Old-time musicians

"I paid the rent!"

"Your auction house must bear full responsibility!"

“Compensation and apology according to the highest standard!!”

The painters who were the most noisy on the steps stood on their toes, spitting on the faces of the media reporters and the person in charge of the auction house.

"Sir, do you think the responsibility for this incident lies with..." a reporter said.

"The academics are chasing us! Ah!! They are chasing us here!!" A young man screamed nervously, grabbed the reporter's shoulders and shook him violently, scaring him so much that his face turned pale. .

"Artists are like this. If you don't take a rest first, there will be nothing to interview..." The staff next to him quickly smoothed things over and pulled him away.

"What's going on?"

"Someone burned their paintings, I heard it was a police officer."

"Is the issue of low artistic standards now under the jurisdiction of the Police and Security Bureau?"

There are more and more onlookers nearby.

One reporter was the first to give up communicating with the painters whose emotions had fallen into extreme extremes. He focused on the dozen or so painters sitting on the steps who looked a little calmer.

"Mr. Claude, what are your plans next?" The reporter chose the painter who seemed to be the leader.

The painter Claudius, who was sitting on the steps with his legs spread and his head hanging down, said in a somewhat hollow tone: "You are murdering, you are murdering art... Just wait, we will combine all the hints of those who were not selected at the Salon. Famous painter, file a lawsuit against the Uvranser Police Department to the Imperial Court."

Hearing such a powerful statement, the reporter's eyes lit up and he quickly signaled to his assistant: "Write it down, they are going to insinuate the painters to murder Ufranser's police station..."

"Mr. Marais, are you satisfied with the compensation that has been negotiated so far?" Another reporter was also interviewing.

The painter named Marais has a full beard, and his hands are holding several bundles of canvas rolls lying across his thighs - these seem to be works that he has not yet had time to hang up.

He didn't answer the question here, muttering to himself. Before each sentence, he would grin and sneer like a machine: "Haha, the popularity of my paintings is sluggish. It's true that I can't sell it for the price. Haha, just forget it if you say the auction house doesn't like it. , what does it mean to burn them?”

"Sir, we didn't burn the paintings." A brown-coated gentleman who looked like an auction house executive, who was dealing with the hysterically roaring painters, couldn't help but turn around and correct him.

"Haha, you instigated others to burn my paintings." Bearded Malai lowered his head and kept mumbling.

"...No such thing, we are also victims, sir." The gentleman in brown looked helpless.

"Haha, you call the police to come and burn my paintings..."

"Sir, we really don't know him."

"Haha, you were the one who called the police to burn the paintings..."

“I called the police to put out the fire after it burned, not to ask the police to burn the painting, sir.

"Haha, the police were dispatched so quickly."

"..."

"Mr. Marais, what kind of compensation are they going to offer for the burned paintings?" A gentle male voice sounded.

The bearded man sitting on the steps lowered his head and paid no attention.

"How many of your exhibitions were involved in the fire?"

"Are you all good at drawing hints?"

"At the end of last year, I led the collection of Mr. Clovid's "The Houses of Parliament in the Fog", which cost 265 pounds, and a small scene of yours which cost 117 pounds."

When Fanning tried to change this sentence, Marais finally raised his head, and Claudius next to him also turned around.

"Can I see the painting you are holding?" Fan Ning asked again.

The bearded man tilted his head to the lower side, looked at the contents of the rolled up canvas, then took out a roll and slowly unfolded it.

"'Concert after Lunch'?" Fan Ning mentally read the title in the corner.

There are layers of dark trees in the forest. Fruit baskets, flowers and music scores are laid out on white cloth on the grass. Two formally dressed gentlemen are playing the violin. A naked lady is sitting opposite holding a guitar. In the distance is a winding road. In the stream, there is also a lady with her clothes off, standing in the stream holding her hair.

The two little girls tilted their heads in confusion, and Qiong leaned into her best friend's ear and whispered: "Xilan, although this painting is very beautiful, why do I feel... so..."

Xilan also quietly asked: "Is it because the human body is painted on it?"

"Yes and no." Qiong's face rubbed against Sheeran's hair, "Nude paintings are very common in the original style or in the past, and many religious scenes are also involved, but I can't tell what I feel about this one... "

Fan Ning took a few steps back, narrowed his eyes, stretched out his fingers, and slowly outlined three nested irregular triangles in the air, staggered up and down, from near to far, from large to small.

Then he took a few steps back and forth, changing the relative position of the sun to himself and the painting, and continued to squint at the painting.

"What is he doing?" Seeing the scroll being unfolded, several reporters had noticed Fan Ning and were puzzled by his actions.

"Look at the relationship between the composition and the perception of colors under different light intensities." There were more painters with strange looks in their eyes.

After finishing the gesture, Fan Ning stepped forward, grabbed a corner of the canvas, and folded the back forward. A dark red letter in the Hoffmann language similar to an "R" came into view.

"Are you an expert... collector? Art critic? What should I call you? You are not from an auction house, right?"

Although Fan Ning didn't say a word, these few actions made the painter Marais stand up from the steps and asked a series of short sentences.

Fan Ning slowly commented: "If you want to draw the human body, either all the characters will be without clothes, or the rest will serve as a blurred background, or there will be references to religious allusions. You have to use translucent paint to paint the skin layer by layer to create a Classic soft light... You put the human body and the gentleman in the real life scene at the same time. Academics will definitely feel rude when they see it.”

"You think so too?" Beard asked aloud.

"I saw solid and stable multiple images, strong and pleasant light and shadow effects, leisurely and flowing emotional pictures, and attempts to break through the traditional narrative context." Fan Ning smiled slightly, "Art pursues rigorous techniques and natural There is a consistent logic, but there is no standard format and space...I am Carolyn Van Ning. Music is my main profession. I am glad to meet you.”

In fact, before talking to Malai, Fan Ning had already learned the basic situation from other staff members.

The biannual Salon Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Theoline has just concluded. This time, the number of works submitted reached a new high. However, due to various reasons such as venue and aesthetics, only a quarter of the more than 4,500 works were selected. They are A group of painters among the more than 3,000 works that were not selected.

These academic artists determine what is good art. They have mastered almost all the valuable awards given to artists, as well as the most authoritative channels for exposing and selling paintings... Young artists very much hope to be favored by the academy, and one The most direct and basic criterion for the success or failure of a work is whether it can be selected for the salon exhibitions of several art academies in the empire.

Over the past few hundred years, the salon exhibition system has developed very maturely in Tioleian. The "Guidebook" produced by it is the primary reading book that artists, critics, curators, patrons, collectors, art institutions and citizen enthusiasts must refer to. Its evaluation system is formulated by officials appointed by the government, and its exhibition evaluation The committee members are composed of academic artists.

It is up to them to decide which paintings are eliminated and which ones are selected. Whether the selected paintings are hung at eye level where they are easier to see or hung high up near the ceiling.

The red "R"-shaped letter means that the work has been rejected after submission, which will directly affect the market price of the work, so this is called the "kiss of death" by painters and collectors.

About half of this group of artists were in the suggestive style, and there were also some genre painters, sculptors, and printmakers, or those who had made some innovations in the academic style. After losing the selection, they organized themselves and came to Ufland. Searle raised some funds and rented the venue of Prudence Auction House, hoping to prove himself and at the same time accumulate some admirers or sell some works - the art flow here is far less than that of academic salon exhibitions, but It is also one of the best among the city’s private platforms.

The name “Losers’ Salon” connotes self-deprecation and disobedience to authority.

Unexpectedly, the painting was burned on the first day.

After Fan Ning stated his position and introduced himself, someone next to him started talking quietly.

"I seem to have heard of this name... By the way, he should be the budding young composer Uf Lanser."

"Composer? Not a collector?...Then how come he is so knowledgeable? He even knew the first reference to 'Kiss of Death'?"

After shaking hands with several painters who came up, Fan Ning asked: "Are you interested in going to the Turner Art Museum for an exhibition?"

"Turner Art Museum?..." Many of the painters thought it sounded familiar and began to search their memories. "It seems that they heard this name several years ago, but then it disappeared..." The Claude suddenly recalled it, his eyes A bright light, "Are you?"

"Vincent Van Nin is my father."

"I know Vincent!" the bearded painter Marais suddenly said excitedly, "I copied his "On the Air and Warmth of the Fields" painted in 894 three times and at least ten times..."

Clovid said: "I was deeply impressed by works such as "West of the Sun", "Glimpses of the Broken Wall", "Tree with a Broken Window", "River of Silver Mirrors", "Twilight and the Wall on the Mountain Top", and "Dense Fog at the Winter Pier". Senter can be regarded as a pioneer in the hint flow, but it is a pity that the output of his creations is relatively low, otherwise his popularity would not be limited to this, and for some reason, there have been fewer new works in the past ten years. In recent years, I have also heard that Turner Art The museum seems to be running into problems, but unfortunately it was once the best folk gallery in the city..."

It seems the Turner Gallery's influence is still there...

"I have invested a considerable amount of budget." Fan Ning said, "Its renovation and expansion project has started. Strictly speaking, it will be a high-standard comprehensive venue covering art and music, 'Turner Art Hall', no later than this year. It can be put into use in the last month... Since I happen to meet you in Ufranser today, I would like to make an invitation by appointment..."

There was a hint of wariness in Claude's eyes, and the deeper embarrassment and constraint were keenly captured by Fan Ning.

“How is your rent or sales commission calculated?…”

Their popularity was sluggish and they made a living by selling paintings. Apart from food, drink, housing and transportation, they spent all their money on oil painting supplies. If they were too expensive, they could not make up the rent. This huge accident not only destroyed their most proud paintings. , it is still unknown what the final outcome of the claim will be.

"No need to rent the venue, and the commission can be waived within 3 years." Fanning smiled mysteriously, "That is to say, all the sales will go into your own pocket..."

A group of people widened their eyes in surprise, and Marley asked in disbelief: "What are your conditions?"

Fanning explained: "After it is put into use, I can curate exhibitions for you on a bimonthly basis, demarcate special areas, more than ten days, with no less than 10 participants, and no less than 20 paintings per person on the wall. No rent is required, no commission is set, and I will be responsible for publicity and operation... Well, the only thing you have to pay is your paintings!"

"For every 20 paintings you plan to exhibit, each person will give me one for collection, and I will choose the specific one... Of course, if I encounter a very large size or special work, I will not ask for it, but negotiate with you separately."

... What kind of strange way of cooperation is this?

The painters looked at each other and felt that they had never heard of it. Of course, no matter how strange it was, they started to calculate rapidly in their minds.

Prudence Auction House collected 720 pounds in rent to operate the "Salon of the Rejected", which means that each of them paid an average of 40 pounds - the actual amount varied, and out of mutual help, the few people whose works had relatively higher market prices paid more.

The curatorial time and scale of the auction house were not as good as the minimum standard set by Fanning, and they also set a 20-point transaction commission.

As for the market price of their paintings... Claude, who was relatively popular, could sell a 50x60 cm work for up to 300 pounds, and most of the other people's previous transaction amounts were in the range of 50-100 pounds. The compensation plan of Prudence Auction House for their burned paintings was an average of 66 pounds per painting.

These figures may be very luxurious for ordinary people, but you have to know that the works of those romantic or classical academic masters can be sold for four-digit, five-digit or even six-digit prices! In contrast, these painters, after deducting the cost of consumables, live an extremely tight and difficult life. In many cases, in order to buy paint, canvas, brushes, etc., they constantly lower their living standards.

Fanning's proposal does not consider the issue of zero commission. It only converts from the absolute price. It seems that the average price of 66 pounds for paintings is more expensive than the auction house's rent of 40 pounds...

But it can't be calculated like this! Fanning does not charge them a penny in cash, and it is assumed that one painting will be purchased at the minimum, which means that they have no pressure to advance payment.

This plan moved them, and the two sides began to discuss the details in a more enthusiastic and speculative manner.

After getting familiar with each other, Fanning asked each painter a question in turn:

"Where did you buy the pigments for this batch of burned paintings? Have you purchased special pigments from any special channels recently?"

Everyone was a little confused by the question, but they still began to recall carefully.

They answered many pigment manufacturers, distributors or related chemical companies that Fanning was familiar with.

But when asking the tenth one, the painter named Kumiye reported a string of brands, mixed with a special source that caught Fanning's attention.

Because Fanning knows almost all the first-, second- and third-tier pigment manufacturer brands in the North Continent and the West Continent, as long as there is one that is unfamiliar to him, it will definitely attract his attention.

"…In addition, I purchased from a small pigment factory called 'Langefni' a few months ago."

"Which pigment factory is this?" Fanning asked Kumier.

"I accidentally discovered this small factory when I went out of the city to collect materials east of Santaranburg... Its production is based on the 'Langefni' poorhouse of the same name... Because I accidentally discovered that its several colors are particularly in line with my wonderful expectations for "Green Night", I really want to share my finished product with you, but it was burned down."