Almighty painter

Chapter 205 The Old Ship
Anna used a pen to fill in the date and a long string of zeros on the private checkbook without looking up.

"If you propose a marriage proposal, and bring your current girlfriend with you, it would be unacceptable to be open."

She also switched to French.

"Just for fun, cousin...Anna, who is not like this? Around us, the puritan-style rich man is like a zero-calorie diet chocolate butter cake or a peace-loving extremist. It is a false proposition that does not hold water. "

Ole didn't care at all and looked at his girlfriend who didn't know who was this year.

"Unless he is gay, no one you know who is so innocent doesn't have two female lovers. I just have always been real and don't hide myself from you."

"You've always called me cousin since you were little, Cousin Ole."

Anna smiled indifferently.

"What does that matter? We are only two months apart in age. We grew up close together. The direct blood relationship between us will not be closer than the blood relationship between Princess Diana and the prince..."

The more Ole talked, the more excited he became.

He wanted to look into Miss Elena's eyes and tell his heart.

It's a pity that the other party kept his head down, processing the information on the large check in a leisurely manner.

Ole had to turn his head to look at the sea of ​​clouds and the large flower fields outside the window.

The sun begins to sink slowly,
The European primrose field spreads from the asymmetrical classical manor garden to the lake in the distance. The distant sunset dyes the water vapor on the lake into a color between blood and rouge, which seems to be a gorgeous dress lingering over the ancient manor. Crimson veil.

Even though Ole has seen the same scene here countless times, every time he feels that such a scene has a beautiful and unreal look.

Just like every time Ole sees his cousin.

How many young people of their generation covet each other's beauty.

From the moment they just understood what beauty is, Anna has undoubtedly become the goddess in their hearts.

"I want to marry Miss Elena!"

"No, Countess Elena is mine!"

"Go to hell, you are not allowed to rob..."

When they were young, the little boys in several circles got into a ball with each other because of this kind of thing. This kind of deeds that are so idiotic that they are so idiotic now, it happened more than once in the process of growing up in their generation.

Because of the godmother.

Ole has been one of the few opposite sex closest to Anna since he was a child.

The thought that the other party might be "Mrs. So-and-so," kissing some damned fellow under the walnut grove.

It was as if a smoldering coal had been stuffed into his chest.

Unless the title becomes Mrs. Kruger,

In an instant, Ole became refreshed.

"...These idiotic sluts whose brains are not as big as a third of their breasts, in my heart, they can't even compare to your cousin Anna's hair. I really liked you since I was a child. As long as you nod, I will immediately put them Kick them all away and become a single-minded husband."

With the words that have been brewing in my heart for many years, they poured out in an instant.Ole felt that he was as light as a swallow, and his whole body became relaxed.

He thinks that he and the other party are a match made in heaven.

In love and reason,

Cousin Anna had no reason to refuse.

Is there any man who can get into Anna's heart better than him?

"Think about it, Kruger and Elena, the combination of these two ancient and glorious surnames, what a grand celebration it will be in our circle. Cousin Anna, your little mistake before is not worth it Mention, the old royal families of the world will bless us."

"You are not only my cousin, but also my wife. The Irina family has been passed down from generation to generation, and you are the only heir in this generation. But the Kruger family has always been prosperous. I have seven brothers and sisters myself, and I'm strong, smart, and I'm in good physical shape, and we should have lots of kids. I wouldn't even mind having them named Elena if you insist."

Ole has been immersed in fantasy, he said in a trance.

"Our children will have blue pupils and noble black hair like Caesar, and they will be as beautiful as you, like elves in the forest. Boys are engaged in finance, and girls are engaged in art. With such noble blood and excellent education, Even if the empire is no longer there, they are the natural rulers of this world. You know our family's ability in the financial industry, maybe we can build an art fund as large as an empire with a scale of more than ten billion euros."

He looked away from the window, turned his head, and looked at Anna emotionally.

Ole was a little disappointed.

Cousin did not seem to be infected by his impassioned speech.

Miss Yi Lianna just calmly filled out the name and other information on the check book, her slender lips parted slightly, and she read the long poem-style text gently.

"I am not your slave, but your guest... Barren woman, like a dry river, it is the woman who bears the fruit of the dead wood, and revitalizes the wasteland, as the Nile waters the earth. My breasts are fertile Love and life, with well-defined and rounded buttocks. I am the Nile. The goddess Essus told me the oracle through sacrifices, I am good at giving birth to children, and our children will rule all the land from the Nile to the Mediterranean."

Anna leisurely read out this classic line in the history of human film that Elizabeth Taylor said in "Cleopatra", like a clear spring flowing.

In the movie,
Cleopatra, wrapped in a carpet and painted with gold powder, came to the tent of Julius Caesar in Rome, and said something charmingly.

She was obviously courting, but she was so ambitious and charming, like a glass of poisoned wine with gold dust floating in it.

A heroic man like Julius Caesar could not avoid drinking it, paving the way for the future collapse of Rome.

"Miss, did I pronounce this line correctly?"

Anna turned her head to ask the sexy girl who was puzzled by the short conversation between her and Ole because she couldn't understand French.

"That's right... well, it's just a little too cold, not romantic enough... uh, not charming enough, sister, if you want to develop in the entertainment industry, it's actually not suitable for you to follow the route of a charming goblin like Cleopatra. Are you not This type. I think your way of acting is more like Hepburn than Elizabeth Taylor."

The actress looked Anna up and down, and offered her professional advice.

"No need, there are already enough people. He can't wait to climb into my bed covered with gold powder."

Anna teased and chuckled, turned her head and said, "Ole, if we go to a stage play one day. It seems that I am more suitable to play Caesar than you."

Her Majesty the Countess didn't seem interested in continuing to talk about this topic.

"Hold your check, I'm going to rest. If you want to stay here tonight, the housekeeper will take you to your room."

Anna pressed the small bell on the side, ready to call the nurse to push her away.

"Cousin Anna, I'm serious!"

Ole is a little angry!
He obviously made such a serious and affectionate confession, which he had never expressed to anyone other than Cousin Anna.

If Ole looked into some girl's eyes in a bar and said something like that.

This level of emotional investment is enough for him to sleep with a strengthened girl.

But facing her own confession, Anna only treated him as a child performing a stage play, which made Ole very dissatisfied and annoyed.

He grabbed Anna's wrist.

"Herr Ole von Kruger. You have lost your composure."

Anna slowly raised her head, staring at her cousin beside her.

Even if Miss Irina could stand up, she would be a head shorter than Ole, with slender and boneless wrists.

However, when the girl who was only two months older than him called him by his full name.The muscles on Ole's body still trembled unconsciously.

this moment,
Ole seemed to see the spirit of his godmother revived in his cousin, without having to shout, but with dignity.

And he became the little boy who was punished to stand in the garden.

"You know? Actually, when I received that oil painting today, I was very angry all the time. Why do I have to talk about it and embarrass each other?"

There was mockery in Anna's eyes: "Did you propose to me, or did your father mean it?"

"This……"

"Are I wrong?" She said softly.

Every year on her birthday or Christmas, the girl can receive a gift from Ole's father, Mr. Kruger.

Usually it would be a gilt fountain pen, a dress brooch, or a bone china tea set.

Never has it been so precious this year.

A senior financial banker like Mr. Kruger is not like his flamboyant cousin Ole. His daily behavior is quite frugal and serious, and he can even be called stingy.

The gifts that the other party gave to their family members were probably all these things.

In Anna's memory,

Mr. Kruger wouldn't even mend the hole in the velvet curtain in the study.

This type of bank financier sees a return, or at least a meaningful one, on every big investment.

This time is no exception.

The moment Anna unscrewed the aluminum painting barrel, she understood what the other party wanted to express.

An oil painting of Princess Teresa by Mrs. Verry Le Brun in the [-]th century-this is simply an ingenious metaphor about the rise and fall of the aristocracy, the honor of the family and the fate of the artist.

Madame Le Brun became famous because of the favor of Queen Mary, and she went into exile because of the fall of the Bourbon dynasty.

The female painter Madame Le Brun lived in exile in the second half of her life.

She was misunderstood as a defender of the monarchy in the era of war clouds in Europe. Russia honored her as a guest of honor because of her close relationship with the Bourbon court. She became the first woman in the history of the St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts. "Honorary Teacher".

The owner of the portrait, Princess Teresa, is another part of this metaphor.

Princess Teresa's mother was Anna's fellow Empress Marie, who holds the title of Duchess of Austria and was known for her pomp, love of art and social ignorance.

As everyone knows,

She died on the guillotine designed by her husband, and Princess Teresa, who was only 11 years old, lost her fertility for life because of long-term rape and torture.

From a historical point of view,

Of course, the ending of Louis XVI's family was not so innocent.But at least the fate of the little girl's life is like God playing a vicious joke on her.

When she was born, her mother held her in her arms and wept bitterly: "You are not a son. Boys belong to the country, but you only belong to me. You will have everything you need, be safe and happy."

The validity of this prophecy is only ten short years.

When the Bourbon dynasty existed, Teresa was the eldest princess who had all the peace and joy she should have. She had the best private teacher to teach her etiquette and art.

When the Bourbon dynasty collapsed, everything she owned was instantly blown away by the rain and the wind, and she fell into the abyss of hell along with the sinking giant ship.

"Miss Irina, you should understand that your family is everything to you, and the rest are just vines entwined on this big tree."

With Anna's wisdom,

The moment she saw this painting, she could almost hear the mocking voice of the old-fashioned banker with the Prussian mustache through the surface of the oil painting.

even,

Anna didn't feel at all that Ole's mention of Uncle Carla was a pure coincidence.

Uncle Kara's attempt to defraud money from Elena's surname should not necessarily be a trap by Mr. Kruger.

That idiot is basically a no-brainer.

There were flaws all over his body, and it was completely Uncle Carla's way to do such stupid things.

Mr. Kruger just added fuel to the flames at the right time, and then lightly eliminated the reputation crisis of the Jelena family like a savior.

People are telling you clearly.

Miss Elena——you are just a simple and brainless child, and you have no ability to take care of such a large family business as yourself.

Why don't you marry my son?

Marrying my son solved all the problems.

"Cousin... To be honest, my father expressed related hints to me on the way I came here, but my feelings for you are sincere."

Ole explained empathetically.

It was indeed on the way to the manor that he received a call from his father, suggesting that he could release the charm of a man to him.

otherwise,

He wouldn't be foolish enough to bring his female companion.

Perhaps in the eyes of Mr. Kruger, it doesn't matter whether his son is dedicated or promiscuous.

The marriage of families like theirs is mainly to show the benefits that can be brought to each other.

so many centuries ago,

The same is true centuries later.

At most, they play their own games after getting married.

This does not appear to be hypocritical or contrived.

"And, please think about it, art and money have always been two sides of the same coin, and how much interest can bloom from the combination of the two. Soon, the name Elena will become as famous as Barnes and Rockefeller .”

"No, she's already as famous in art as Barnes and Rockefeller, within twenty years—"

Ole looked yearning, full of pride: "—in less than 20 years, she will become the next Medici...the Medici family in the 21st century."

phone on the plane,

Father Mr. Kruger just briefly mentioned his financial idea to him, and Ole felt his heart was surging irresistibly.

Artwork funds are not as well-known as Bitcoin and Metaverse.

However, it may be one of the hottest investment concepts that financial investment banks like Wall Street have paid the most attention to in the past decade.

Because art transactions inherently have operating ranges for tax avoidance and anonymous transactions.

It is often the subject of speculation by various large trust funds.

In addition, the prices in the art market have become more and more crazy these years.

Before 2010, any piece of art that broke $5000 million in auctions was a big news worth tracking and reporting by major mainstream media around the world.

In recent years, I can't wait to have an auction with a sky-high price of hundreds of millions of dollars every year.

He calls the Barnes Art Foundation, the Rockefeller Family Art Fund, and the similar Guggenheim Family Art Fund.

They are all art investment foundations founded by the richest families on the planet.

It is not even the scale of this century-old old art fund that is constantly increasing.

Even the open-ended sovereign funds of European countries, such as the French National Pension Fund, which is truly super giant, have begun to consider investing in the art market.

Mr. Kruger recognized the business opportunity,
More than a business opportunity, this is simply a gold mine.

The essence of frying art is almost the same as frying precious metals.

To explain the principle in depth is enough for a few Nobel Prize winners in economics to analyze it for three days and three nights.To put it bluntly, it is nothing more than the simple truth of the four words "hoarding and hoarding".

When shorting or longing silver or gold, you must hold a sufficient amount of physical precious metals in your hand.

If you want to be a banker in the art industry, you have to hold famous paintings of the same size in your hand, so that you can pull up as much as you want, and smash the market if you want to.

On the number of collections.

Where in the whole world is there a richer collector than Mademoiselle Irene?
Even the size of the Rockefeller Art Foundation's collection may not be much larger than that of the Elena family.

"Unfortunately, I don't want to."

Anna's voice was as cold as ice.

"Art fund? A financial empire with a scale of tens of billions of euros?"

There was a sneer at the corner of her mouth.

"What is the essential difference between you and Uncle Carla? It's just that you are more ambitious and professional. What Uncle Carla wants is an interest-free loan of several million euros, but you want several million euros from the Elena family. Everything that has been passed down for a hundred years is like Queen Cleopatra who wanted to incorporate Rome into Egypt."

Anna shook her head.

Except for the aunt, everyone has interests in their eyes.

No one has ever really cared about what she thinks, what she really needs.

"I don't need anyone to teach me how to do things, whether it's you or Mr. Kruger. Honor and money decay faster. This is the family motto I have been taught since I was a child. The elders of the family also because of the limitations of the times, I have made irreparable mistakes in many things. The only thing is that we have never profited by hype art. Art only shines because of its enduring artistic value."

"I am a servant of the Muse, not a profit-seeking businessman. We are patrons of the artist, and when our ancestors bought these paintings, it never occurred to us that the whip weaved would profit from them, and neither would I."

"We don't want to teach you how to do things, but your views are too old." Ole was a little angry: "What's the use of putting artworks in warehouses? The National Gallery also has maintenance and repair subsidies allocated by the government, and you don't have anything Can't get it."

"It's not like that now, cousin." Ole said half helplessly, half mockingly, "Do you still want to find the next Van Gogh? This is really naive."

"It doesn't matter."

Anna said coldly: "Although I am not Caesar, I can also control my own destiny."

"If this set is destined to be eliminated by the world, then I am ready to sink with it."

(End of this chapter)