I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 181 Hieronymus Bosch

Hieronymus Bosch, the name was already well-known two hundred years ago, and although it is not a good name, in people's minds, he is a cynical, sullen and eccentric person - and very mysterious, why This is because although he is famous, he rarely leaves any traces related to him. The most well-known is that he has a wealthy wife and has real estate and houses in many places. To live a life free and prosperous, similarly, in the eyes of the king's spy, this also means that those unexplained incomes are also fully explained.

The surname Bosch is not uncommon in Flanders, and has a long history. In the era when the blacksmith's son was a blacksmith and the king's son was a king, his family also inherited the profession of painter for six generations. , Bosch is no exception, but his style is completely different from that of his father and brother - here it refers to the shaping of characters and scenery, not the technique, because Hieronymus's skills are obviously learned from the elders, and the Bosch family are all He is very good at the layer-by-layer oil painting technique, that is to say, first draw simple and flexible lines with charcoal on the drawing board covered with gypsum, then define a complete and detailed sketch on the line, and finally add a layer to the sketch, Applying transparent and light paint in layers, the finished tempera is colorful and rich in layers—what makes him eccentric because Hieronymus Bosch has spent his life serving the local "Brothers of the Virgin" Church", that is, a Catholic church service, but all his works are full of absurd atmosphere, deformed animals and scenery, ugly human beings, hideous devils, and many others that seem to have countless special meanings. symbol. ‘

It is worthy of ridicule that before Bosch revealed his identity as a wizard, people thought he was a devout believer and turned a blind eye to the evil revealed in his paintings. However, this may be precisely because of his repeated paintings. And before the three were flocked to—as the Duke of Gaston did to Louis XIII, Bosch’s paintings were almost all over Flanders before the church was swept up and burned in the name of immorality—among them Needless to say, there will always be heirs who can't wait any longer, husbands who are eyeing his wife's dowry, or girls or teenagers who are jealous, or just an ordinary quarrel or a sudden fight. Everyone knew that if they prayed to the paintings of Jeromenes, the devil would come down to fulfill their wishes.

   Not to mention, Bosch really has a few regulars in the court and the church.

The Duke of Gaston was Jeromenes' biggest customer. Of course, he didn't know that the middle-aged man who looked only in his thirties was Jeromenes. He only thought that he was a descendant of Bosch. No more than a million livres of paintings have been bought here, twice the dowry that the current queen of France deserves, but Jeromenes must say it was a real friendship, the Duke of Gaston successfully cursed Louis X Three, his brother, let this king fall off his horse and finally die in agony on the bed, he also succeeded in cursing his nephew, Louis XIV, that time too, If it wasn't for Louis XIV's audacious deal with vampires before, and an almost desperate pact with the wizards of Gayola, the Mancini family, then now, the one sitting on the throne may be the Duke of Gaston .

But with the passing of the Duke of Gaston, those paintings were helplessly turned to ashes in the fire - which Jeromenes deeply regrets, after all, his paintings do not directly summon the devil, they can only be used as a medium and Introduction - but it doesn't matter, he can still create countless paintings, like mushrooms spreading spores, they will also bring the darkness of the inner world to every corner of the human heart.

Thinking like this, Jeromenes stood up, and the person who came finally put away the smile on his lips and bowed to him, although not so willingly - it is not without reason that the Bohemian witches fear the dark wizards of Spain Yes, even the wizards of Gayola believed that they were a formidable group of enemies, but there was one thing that Louie couldn't know, that the wizards of the inner world were the most likely to retreat three feet from the wizards of Flanders. Important reason - The Key of Solomon is said to have possessed by Jeromenes.

"The Key of Solomon", according to legend, was the angel Roger El who was expelled from the Garden of Eden by God because of his mercy, and wrote the knowledge of heaven into a book and gave it to Adam, but Adam had not had time to learn the content. Another jealous angel took it away and threw it into the sea. After many years, King Solomon occasionally got this book from the belly of a sea fish and obtained the ability to summon the seventy-two demon kings - this is not a real fact, "The Key of Solomon" is a magic book written by wizards in the eighth century, but this magic book does leave a lot of ancient knowledge related to the devil, after the wizards were forced to escape into the inner world During the course of the quest, almost all such ancient knowledge was lost, so in the twelfth century, when this magic book reappeared, it caused several **** wars.

It is not known how Jeromenes Bosch obtained this magic book as a wizard of the world. Generally stronger and longer than mortals, but for two hundred years, Jeromenes has always maintained a youthful appearance, a strong body, and the wizards can't help but feel jealous. Solomon's Key."

  Jeromenes also knew that he was hated and envied by many people, but so what, in addition to vampires, the wizards who interacted with him had changed several times.

   "Is that you today?" Jeromenes asked casually as he walked out.

   "It's me," replied the visitor.

   "Then come with me, there's still a lot of work to do today."

The person who came was one of the disciples of Jeromenis. His name was Peter Paul Rubens. He always thought that his teacher was just a painter who specialized in Bosch style. He didn't expect him to be Bosch himself, of course. , these were only known after he became a wizard. In addition to Rubens, there was another Peter, Peter Borugel, and Van Dyck. They were all disciples of Bosch. Bosch was in They were taught at different stages over two centuries, not only in the art of painting, but also in curses, prayers, and potions, and they were indeed paid handsomely in the mortal world, in exchange for them before the wizard's life was over. , to serve their teacher Bosch.

Except for Borugel, Rubens and Deckard were not very good to Jeromenes, but Jeromenes never cared about it. He had many students, both wizards and mortals, but could learn from his harsh There are only three that stand out among the requirements, especially Rubens, he may be the best one who hides his cruelty, madness and chaos. Borugel is very loyal to his teacher, but although he has talent , but still couldn't get rid of the shackles left by Bosch. Many of his paintings were mistaken for Bosch's works, so they were also chased and burned by the church.

In another room, three huge panels have been prepared. Usually people often see such triptychs on the altar. Rubens's most famous triptych has the same size as the upper and lower crosses. The largest one is the same size as his The forehead is flush, two as wide as he is, the plaster is completely dry, the charcoal is ready, the egg agent (yolk or egg white) for the paint, linseed oil, water, peppermint oil, dama resin, vanilla Standing water, alcohol, vinegar juice, as well as numerous ores and metal powders have also been neatly arranged, including some of the latest paints from Lorraine, said to be Italian wizards with the support of the French king , the color extracted from coal, Bosch has also tried this, but he can only concoct a bright purple red for the time being, other colors will always be dark or not durable.

On the drawing board, there were preliminary sketches, and Rubens took a closer look - Jeromenes had done many famous triptychs before, such as the Last Judgment, the Hay Wagon and the Paradise on Earth, but now this A triptych seems to show less than any previous painting, "that's why I call on you, not Borugel or Dyck." Jeromenes said: "I child, I need your strength."

Speaking of curses, in fact, Borugel is the best at it, but Louis XIV is not Louis XIII, he is a arrogant young king, he maintains his devotion to God and does not hesitate to trust inhumans. There are many people in the world, the direct curse is like a sharp dagger, which will be discovered before it touches the king; Van Dyke is not good at curses - he is better at praying and making potions .

As for Rubens, Rubens never directly expressed his emotions and will in the brush, but as long as someone stood in front of Rubens's works, he would be involuntarily conquered by the emotions expressed in the picture, even Will be pulled and controlled by it over time - it's just that Rubens rarely uses his power to hurt others, and most of his paintings represent blessings, except for a few enemies - who converted to Protestantism After being expelled and hunted down, and after the end of his life of exile, Rubens made three paintings, which were given to their enemies and betrayed their friends.

So for the mad Jeromenes, Rubens succumbed to the strength and talent of the other party, and at the same time couldn't help but feel tired of Bosch's ruthlessness and carelessness. Lily), he knew what kind of person his teacher had to deal with: "Are you sure?" He said, "I heard that Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and the Commonwealth of the Netherlands are trying to..."

   "Well, yes, they found me," said Jeromenes.

Rubens was suddenly stuck. He had been a Spanish diplomat for nearly ten years, and his most notable achievement was to establish good relations between Spain and Britain. In view of this, Charles I once awarded him a knighthood. Also did a ceiling painting for the Palace Whitehall in London, but now that Charles I is dead and relations between England and France are still very rigid - the problem is that Rubens also heard about the new The King of England and King Louis XIV of France have always maintained a relationship of good friends and in-laws. As a lord, he will not hesitate to devote himself to anything unfavorable to the monarch like Beaurougel.

He wanted to refuse for a moment, but the shadowy shadow under Bosch's robe stopped him, and Rubens sat down at the drawing board. "Tell me, teacher," he said, "the name of the painting. ."

   "Saint Denis."

  ———

A group of people entered the chapel of Charleroi. After a brief noise, St. George (the patron saint of England) was moved from the center to the right, and the original position was placed on St. Denis The icon, because the new owner here, King Louis XIV of France, is going to come in for thanksgiving mass and prayers - although God is still the same, it is better to change the patron saint, although the people here hate the French and prefer to For the British who provided them with wool, but the populace was always quite sensible in the face of swords and artillery.

There is a lesson from Dunkirk. There are only the king's priests, ministers and soldiers here, and the stay is very short. The king hastily prayed and prayed to God and Saint-Denis. After the offensive can still be so smooth, he got up and left. .

Although victory without a fight will always make some self-proclaimed brave kings and generals feel sorry, as if the merits are also covered with a layer of dust, Louis will not think so, for him, the best after Cities can do this. The victory of a tragic war is as dazzling as the flowers raised by blood, but for a king like Louis, who is more rational than vanity, war is more similar to a war. The deal with the devil, since this is the case, the price to pay is of course the less the better, especially considering that the Spanish army may have the possibility of shrinking the defense - that is to say, giving up some border towns and waiting for the main big cities, now No loss is the happiest thing.

  The king closed his eyes and thought about the next attack route—Mons, Art, and then Tournai. These are all small towns. Even if there is resistance, it will not be more difficult than Lorraine or Alsace.

In this way, Charleroi, Art, and Tournai are in a line. Louis is not prepared to advance too quickly. His army must echo the army of Dunkirk and Luxembourg, then Lille, This city is probably the most prosperous city in this line. The spies reported that there are about 6,000 defenders in it. Lille has a strong and tall city wall. Maybe they will encounter a real battle here.

  Louis raised his head, and under the flickering candlelight, Saint-Denis's smile was even a little weird.

   (end of this chapter)