Almighty painter

Chapter 243 Tribute to Kara

Elliott took out a bouquet of white roses from the trunk of the SUV parked on the side of the road behind him and placed it in front of the sculpture.

The secretary stood still for a moment.

"Miss?"

She always felt that on the eve of an important shareholder meeting, placing a bouquet of white roses in front of the bronze sculpture of the old Earl Elena was a bit depressing like a funeral.

Out of the corner of Elliott's eye, he glanced at the girl's face.

After all, she could only sigh insignificantly, and handed the bouquet to Miss Elena.

Anna took the bouquet.

She bent down and placed the white rose on the stand at the foot of the sculpture.

"I'm a little unsure, you think—"

Girlna scratched August's ear, letting his big pink tongue chase her fingertips in black silk gloves.

Elliot hesitated for a moment.

She wasn't sure if the other person was asking herself a question, or talking to her hound.

"—Will the new management remove and destroy the bronze statue?"

"How is it possible! This is a gift donated by the citizens to the magazine, what right do they have to do such a thing!"

After hearing the second half of the sentence, the secretary called out directly.

Because she was too shocked and angry, the young working girl's mind went blank for a while.

A look of extreme astonishment appeared on her face: "Even if Sir Brown has this plan, the city government and the residents of Glize City will not be willing to agree to such a thing!"

"Really?"

Anna smiled self-deprecatingly: "I, the last daughter of the Elena family, don't even have the confidence of you, Elliott."

"But... the sculpture of Mr. Earl has been erected here for more than a century. It is the patron saint of artists in the hearts of people all over the world."

Eliot pinched his fingers vigorously and said anxiously.

"The sculpture is part of the magazine "Paintings" and part of the city of Glitz."

The secretary's tone became more and more firm: "It should be the same as the museum of Princess Sissi, Mozart's former residence, and the cafe where Zweig wrote "Yesterday's World" in Vienna, and it should become an eternal mark of Austrian culture."

"Without the old earl's contribution to art, there would be no glory of the "Oil Painting" magazine today. Not only do they want to drive you away, but they can't even accommodate a poor statue!"

Austria in the 19th century was still known as the cultural heart of Europe.

That's what people always say.

London is in a peaceful corner, and Paris is nothing more than the pattern of the capital of a kingdom.

Only when a European came to Austria, stood on the Heroes Square built by Emperor Joseph outside the Hofburg Palace, looking at the towering monuments, bronze sculptures weighing several tons, and straight streets [-] meters wide.

Only when the magnificent neoclassical palace slowly unfolded in front of him.

Only then will he really understand what is the atmosphere of a prosperous empire.

At that time, more than one-third of the celebrities and masters in the Western world had lived and settled here.

Today, the former residences of musicians, the cafes where literary masters gather in groups, and the libraries where philosophers hold debates, many of them have been left as permanent cultural relics.

Austrians use them to reminisce about the moment when they were once infinitely beautiful on the world stage.

As a native of Glize City.

Eliot grew up looking at the bronze statue before the "Paintings" magazine.

This has become part of her cultural understanding of this land.

How can it disappear?
Don't say that Miss Elena finds it unacceptable.

Even her secretary can't accept it!

"Nothing lasts forever, dear Eliot. My great-great-great-grandfather was just a lover of art. If he hadn't been a little richer, he really couldn't be compared with Zweig and Mozart."

Anna didn't show much loneliness on her face.

"Since it is part of yesterday's world, it is a very symbolic thing to remove this statue at a time when the magazine is trying to make a big transformation from the magazine to the future they see."

"Even the finance department of the Austrian cabinet has approved the sale of shares by the National Publishing Group, and the city government will make necessary concessions."

She just gently tapped the base of the bronze sculpture with her knuckles: "That's why I want to stay here for a while today. I may not see it in the future. I don't know if they will allow me to move this sculpture back I will go to my own home. Now I kind of understand how I felt when I visited Mr. Otto (Note) with my aunt when I was a child, and the other party showed me a picture of the old palace."

(Note: Otto here refers to the long-lived Grand Duke Otto, Otto von Habsburg, who was the last crown prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I. He did not die until 2011. A famous restorationist in Europe person.)
"The children and grandchildren are incompetent and ashamed of their ancestors. This is probably how they feel."

"But...it's not your fault."

Secretary Elliott pressed his lips in distress.

Those bankers are jackals who are good at tearing other people's businesses to pieces.

Miss Yi Lianna is such a cold, stubborn and uncompromising young girl, how could she possibly beat them!

"I'm not as sad as you think, just a little bit emotional. There is nothing to regret. When my ancestors founded this magazine, they never imagined that they would become a sculpture and stand here for 100 years. .”

"On the contrary, there were quite a few people who thought he was a playboy back then."

Anna muttered to herself in a trance.

"You know, my great-great-great-grandfather was the first in the family to say at a public banquet, 'If I had a choice, I'd rather be a painter than a colonel in the Emperor's cavalry regiment' A strange guy. At that time, his father was almost mad, and even his friends and staff around him found it hard to understand."

"Historically, in the winter of the same year when he uttered these words, the old earl's father, who was already in poor health, passed away. It is hard to say that there is no direct connection between the two."

Anna said in a sneering tone: "Sounds like a playboy who doesn't do his job properly, doesn't he?"

Elliott sniffled slightly in embarrassment.

She didn't know that Miss Elena would bring up such a thing at such a time.

The female secretary could imagine it.

When the old earl said such words, the atmosphere at the banquet must have been chilling.

The evaluation of "weird coffee" is really accurate.

In that military aristocratic atmosphere, every number of noble children would try their best to gain connections and send themselves into the special era when they worked as servants in the Habsburg court.

say such a speech,

Just like in the feudal era of Eastern Xia, the eldest son of a high official's family declared that he would rather set up a stage and sing an opera than go to the palace as an imperial guard to serve the emperor Laozi.

It is not wrong to be dragged down by servants on the spot and beaten to death.

It is true that the social status of artists, musicians, and writers is much higher than that of low-level actors.

But to the big aristocratic families in the inner circle.

There are two career plans.

Either the German general Ludendorff took the traditional military aristocratic route, or the politician Bismarck took the senior civilian route from the House of Lords to the cabinet.

Everything else is playboy dandyism.

to be frank.

Whether it is Ludendorff, the famous general of World War I, or Bismarck, the iron-blooded prime minister.

They were all from small nobles who were gradually declining. In terms of family background, they were far behind the Irina family in terms of prominence.

It is not impossible for a son who likes to make such declarations that are completely out of line with the temperament of the times to drive his father to death.

Eliot wondered about Miss Elena's mood.

She is hesitating.

At this time, does Anna hope to hear her agree that the old earl is a playboy who pissed off his father, or does she want to hear her rebuttal?
Really tangled!

"Your Excellency, the old earl, has a more forward-looking vision."

Elliott finally decided to choose the latter.

Miss Secretary seriously considered her old impression of her employer's devotion and yearning for art.

Throw Ms. Irina back in those days.

Presumably this young lady is also someone who will do the same weird things in everyone's eyes.

"That's true, anyway, everyone lost badly in World War I, and Austria's role in World War II was equally dishonorable. In the long run, the Irene family really needs to thank the old earl for turning the family's focus completely to the field of art This inadvertently allowed our ancestors to withdraw from the quagmire of war. That battle was preserved under the wave of collapse of the intricate military aristocratic system."

"Not to mention, full of black humor, artists are now a more respectable group than nobles and earls."

Anna said with a smile.

From the nineteenth century to the twentieth century and then to the 21st century, the social status of artists has been rising.The aristocracy is constantly falling apart, precarious.

Art has already integrated into everyone's life, and the old dross like His Majesty the Emperor and Marquis have long since become dispensable.

Back in 1899 when the musician Strauss died.

The citizens of Austria buried this beloved artist with the noble courtesy of burying a monarch, and more than 10 citizens attended his funeral.

And to modern times.

Even when Queen Elizabeth once invited an Italian painter she liked to have dinner with her in Buckingham Palace, the artist even put on airs.

After being invited many times, the sincerity is comparable to visiting a thatched cottage, the master painter Shi Shiran agreed to meet his "fan".

On the contrary, on the European continent, it is not uncommon for a little brother with the title of an unpopular baron or earl on his passport to deliver Merlot pizza in the streets and alleys by bicycle every day.

In the old days, the front swallow of Wang Xietang flew into the homes of ordinary people.

Without the protection of ancestral wealth.

Nowadays, nobility are just fake high-class people, and great artists with a lot of money are the real celebrities.

The reason why the Yi Lianna family is still so respected by the society is definitely due to the contribution of the "Oil Painting" magazine in their hands.

It is much more important than the dispensable earl title and Miss Anna Elena's middle name "Von" which was removed by Austrian law.

"Just like the management of "Oil Painting" now feels that you are stubborn and unwilling to be flexible, but the future will eventually prove that you are the right side. I think you have the same temperament as your ancestors."

The female secretary hoped to dispel the somewhat depressing and solemn atmosphere of the surrounding environment, so she praised it in a small voice.

"Thank you, Elliott, I am very touched."

Miss Elena turned her head, glanced at the young girl in a professional dress behind her, and nodded her thanks.

"However, what I just wanted to express was not how famous my great-great-great-grandfather's decision was, I wanted to say something else."

"Since today may be the day when I will be completely kicked out of this building...do you want to hear the story behind when my ancestors founded this magazine?"

Anna crossed her hands, raised her head and looked at the sculpture of the ancestor in front of her.

"There are some biographers who have written this story with a certain tone of voice, portraying my ancestor as a shrewd statesman - saying that his last half century of Habsburg dynasty was burning with oil. Here, read ahead of the dark clouds hanging over Europe."

"When other traditional European aristocratic families still had optimistic expectations for the future, the old earl had already predicted that the war would inevitably happen, and he withdrew from the whirlpool of political struggle very early, with far-reaching plans..."

The corners of Anna's eyes couldn't help revealing a strange look.

"There is actually a discussion group for history biography enthusiasts on Goodreads, which has dozens of pages dedicated to the topic [Old Earl Elena's cunning as a fox's political sense]. When I was in college, I left a message anonymously, saying that maybe he was I didn't think about so many things in my mind, and I was laughed at by members of the discussion group."

Miss Irina took a light breath, and the expression on her face couldn't tell whether it was a wry smile or some other more complicated emotion.

"I guess, when he founded the "Oil Painting" magazine, he just wanted to anger his father. It's that simple reason, nothing more."

"This is my great-great-great-grandfather's revenge, revenge against my father, revenge against the entire family." Anna shook her head.

"revenge?"

The female secretary Elliott was completely unexpected about this answer.

She frowned inexplicably.

"Come here, Elliott, please stand beside me and look at this statue."

Anna clapped her hands lightly.

Eliot raised his hand again, glanced at the pointer of the watch, and hesitated to speak.

"Don't worry, I know the time in my heart. Besides, for today's feast, my main dish is not on the table. What are they eating? The gentlemen of the shareholder meeting will not mind taking their precious time and waiting for me for a few minutes .”

Today, the last day of nominal reign of the Elena family heiress to the oil magazine, under the bronze statue of the patriarch.

Miss Yi Lianna, who has always had a cold personality, seemed to be very talkative.

She waved to her secretary nonchalantly.

Elliott thought for a while, and obediently walked to Anna from a few meters behind the wheelchair.

She is a native of Glize City, and she is very curious about the mysterious and glorious Elena family that is like a cultural symbol in the city.

After all, if it weren't for today's special occasion.

A secretary like her may never have the chance to hear the secrets under the shadow of such a legendary family.

It is absolutely false to say that I don't want to hear the story.

"You can see the inscription on the page of the book held in the sculpture's hand. You don't need me to tell you what that sentence is."

Miss Elena held out her finger to her secretary.

Elliott looked up.

The main wave of sculpture in the [-]th century was more inclined to expressionism, but the master sculptor M. Kebreland preferred to create a sense of power and block surface of sculptured figures, and his artistic style was biased towards classicist realistic sculpture.

This "Count Irene Smoking and Reading a Magazine" is a representative work of Kebreland's career.

The sculptor spent a lot of energy to express the figure and appearance of the old Earl Elena.

Even the tiniest creases at the corners of the clothes are fully shaped.

When Eliot stood in front of the two-meter-high statue.

This important figure in the history of art looked down on Miss Secretary as if suddenly alive.

She raised her head in awe, and looked in the direction of Anna's finger.

In this bronze statue presented by the citizens of the city of Glize, the old count finally took off the serious and boring uniform of the senior officer of the cavalry regiment that he had worn and hated all his life.

Like an artist at a party, he changed into a tuxedo with a long hem and a brooch on his chest.

Mr. Irene held a pipe under the crooked fingertips of his left arm, and held a magazine in front of his right hand.

Tobacco and "Oil Painting" magazine, the two things that the old earl devoted the most in his life.

After turning into a statue, he still faithfully accompanied him.

The technique of the master sculptor is extremely superb.

Eliot could even see the German text engraved on the back page of the magazine "Paintings".

"A noble work of art cannot be told by critics, it can speak for itself. A noble soul cannot be restrained by the world, she will find freedom by herself.

——Salute to Ms. K.! "

The secretary read the words word by word.

In fact, even Eliot couldn't read the German letters carved into the copper pages.

She can also memorize every word in this sentence very clearly.

From the very first issue of the magazine published 150 years ago.

Regardless of the early German publications, or the later additional English, French and other different versions.

The same sentence is printed on the back page of every issue of "Oil Painting".

"Hats off to Ms. K!"

This sentence has been printed in millions of copies and is known to every reader and collector of "Paintings" magazine in the world.

In the field of fine arts, it is known to every household like a biblical story.

[Noble works of art cannot be told by critics, it can speak for itself.The noble soul cannot be restrained by the world, she will find freedom by herself. 】

If this aphorism is the same, there is a high probability that it is the mission of the magazine, and it is not difficult to understand.

There is only one mystery that has lasted for a hundred years, suspended in the hearts of many collectors.

The question that has puzzled many people for a long time is - who does the "K" in the tribute to Ms. K represent?

"The original will of the old Earl Elena is still lying in the archives of my manor. The first thing above is to ask the future generations, no matter who inherits the "Oil Painting" magazine, they must let this tradition be preserved. .The last page of each issue should print such a sentence, and recite it thousands of times.”

Anna remembered the original text of the yellowed will that she had read.

"It's quite like a hide-and-seek game played by the magazine's officials and collectors and art lovers all over the world. Who is K? Some people speculate that it is the lover my great-great-great-grandfather met when he was young, and some people say that it was a teacher who taught him. The teacher of art enlightenment. Some people say that it is the first letter of the word "art" in German. To this day, the magazine still receives letters from various readers around the world about K's real identity speculation every week. Even the magazine The agency also issued a special announcement for this, explaining that they do not know the details of this matter."

"Well, don't you want to know who this Ms. K. is?"

Miss Clerk Elliot's gray eyes widened and he nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.

Who exactly is Ms. K.?

In the field of art, this is like whether the [-] million-dollar "Salvator Mundi" was painted by Leonardo da Vinci himself.

It's a gossip that will always be quarreled on the Internet.

There are all kinds of self-media interpretations that seem to have a beginning and an end, but are actually catching wind and shadows, all over the Internet, but most of them seem unreliable.

Elliot thought that this would be an eternal mystery, until today Anna actually brought it up to her.

"It's not an important secret. There were quite a few people who knew K.'s identity in the old earl's time. It's just that this is by no means a glorious thing, and everyone is reluctant to mention it. In fact, the bottom of the mystery lies above the surface of the mystery."

Elena pointed to the nameplate under the sculpture.

"Her name is Carla, and she is the aunt my great-great-great-grandfather mentioned in the frontispiece of "Oil Painting" who took him to Melk Abbey. She was very bold and went to France to become a painter."

"That's it."

Elliot stuck out his tongue.

Aunt of the old earl.

This answer cannot be said to be good or bad, it is an unexpected and reasonable answer.

There is nothing like the romantic love affair between the rich boy and Cinderella that Elliott imagined.

After the mystery faded away, she was even a little disappointed.

"Female painter? Uh... very admirable."

Eliot originally wanted to ask her if she had any more famous works.

However, Miss Secretary with a high emotional intelligence considered that there were only a few names of famous female artists in that era, so rare that everyone could have their own special biography + documentary.

Several others have been adapted into literary films.

Since she couldn't think of anyone named Kara in it, she couldn't get ahead with the resources of the Elena family.

I can only say roughly, probably, indeed...the career is not very successful.

"Haven't you heard of this name? She has almost no works handed down, and she was arrested by the housekeeper and her servants before she even painted for a few years, and she was locked up in the cellar at home until she died."

"My great-great-great-grandfather's father, the Earl who used to laugh when his guests praised him as a great patron of artists, killed himself with his own father just because his sister became a real artist the other party."

Anna spoke softly as if dreaming: "So behind the surname of the Irina family, it's not as noble and clean as everyone imagined, right?"

　The computer is a bit stuck, and this chapter is very slow.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)