Almighty painter

Chapter 242 Book [-] "The Little Prince"

Things are rare.

Gu Tongxiang knows that the way to make a painting method the most valuable is to be the founder of the school and turn this painting method into a masterpiece in the field of fine arts.

Such as Picasso's Cubism, Turner's Romanticism or Renoir's Impressionism.

Secondly, the fewer painters who know how to paint, the better.

It's best that no one else can play except you, and have the only skill in the world.

When Mr. Cao Xuan called Cui Xuanyou for advice, Cui Xuanyou would rather not want Cao's favor than to point Gu Weijing to find a competitor for his son Xiao Cui.

No matter how big or small the possibility is, Gu Tongxiang doesn't want to share the spotlight on his grandson.

Even if he is the grandfather of the other party.

Even if he firmly believes that Gu Weijing's future techniques will definitely be more successful than his own.

The old man still would rather give up his dream than let this happen.

"Uh...it's not a big problem. This unique painting style is already very popular. With so few people painting, it won't be a big problem if there is one more Mr. Gu. As long as Gu Weijing's painting function improves to a higher level in the future, Stepping into the level of a true master. In the long run, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages."

Hanks explained with a smile.

Hanks is a professional agent, and his career planning for artists is more complete than the artist himself.

In his mind, ideally, the future career planning of Gu Weijing and Gu Tongxiang should not be a competitive relationship, but a gradient relationship.

As long as Gu Weijing's skill level can obviously surpass Gu Tongxiang's level.

With the marketing strength of Ma Shi Gallery, it is possible to create a level of sales for the grandpa and grandson.

It is the kind of sales gradient between ultra-luxury brands and luxury brands that use exactly the same engine and chassis components under the same general group, similar to Maybach and Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce and BMW.

Gu Weijing's target customers are mainly old-school senior collectors.

Gu Tongxiang aimed at the urban middle class who wanted to invest in art, as a substitute for Gu Weijing's version of "Fusion Painting".

Impressionism in auction houses also has this invisible sales gradient.

If you can't afford Monet, you can buy Renoir or Manet.

If you can't afford it anymore, you can consider Pissarro or Degas.

Then there are the relatively cheaper Morisot, Seurat and Miss Marie, the only female Impressionist master...

Hanks is a very long-term vision, based entirely on the fact that Gu Weijing's name will become valuable enough in the future.

It is too early to speak out.

"No, if you don't ask for my type of painting method, just let me develop freely. As long as it is approved, I will ask for it. If you still ask me to suck the blood of my grandson, I would rather not sign it."

Gu Tongxiang is still as stubborn as a donkey.

"Father..."

Hanks helplessly wanted to enlighten Gu Tongxiang's elm head, but Gu Weijing smiled and interrupted him.

"Grandpa, don't worry. The inventor of the new body painting is Senior Castiglione, and I'm just an imitator. If you say that this is my painting method outside, it will make people laugh. Mr. Ma Shi is right, since there is Castiglione's gems are first, and you are also missing. Secondly—"

Listening to what my grandfather said before,

Gu Weijing couldn't stop feeling warm in his heart.

Pity the parents of the world.

This is really only the elders who are close to each other, who will consider themselves so thoughtfully, for fear of delaying his future.

"——I am also trying to constantly incorporate new artistic elements into the painting methods of the New Body Painting School to form my own artistic style, and will not spend too much time on simple imitation. So you can rest assured signed a contract."

Gu Weijing smiled.

Blindly imitating the painting methods of the predecessors, the achievement at most is only a substitute for "Lang Shining" in the new era.

To climb higher on the peak of art, it is necessary to draw the characteristics that belong to Gu Weijing.

Shengzi has pointed out a clear path for him.

The finger smear method is just a small change in some painting details, but it is undoubtedly a very good start.

"Incorporate new artistic elements and form your own artistic style-is this true?"

Gu Tongxiang hasn't said anything yet.

Hanks' eyes have swept over like two bright searchlights.
-
[I grew up listening to various terms related to art. At the age when I just knew how to call my father and mother, I already knew about Michelangelo, Raphael and Giotto.When I was four years old, the maid took me for a walk on the banquet lawn of the manor on a table-high pony. At that time, I was able to say words such as Rococo, Baroque, and "Athens School".

I still remember that whenever such a word came out of my mouth, the guests in the manor would raise their glasses to my father frequently, shouting, Your Excellency, your son will be the patron of the next artist just like you, Dad would laugh.

But I still don't understand what art is.

On Christmas Eve 1876, my aunt took me to Mass at Melk Abbey.Emperor Joseph I also came that day.I don't have any impression of this.I just remember that it was the first time in my life that I stood under the dome of the church and looked up consciously.

The crystal chandelier exudes a platinum luster, and everything on the dome is like an unfathomable mystery.Athena drove a lion chariot through the boiling sea of ​​clouds. I could almost see the flash from the distant sky between the wheels and the clouds. The air of the church was filled with the smell of pine wood and paint. Think of it as a strange spice from Mount Olympus.

Candlelight, Athena, pine and cypress wood—even if I knew nothing about the great Austrian Baroque painter Paul Trogg who painted this mural at the age of five, I understood that it turned out to be art. 】

Austria is a typical temperate broad-leaved forest style climate conditions.

In the city of Glitz in the middle and late March, the average temperature is only a few degrees.

Anna was wearing a light brown velvet coat and a dark pink soft hat, sitting quietly in a wheelchair.

In front of her is the commemorative bronze sculpture of her great-great-great-grandfather, the founder of the "Painting" magazine, the old Count Irene.

The people of Glize City love the Elena family.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, within a month of the old count's death, they spontaneously raised 1.2 Austrian crowns.

The municipal government hired M. Kebreland, a master sculptor in Munich, Germany at that time, to cast this magnificent sculpture with a height of [-] meters and [-], and placed it in front of the gate of the oil painting magazine, so that the old earl will always be with the citizens who love him stay together.

Today is the time for the "Oil Painting" magazine to officially hold a shareholder meeting in response to the acquisition of equity by Kruger Brothers Bank.

The meeting place is set on the top floor of the magazine headquarters.

Anna is currently the largest individual shareholder. After she arrived at the magazine building early, she was not in a hurry to go upstairs.

The girl had been sitting in front of the ancestor's sculpture for quite some time.

Her eyes fell on the engraved pattern on the nameplate under the sculpture. Her eyes were gentle and deep. There was no sadness or impatience in her eyes, but she was very calm, as calm as a deep pool.

Anna raised her hand and slid her fingertips under the nameplate of the bronze sculpture, feeling the ups and downs of her fingertips.

"It turns out that this is art."

The girl slowly repeated the message that the old earl left on the title page of the first issue of "Oil Painting" many years ago.

She tried to imagine the solemn and sacred feeling of her ancestors standing under the dome of Melk Cathedral on that snowy Christmas night 150 years ago, watching Athena drive a lion chariot across the sea of ​​clouds.

"Since then, more than 100 years have passed."

The bronze sculpture in front of me is like some kind of metaphor about the ups and downs.

It silently witnessed the rise and division of the empire, the German cavalry smashed the whole of Europe, and the confrontation between the two sides of the Cold War.

No matter how politicians stir up the wind and rain in the world, how dark the iron-gray war cloud covers everyone's heart, making people feel oppressed and unable to breathe.

The Elena family is still studying art like hermits in this old baroque office building with red walls and blue roofs.

Just like the flashing bright colors in a frame in a black and white movie.

Art and poetry are the flames of hope burning in people's hearts.

The sages of ancient Greece said that as long as there is one person in the world who is still willing to talk about the beauty of the soul of art, then the divine punishment of destroying the world will not come down, and the brilliance of human nature will last forever.

Even in wartime,
The citizens of Glize City also have a honeyed belief that as long as members of the Elena family are still working in this building, time will seem to be frozen.

The sky cannot fall, but life can still go on.

just today,

The founder of the "Oil Painting" magazine survived the great changes in the long 19th century, survived the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and defeated NC Germany's suppression of degenerate art.

After all, he lost to the financial wave of the new era and was about to be completely expelled from the management of the magazine.

The sky was blue and blue, and the wind was a little bleak.

The street orchestra in the distance pulled Tchaikovsky's "Pathetic Symphony" rarely.

The sound of orchestral music came from the wind, and even the air contained a layer of lonely sadness.

"Wow, woof." The hound barked twice softly.

August also followed today.

Springer Spaniels are quite an energetic breed on the outside.

In addition to sleeping, they often maintain 6-8 hours of fun time every day.

Anna's pet dog didn't know whether it was because she was old or understood the girl's mood.

August didn't run out to chase butterflies, nor did he wander around trying to scare the other dogs with his teeth.

It lay at the girl's feet very obediently, and occasionally stretched out its tongue to lick Sweet Anna's ankle for comfort.

"Hey, if you can, please ask gentlemen to change to a more energetic song. The Elena family is not a loser, and they don't need such a sad tune as a funeral dirge."

Anna put her hand on August's hairy head and ordered softly.

The young woman was very soft, and her voice immediately dissipated into the wind.

But Miss Elena's will was immediately satisfied without compromise.

The secretary who was standing next to him, wearing a gray professional dress, took out a blue 100-euro note from his pocket wallet.

The secretary walked over.

She folded the banknote in her hand and put it into the black top hat in front of the street band, and said something softly.

After a few seconds,

The sound of Tchaikovsky's music stopped, and instead, the cheerful notes of the prelude to "The Blue Danube" poured from the strings of the violin.

It was created during the war, but it represents a beautiful meaning like the dawn piercing the darkness.

No matter the audience is Austrian, Hungarian, or from Poland or Slovakia, any main nation of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire can find its own national elements in this Strauss waltz.

Dozens of street symphony orchestras, large and small, in Glitz will all skillfully perform the second national anthem of Austria.

Anna slowly tapped the time with her left hand, while her right hand slowly scratched the hair on the back of August's neck.

Let it purr comfortably.

"August, I haven't conceded defeat yet."

Anna muttered to herself silently.

From the pouch she was holding, she took out a rectangle wrapped in lemon-hued striped gift paper, a gift from Osborne she had received the night before.

Hanging from a silk bow above the gift was a little card—

[Dear Ms. Anna Elena:

I heard about the acquisition proposal of Oil Painting Magazine, and I'm sorry for you.It is difficult for me to help you with financial matters.This is a gift from me, I just hope it can make you happier.

PS:

1. The printing teacher forgave me after seeing the effect of the book. He said that this is the most restored and perfect illustration that he has produced in these years.I agree with him.

2. The commercial promotional video of the Scholastic Group that I have shown you before will also be launched across the board from this Wednesday.

Love your Uncle Osborne. 】

Anna had read the small cards on the silk ribbon, and she tore open the wrapping of the gift paper, revealing an exquisite book of fairy tales from the wrapping paper.

【Work title: "The Little Prince"】

【Original Author: Saint Exupery (France)】

[Translator: Charlie Hawke (UK)]

【Illustrator: Detective Cat (Algeria)】

In Anna's hand is a new version of the fairy tale book "The Little Prince".

This is not the kind of market research that simply prints out photos and binds them to white text, but a genuine "The Little Prince" that can be sold.

The publishing house is working overtime.

The printing line for the new edition of "The Little Prince" has already started.

The fairy tale book in front of Miss Yi Lianna, which still smelled of ink, was the first batch of printed products.

Right now,

In the group's large printing factory in the Netherlands, tens of thousands of the same books are being produced continuously.

The first edition of "The Little Prince" has a printing run of 30 copies, and all of them will be printed in the next few days.

Among them, there are 25 copies in English, and [-] copies in French with the illustrations of Ms. Detective Cat and the original French by Saint-Exupéry.

These books will be transported by the blood vessel-like logistics network to the group's various affiliated distributors in the European Union and the United Kingdom. Other books will be packaged and shipped to North America along the Panama Canal, and put on the markets in the United States and Canada.

Scholastic Group is one of the largest book publishers in the world.

They will use "The Little Prince" as part of the "Easter Fairy Tales and Children's Book Season", which will be released globally at the end of March.

"Is it nice?"

Anna put the torn gift paper into the bag, and showed August the book at hand.

August made a "woof".

"I like it too."

No matter how good the painting is, no matter how hard you try to print and color-correct, you have to look at the cost effect in the end to judge whether their efforts are effective.

At the moment of seeing this "The Little Prince".

Anna knew that Ms. Detective Cat's works had not been let down, that her efforts to study for her eldest sister were not in vain, and that even the printing teacher who was about to be driven crazy by Anna's obsessive-compulsive disorder was worth it.

Just like what Osborne said.

This is a work of perfection, a publication so perfect that a print teacher would be proud of making such a beautiful book.

Anna flipped the pages of the book in her hand, checking the imaging quality of each illustration.

In the thick pages,

Dozens of illustrations flashed like fast-moving slides, and each page had the solid texture of oil paint, and the smallest patterns pressed by the oil paint knife on the surface of the canvas could be clearly seen.

"not bad."

Even with MYCK four-color printing, the output standard of the advanced printing factory affiliated to Scholastic Group with an investment of tens of millions of euros has reached 500PPI (pixels per inch).

The output resolution of 300PPI is nearly double that of the popular illustration in the industry, and it is higher than the screen imaging pixels of the early IPHONE mobile phones, and has reached the quality of some photo shops to develop photos.

It certainly can't be called better than the original painting, and it's not an exaggeration to reach seven points of the artist's original painting.

And Anna closed the book, looking at the cover illustrations drawn in the two main colors of velvet blue and desert gold.

"Except for being too smooth, the specular reflection of sunlight is a bit strong. This kind of printing texture is almost the same as holding an oil painting canvas in your hand!"

Anna brushed the clean book cover with her fingertips, and nodded in satisfaction.

It is almost like a real oil painting canvas - in the eyes of professional art album publishers, to get such an evaluation is the highest praise for their efforts.

Anna closed her eyes, lifted the newly printed "The Little Prince" to her nose, and gently sniffed the ink and pages.

"My great-great-great-grandfather's artistic enlightenment was candlelight, Athena, and pine and cypress wood. I believe that countless children of this generation will be accompanied by the taste of ink like books, allowing them to realize art in the midst of starlight, sand sea, and little prince. beauty and fall in love with art.”

Art is the concrete expression in the real world of people's deep desire and yearning for beauty.

There is no one in the world who doesn't like art.

It's just that some people are dull by nature, or their dusty hearts are covered by the trivialities of life.

Therefore, people need a so-called "divine enlightenment" to fall in love with art, and use a momentary shock to wash away the dust and numbness in their hearts.

Like Miss Elena's ancestors, under the light of Christmas mass hymns and crystal candles, the eyes of Athena on the dome are so full of ritual sense.

It can also be just a moment of being touched by the artistic illustrations on the bus platform after busy work.

As long as a widely circulated illustration is beautiful enough and seen by enough people, it will naturally shock countless people and become an art enlightenment teacher for tens of thousands of children.

After seeing this finished book, Anna no longer has any doubts that the work in her hand can do this.

What she smelled in her nostrils was not the smell of ink, but the smell of art, the scent of Zen smoke falling from the fragrant wood of the altar of the Temple of the Muses.

Money can buy the shares of "Oil Painting" magazine, but it cannot buy the emotion in people's hearts.

Anna certainly did not admit defeat.

If it weren't for the lack of qualifications of Sister Detective Cat, Anna believed that this book would have enough qualifications to win the best illustration in the publishing industry this year after its release.

It took 30 years for history to prove Paul Durand-Ruel's vision for Impressionism, 20 years for Larry Gagosian's confidence in Andy Warhol, and 10 years for Picasso The criticism received during the blue style period has been blown away.

Miss Elena thought she was luckier than all these people combined.

She just waited for more than two months before she got such a set of illustrations in her hand.

This book of fairy tales is a sharp sword in her hand, enough to cut off any criticism of Miss Irina's vision.

"Miss Elena?"

Wearing a gray professional suit with a quiet face, Elliot raised the Jaeger-LeCoultre moon phase watch on his wrist and glanced at the time.

Eliot is Miss Anna's personal secretary.

She doesn't want to bother her employer unless it's an emergency.

Especially when Elena is in a bad mood.

It's just that it's getting late now, and there is less than a quarter of an hour before the start of the shareholders' meeting. The lady is still in a daze in front of the bronze sculpture, and has no intention of going upstairs, which makes Elliot feel a little anxious.

What made Miss Secretary even more anxious was that such an important meeting today involved an acquisition proposal worth hundreds of millions of euros and the disturbing news that the Elena family might be kicked out of the management.

Miss Anna remained so calm.

Elliot admired the calmness of the hostess, but didn't even bring financial and legal advisors, and only brought his own private secretary, isn't it a bit too calm!

Facing such a large property and the reputation accumulated by the Irina family for centuries.

She is a private secretary who is more inclined to deal with the affairs of Miss Anna's life, can she really handle it well?
"Your legal team is on call at the coffee shop two blocks away, and you can always call them if you change your mind."

"Don't worry, Elliott, today's matter will not be very complicated. I know the simple legal common sense, and the agenda of the shareholders' meeting has been handed over to me. Since both parties are very clear about what is going to happen No matter what they propose, I will vote against it and then get rejected for insufficient shareholding.”

"Since the best lawyers in the world can't change the simple shareholding ratio with their tongues, let's save this step."

Anna shook her head calmly.

"By the way, please help me put the bouquet I prepared for you at the foot of this sculpture."

(End of this chapter)