The 'Lovebird' will be on display at the Grané Museum early next month, and a small event will be held for it."

Ronan's smile vanished almost instantly, and he asked her, puzzled:

"Now that the application has been approved, why don't you seem happy at all? Judging from your expression, I thought something serious had happened."

Gotia gulped down a few mouthfuls of wine, then carefully chose his words:
“Because I don’t know what kind of development path to set for you. Ronan, you are the most talented among Lourmaran’s artists, and you have gone the furthest so far. But you are different from Zoe, Batty and those other artists. Art is not your everything. I kept you here to ask what you want to get through art, so that I can design a development path for you.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Gotia quickly added:
"This is just my suggestion. If you don't need any specific development path, you can tell me directly. I know you have many ways to make money, and art is not your only path. So I wanted to talk to you."

Cotillard is a very responsible person.

Different development plans were formulated based on the different circumstances, skills, and characteristics of each artist.

The goal of grassroots artists is to solve their basic needs for food and clothing first.

Cotillard has witnessed many artists give up on this path because they cannot support themselves.

So she encouraged unknown artists to create items that would be easily bought by residents, while simultaneously considering art itself. For established artists like Zoe, the path was different; her goal was to gradually expand Zoe's reach beyond Provence to other parts of France.

Cotillard has also developed corresponding plans for niche art forms like Batiste.

But Ronan stumped her.

She had absolutely no idea what Ronan's goal was.

Moreover, Cotillard knew that Ronan wasn't the kind of person who would obediently follow the plans she gave him.

Ronan said with both gratitude and relief:
"We are lucky to have an agent like you."

Cotillard waved his hand in displeasure:

"Stop talking nonsense and tell me your thoughts."

Ronan rubbed his hands together and said quite frankly:

"To be honest, I have only one purpose in becoming an artist, and that is to make rosé wine."

Gotia's dejected wail:
"As expected! I knew it all along, you had ulterior motives!!"

Ronan used concise language to analyze his mental journey and ultimate goal, but he deliberately omitted the information that he wanted to take over a rosé winery, only saying that his dream was to make rosé wine gain recognition from the people of Provence.

Codia's emotions only briefly faltered before she quickly regained her composure. After listening to Ronan's account, she tried to summarize:
"So your goal is actually to influence more people, and being an artist is just a stepping stone to achieve that goal, because artists are the most receptive to rosé?"

Ronan nodded:

"Yes, my ultimate goal is to influence more ordinary people through my identity as an artist."

Cotillard began to scribble furiously in his notebook:
"If that's the case, you should aim for events with high exposure, not just those within the arts industry, such as the Avignon Theatre Festival or the Marseille Sailing Festival. However, this is a bit difficult, as these major events are by invitation only. With my connections, it would be hard to get you there, and you would need to be an artist of a certain caliber to have a chance of being invited as a guest in the arts field."

Ronan suddenly tilted his head:
“It doesn’t seem like it’s impossible. Ines, the editor-in-chief of Michelin magazine, told me that I can tell her which events I want to attend, and she will send me invitations.”

Ines's requirements for Ronan and Zoe were to appear in Michelin's magazine, attend their events, participate in events they wanted Ronan and Zoe to attend, and express their friendly relationship with Michelin's magazine on as many occasions as possible.

To achieve the last point, Ronan and Zoe need more exposure opportunities, not limited to the art field, and also unrelated to Michelin.

Ines told Ronan that if the young couple could mention Michelin magazine or their list of artists at events, she could send Ronan to any event he wanted, provided it was within Provence.

"Why would Ines, the editor-in-chief of Michelin Magazine, send you an invitation?" Cotillard couldn't help but raise his voice.

To be a good art dealer, you must stay up-to-date with the latest industry information.

The most explosive news in the Provençal art world recently is that there are rumors that Michelin magazine is going to enter the art world.

That editor-in-chief was so eye-catching in Gold, it was like he was walking the red carpet at Cannes.

In fact, Cotillard has recently been trying to get on the good side of Milleland magazine.

Ronan clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Oh dear!"
"I think I forgot to tell you."

"What did you say?" Codia's eyes widened.

Ronan then recounted his relationship with Ines and the collaboration they had reached a few days prior to Cotillard.

This time he didn't hide anything, even revealing the information he had gleaned, such as 'Ines's attitude reflects the attitude of Michelin Magazine.'

After hearing this, Cotillard immediately drank a shot of strong brandy from the bottle, seemingly trying to suppress some surging emotion within him.

Suddenly, she slammed the bottle onto the table:
"I should be able to help you achieve your dream."

“My dream?” Ronan was taken aback by Cotillard’s reaction. “A dream of getting rosé wine to be recognized by the people of Provence?”

"Of course!" Gotia's tone was a little manic. "With such a powerful backer, the chances of realizing this dream have greatly increased. I'll help you plan it out!"

Ronan asked cautiously:

"But...this has nothing to do with art."

You're going to interfere with dreams that have nothing to do with art?
Cotillard spoke with the seriousness of someone taking an oath:
"In the Provençal art world, the interests of artists and collectors come first, but for art dealers, the interests of artists come first. Some artists want to make a living, so I help them earn money; some artists want to send their works to Paris, so I help them improve their skills and reputation."

If you want to influence more people, then I'll help you expand your reputation to more fields, enabling you to influence even more people. Whatever artists want, I'll provide—that's the kind of art dealer I aspire to be.

(End of this chapter)