Almighty painter

Chapter 716: Miss Elena VS Miss Sakai (Part )

Goethe's family was originally a tailor's family.

It was his grandfather who became a leading figure in the industry association by working hard to package himself and market himself. He later switched careers and opened a restaurant, which allowed his family to live a relatively affluent life.

Compared to Byron, Goethe's personality is also a little milder.

He is a genius, but he is not a hero.

When Goethe was a teenager, he often declared that he wanted to commit suicide. He put a knife in his pocket, pointed it at the moon, and gestured for a long time, but failed to die.

Still a scumbag.

Well...from a statistical perspective, there are very few poets in the entire history of Europe who are not scumbags.

Miss Elena once heard a very humorous European historian tell a classic love story on another famous literary talk show based on an experience perspective on Apple Podcasts, which she liked very much.

Judith Gautier was a talented French woman who loved Eastern culture. She had translated many Chinese poems and even called herself a "reincarnated princess from China." Her father, Théophile Gautier, was a great French writer.

When Miss Gautier was young, she met a new boyfriend in Paris and brought him back to meet her father. When the great writer heard that this guy was "a poet", he instantly flew into a rage and picked up his belt to beat the man.

"A poet! What good can a poet be!"

His wife hurried over to persuade Mr. Gautier, saying that they were just children, so they shouldn't be so rude. I think this young man is good, so give him a chance. Besides, weren't you also a poet in Paris when you were young?
Upon hearing this, Gautier slammed the table in pain.

"Yes! So I know too well that poets can be nothing good! They are all playboys!"

However, Goethe's emotional life was rather special.

Every time he claimed that he was wholeheartedly and 100% in love with a certain girl.

Then I turn around and fall in love with the next one.

According to different studies, the number of girls that Goethe claimed to have fallen in love with completely in his lifetime ranged from a dozen to more than fifty.

At least it's in double digits anyway.

Goethe's life was too successful.

He had a beginning in an ordinary wealthy family and an extremely glorious traditional ending.

He died in a warm bed, with wealth, fame, and artistic achievements.

This kind of success and glory in the typical sense lacks the heroic epic feeling of the Greek heroes compared to Byron.

In short.

According to Anna's discerning aesthetic standards, he was not handsome enough.

There is one exception, which is also a coincidence.

Goethe and Byron.

The only work with the same theme and name in their lifetime was called "Prometheus".

At different stages of their lives, both great poets wrote long poems inspired by and titled Prometheus.

At the beginning of his "Prometheus", Byron looks down at the world with the eyes of a giant, writing about the contempt of the gods for the world.

The first sentence of his first paragraph reads:

"Giant! In your immortal eyes, the sufferings of the world are all pitiful things, and should not be despised or ignored by the gods."

At the end of his "Prometheus", Goethe looked up at the heavens with human eyes and voice, writing about the human world's disdain for the gods in heaven.

In the last sentence of the last paragraph he wrote:

"I sat here and created mankind, in my own image, a race like mine. To suffer and weep, to rejoice and rejoice, and, like me... to despise you!"

Goethe created more than 14000 works in his lifetime, many of which even Miss Irene could not say she had read.

Even if I read it, I would just skim through it.

Only his Prometheus.

It was a long poem consisting of seven groups of paragraphs.

Miss Irene read it once, put the collection of poems aside, and then wrote it down from memory in German from beginning to end.

He wrote it very casually without making any mistakes in any words.

In Anna's heart, two sentences, two poems, the beginning and the end of two people.

They are mutual questions and answers across time and space.

Goethe came first, Byron came later.

Answer first.

Have another question.

There is a sense of magnificence that the sea is in the sky, the sky is in the sea, and upside down.

Outsiders say that Goethe and Byron are people with completely different personalities, who lived two completely different lives, were forty years apart in age, and had different endings.

Goethe was born earlier than Byron.

Died later than Byron.

Such people may be born to dislike each other. When they first meet, it would probably not be a pleasant experience, just like the two sides of a coin.

But when their hearts are close enough, they cross a certain line.

Then.

Then the magic happens.

They will stick together tightly like the north and south poles of a magnet.

and so.

They ended up becoming very good friends.

and so.

When Byron's body was transported back to London, the British government and church refused to bury him in Westminster Abbey on the grounds of "moral issues".

Goethe presented wreaths and tributes to his friend with his poems.

Obviously one person wrote in German and the other in English, but their writing styles were very different: Goethe's was sincere, profound, gentle and elegant, while Byron's was passionate, sharp and venomous.

But sometimes.

When Anna read it, it felt like it was written by one person. It didn't feel like she was reading, but like the emotions were flowing naturally from her veins.

Just like when the woman in the wheelchair saw the words on this painting.

Somehow.

She obviously hated this kind of "wasteful" behavior of scribbling on the surface of famous paintings with markers.

However, she still subconsciously looked at the words "Prometheus on earth" and recited this line of poetry.

In her heart.

Move slightly.

"Mr. G?"

"It's Brother Hao. People say he's a forger in the underground art black market and made a fortune from money laundering. We've heard of him before."

The butler noticed that the young lady's eyes stayed on the Picasso painting on the screen for a long time.

He explained in a low voice.

"I heard that he usually packaged himself well as a philanthropist, but I don't know why he suddenly turned himself in this time."

"The media generally speculated that Mr. G was a nickname of Hao Hao in the underground world. He was the godfather of art forgery, and G was the first letter of the word God FATHER. As for what this sentence meant, there were many different interpretations."

When Anna saw "Mr. G" on Picasso's oil painting, she thought of "Ms. K" on the back cover of "Oil Painting" magazine.

"K" is both the first letter of Karady's name and the first letter of the word "Kunst" which means art.

Double entendre.

Now I heard that this Mr. G was just a nickname of the boss of a cost estimation gang.

Miss Elena completely lost interest.

The woman threw the photo on the tablet into the electronic waste bin.

In an instant.

This triggers the passive ability of "Anna's Sharp Comments".

"He's just a money launderer selling fake paintings, Godfather. Stop flattering yourself. Does he think he's making a movie?"
-
"Excuse me, I want to ask a question on behalf of the audience, Ms. Sakai. Don't you think this is too coincidental? Picking up a famous painting with a great background for hundreds or thousands of dollars, this is a bit like making a movie, isn't it?"

In the small shop of Liuji Fish Fillet Hot Pot.

Gu Weijing heard Mr. Sloth's questioning voice in his earphones. When Anna attacked in the form of Mr. Sloth, it was not only her voice that changed.

The wording and sentence structure are slightly different from her normal life. This is the "gentle limited edition" of Miss Elena with weakened combat power.

A column editor whose initials in the workplace are "AE".

He is simply a fighter among the sharp-tongued ones.

Whether it is Miss Anna, the head of the Elena family, or Miss Anna, the manager of the visual arts column of "Oil Painting" magazine.

She sits at the top of the industry's contempt chain.

On top of the clouds.

She doesn't need to give face to anyone, she just needs to express herself, that's enough.

Others need to practice how to smile at her, but she never rewards a smile to anyone she doesn't like.

In the words of Lao Yang.

"When they are unhappy, they will make young people like you cry. Then they will make young people like you cry. Do you understand?"

Miss Elena started to "fight" like a beautiful snake spewing venom, biting Van Dorn and Sir Brown so hard that they screamed.

When she’s on the podcast, her “Anna’s Sharp Comments” instinct is much more restrained.

Guests coming from afar are welcome.

Mr. Sloth’s image on the podcast is just that of an “Internet culture anchor”, and all the people participating in the recording of the program are interview guests who were actively invited by her.

She will become much gentler.

The "fangs" were polished from the sharp fangs of a biting snake to the shiny white fangs of a sloth bear.

The bite no longer seems painful.

but.

It’s time to question you and criticize you sharply, but Anna still can’t help but “tickle you”.

"It's okay. I understand what you're saying." Sakai Katsuko was still gentle as usual. "It sounds a bit coincidental."

"In another sense, coincidence has always been an important part of the great discoveries in the collecting world, hasn't it?"

she asked rhetorically.

"It's not just this painting, 'Old Church in a Thunderstorm'. 'Saviour' was once sold at a flea market in the UK for $500. The wooden screen with Suzuki Harunobu's painting of a beautiful woman was once mistaken for old furniture. Turner's watercolor 'Stormy Sea' was also circulated among the people at very low prices. If you are willing to extend your vision to the field of archaeology, then... there are many more similar things."

"It can be said that the most important archaeological discoveries, each of which can be revealed to the world, are based on the professional qualities and keen eyes of scholars, and are jointly constructed by certain coincidences. For example, the Queen of Naples found the remains of the ancient city of Pompeii under the volcanic ash in her back garden. Champollion interpreted the Rosetta Stone. This picture of "Old Church on a Thunderstorm Day" is like the ancient city of Pompeii, or the Rosetta Stone——"

Sakai Katsuko said.

Just listen to the sound.

Gu Weijing could imagine Shengzi leaning against the window of the hotel, talking into the microphone connected to the table.

Her voice had a rhythm to it.

At that time.

The little Hello Kitty hairpin hanging on the girl's hair must be floating gently in the evening breeze.

Sounds like it.

Katsuko Sakai prepared a lot of materials in advance for this podcast program.

"Pompeii and the Rosetta Stone will always be there. All they need is someone smart enough to blow away the volcanic ash. Just like a phrase the Chinese like very much, there are many famous horses that can run a thousand miles in a day, but what is lacking is people who can discover them," she said.

"Herodotus, Shakespeare, Bach."

Mr. Sloth said softly.

"What?" Katsuko Sakai asked in confusion.

"What I mean is that even the best masters and their best works may be lost in the long river of history for some reason, just like Herodotus, Shakespeare, or Bach, who all went through the process of rediscovery by later generations."

This is where the difference in cultural literacy lies.

Gu Weijing could hear it.

Ms. Sakai is already great.

She made a lot of preparations in advance to respond to people's doubts. But in terms of artistic accomplishment, she was still far inferior to Mr. Sloth and could not respond to the words thrown at her by the other party.

It's ok.

Gu Weijing also had the same feeling when he connected with Mr. Sloth privately.

Mr. Sloth doesn't act like a sloth.

It looks more like Doraemon.

European art history has almost penetrated into our bones.

There is nothing Mr. Sloth doesn't know about any topic related to literature and art, whether it is painting, poetry, music, or anecdotes about writers and painters, the ups and downs of kings and ministers.

As long as he has a problem.

The other party will give the most accurate answer.

It's a perfect shot.

He was one of those elegant salon owners from the old days with all the grace and elegance.

"The example you gave reminds me of Bach rather than the ancient city of Pompeii under volcanic ash," said Mr. Sloth. "He is the father of polyphonic music, but because of the persecution of the church, he became unknown and his works were lost and scattered among the people. It is said that seventy years later, when Mendelssohn's wife was buying meat, she picked up a piece of paper that was wrapped in meat and found that it was a music score. This aroused Mendelssohn's interest, and he rediscovered Bach among old papers and archives."

He said.

"In my opinion, this story is too legendary and its authenticity is questionable, but Bach was almost completely forgotten by history for more than half a century after his death. This story cannot be false."

"That's why Schumann said - 'Music owes Bach a debt that it can never repay,'" said Mr. Sloth.

"The father of polyphonic music was unknown throughout his life. Due to the suppression of the church, he was almost completely forgotten by history. Seventy years later, he was rediscovered by a piece of butcher paper. This is very similar to the story of Carla, or Carol, as you wrote, isn't it?"

"Next time, when I talk about our paper in other occasions, I will use this metaphor." Katsuko Sakai smiled.

Mr. Sloth also smiled.

soon.

His smile faded again.

"Ms. Sakai... I'm sorry, you still haven't answered my question directly?" Mr. Sloth changed the subject.

"An unknown boy found a famous painting forgotten by time in a little-known market. No matter how you look at it, this is still too much like a legendary story."

"We've all seen the comments online."

"Countless people are saying - what are the odds of this happening? One in a thousand, one in ten thousand, or one in a million?"

His tone rose.

"What you just said is all right. But... it doesn't address the core of the problem. You just cited one legendary event after another as evidence of Gu Weijing's discovery of "The Old Church on a Thunderstorm"."

"Probability tells us that each of these events is an independent event with no correlation."

"Seeing someone win the lottery online doesn't mean you can go out and buy a lottery ticket and win the jackpot. Someone winning the lottery only means there is a possibility of winning, but the reality is that even if you buy a million lottery tickets, it is almost impossible to win the jackpot of $100 million."

Mr. Sloth said calmly.

"It still seems a bit too coincidental, doesn't it?"

"In the final analysis, whether it's Bach, the ancient city of Pompeii, or the Rosetta Stone, the people who discovered them and interpreted them must be professional scholars like Mendessohn and Champollion who have been working in this field for many years. Or you must be the Princess of Naples, who has a back garden as big as a city—"

"Gu Weijing, he obviously doesn't look like that, right? You said he was your classmate, so he should be the same age as you, only eighteen years old."

Katsuko Sakai remained silent.

"You just said that major discoveries in the collecting world are often based on the professionalism and keen vision of scholars, and are made up of certain coincidences."

"An 18-year-old young man obviously doesn't look like a great scholar with profound professional qualities. And if I'm not mistaken, he probably isn't the kind of person who has thousands or tens of thousands of precious oil paintings in his back garden. So the question is - why him?"

"Ms. Sakai, I am very grateful that you are willing to come to Mr. Sloth's Art Salon as a guest. I don't want to be rude."

Mr. Sloth paused slightly.

"But I hope you can answer this question directly."

"Why him?"

"Or according to what many people on the Internet say, why do we believe that this is a coincidence, not... intentional..."

"What about fakery?"

The little sloth in the palm tree began waving her scratching little claws again.

(End of this chapter)