Van Gogh Reborn!

It's already been two weeks since I've been with the production team for the movie ‘The Strange Castle’. 

Through setting, I studied everything about what kind of house people live in and what they eat. 

Actually, I thought it would be easy to reminisce about the past, but it wasn't as easy as I expected. 

Only 10 years have passed since my death, but unlike housing and food culture, the clothing style has changed a lot. 

Only the costumes of the main characters have been determined, so I think I will have a lot of trouble in the future with respect to other characters. 

‘I have to show the character design soon.’ 

Since the character settings and costumes have been decided, it is time to draw the character. 

I still have a lot of worries. 

The canvas is even more burdensome because I think that a single painting should express the characteristics of the character.

I continued to ponder in front of the canvas where I was at a loss because there were no instructions. 

I didn’t know how much time had passed. 

It's dark outside the window. 

I turned on the TV to cool my head for a while. 

The "Let's Talk" show was broadcasting. 

Henry Marceau was on the show today. 

-Many people are also curious about your relationship with Artist Ko Hun. Didn't you do some great fan service together recently?.

-Yes.

-The fans' reactions are hot. By the way, it is said that there are fans who had their pictures drawn by Marceau posted them on social media. 

-Good for them.

-Let’s take a look at another article. There are people who compare themselves to their faces, and there are people who think of it as a family heirloom. 

Henry Marceau on TV nods satisfactorily. 

-There are other responses. This person seems to be a fan of Ko Hun. Mr. A, an office worker in Boston, said, "I should have asked Hun to draw on my shirt as Henry did." There were people who wanted to buy that outfit. 

-What? That damn kid wiped off the oil pastel on my clothes. Damn it.

-Hahahaha. Artist Ko Hun's fans are jealous. Do you have any thoughts on putting it up for auction? 

-Why would I sell it?

-As expected, it seems like Marceau has no intention of selling it because it's painted over by Ko Hun. This is the person who has the most works of Ko Hun. 

-It’s just my favorite dress, damn it! He didn't paint on it, he stained my favorite clothes! Damn it.

-I’m sorry fans, but it's a precious collection for Marceau, a fan of Ko Hun, so please give up on the shirt. 

-Are you crazy? Can't you hear me? 

I was going to watch it for a change, but it's too loud. 

I turned off the TV. 

I replied to the blue tree picture sent by Sihyeon and sat down in front of the canvas again. 

Let's start again. 

I organized the knowledge I had accumulated over the past two weeks in my head. 

Isidore Beautrele. 

He is a high school student who plays a leading role with Arsene Lupin in the movie ‘The Strange Castle’. 

Beautrele is a confident boy who said he would arrest Arsene Lupin, and presses Lupin with amazing reasoning power. 

The flash of intuition and indomitable sense of challenge were the driving forces behind his work. 

On the other hand, he is a three-dimensional character who gets flustered around women. 

It looks like a finished character, but as the work continues, he grows more and more. 

I don't like any of the sketches I've been thinking about. 

I just tried this and that because I couldn't just sit around until I had a good idea. 

This is not the best way to show Isidore Beautrele. 

After thinking about it for a while, grandpa came in. 

"How is it going, Little Hun?” 

Looking at the canvas and the sketches around me, grandpa unbuttoned his coat. 

"Seems like you’re working hard." 

"Yes. I didn't know it was this difficult to tell a story." 

It's hard to express the pure and confident aspirations of the boy who tries to arrest Arsene Lupin, along with his delicate side as a youngster. 

Grandpa entered the shower room. 

As I continued to worry in front of the canvas, grandpa approached me and stood next to me. 

He often does this, so I was only thinking about Isidore Beautrele. 

Grandpa talked to me. 

"Hun, Are you interested in looking at a painting with your grandfather?”

It's a big deal. 

Grandpa doesn’t ask anything when I’m working unless there's anything special, but that grandpa suddenly wants me to see a painting with him. 

I nodded my head because there was no progress. 

Grandpa connected the TV to his smartphone. 

It is interesting whenever I look at it because the length and width of the screen can be adjusted. 

When he accessed the website of the National Museum of Ancient Art in Italy, he stammered and searched ‘Portrait of Beatrice Cenci’. 

"Oh." 

I made a noise without realizing it. 

There is a flood of indescribable sadness. 

How can a face without wrinkles be so sad? 

There is sadness, happiness, hope, and despair in the girl's eyes. 

She just accepts everything. 

The emptiness seems to say goodbye through the white clothes she wears and her posture of looking back. 

Who could it be? 

Who is this sad woman who seems to be saying her final goodbye before moving on to the other side of the abyss? 

Led by an unknown force, I headed to the front of the TV. 

I know this expression. 

It's a face one makes by hiding everything on the inside. 

It is a smile that puts herself down for those who will grieve before leaving for a long journey. 

This girl who accepted death cheats herself and smiles for others. 

I can't bear to raise the corners of my mouth. 

What wrong did this young child do for her to make such a face? 

"[Beatrice Cenci]. It was painted by an artist named Elisabetta Sirani." 

From the name of Elisabetta, it seems like a woman. 

It is written below that the painting was painted in 1662. 

I think I've never heard that name. 

I was surprised that there was such an artist at that time. 

"…what did this girl do wrong, grandpa?" 

I asked grandpa about Beatrice Cenci. 

"No, before that. Let me hear what you felt when you saw the painting." 

I organized my thoughts at grandpa's words and opened my mouth.

"Maybe breaking up with someone. It also feels like she’s going to die soon or maybe going to a place from where she cannot return." 

Grandfather responded with a nod. 

"She looks back, neither crying nor angry, and it seems that she loves someone very much. She is desperately trying to protect that someone so that they do not drown in her sorrow." 

Like me in my previous life when I couldn't cry out loud that I wanted to live. 

"The fabric and clothes around her head really stand out. The light and shadow were perfectly contrasted. A dark background that contrasts her white skin." 

There's more than one thing to point out. 

"Posture is important, too. If you look at the shoulder angle, she is looking back, but I don't think she’ll turn back completely. I can tell the situation of parting just by the posture." 

Grandpa, who was listening to my explanation, stood up from the couch and approached me. 

He hugged me and brought up the story about Beatrice Cenci. 

"Her father was so mean to her." 

I think grandpa is toning down the seriousness of the story considering my age. 

Below the picture, it says in English that she was sexually abused by her biological father. 

"She tried to resist, but he locked her in a remote castle where no one could look for her. It happened when Beatrice was only 15 years old." 

Her father is worse than a beast. 

How can a person imprison someone and do disgusting things that can’t be said? not to mention to his own daughter. 

"But the stepmother and her brother were on Beatrice's side." 

If even the stepmother felt sorry for her, I can see the seriousness without hearing the details. 

"Her stepmother and brother accused her father of the atrocities. But Beatrice's father was rich and powerful." 

That means he was in power. 

The commentary below also states that he was accused by the Vatican but was not punished. 

As I continued to read, it said that her stepmother, her biological brother, and her half-brother were also abused to a serious level. 

"They wanted to live. And there was only one way for them to survive. So………." 

Grandpa couldn’t continue the story. 

“It's alright, grandpa.” 

“Hmm? What?” 

“I've read everything below. They tried to kill the father. I think I would have done the same. Don't worry, I know it's wrong to kill people.” 

"Hmm." 

Grandpa warmed up his voice and went on. 

"They gave him poison, but he didn't die. So the family harmed him and disguised it as an accident." 

As I told grandpa, no matter what the cause is murder can’t be justified. 

However, I fully sympathize with Beatrice Cenci and her family. 

In the violence and sexual abuse that had continued since childhood, the ego collapsed completely, and no one helped even though she barely took the courage to report it. 

Perhaps, I suspect that retaliatory violence had intensified since the accusation. 

He was so powerful that he even moved the Vatican which normal people could never dream of. 

They had no choice. 

“Then that picture…” 

I thought the story was over, but my grandfather brought up the back story. 

“If it had ended like that, at least that girl and her family would have been able to live comfortably, but they didn't.” 

“Why?” 

“The Pope investigated. He tortured Beatrice's Lover who was involved in the crime and killed him.” 

Torturing him to death means he didn't tell them about the crime. 

“But how did you know?” 

“Well, there is a story that the servant confessed, but nothing is told exactly. All the people who killed her father, Francesco Cenci, were sentenced to death.” 

“That's too much, grandpa.” 

“Roman citizens insisted on self-defense for Beatrice and her family, but the pope did not reverse the ruling at the time. Her brother died first, followed by her step-mother.” 

Even though it happened many centuries ago, a lot of things seem to have changed, and still, some things don't change. 

Some people were heartbroken by that sad story and had argued for self-defense, there also existed people who were nothing but garbage.

“And just before she was executed, she looked back at her only half-brother who was exempted from the death penalty.” 

No words came out. 

She didn't covet much either. 

She just wanted to get away from the wounds accumulated throughout her life, so she struggled because she thought she would die if she didn't. 

I can't believe it's the death penalty that came back. 

I can't really bear this.

Once again, looking at Elisabetta Sirani's [Portrait of Beatrice Cenci], the sad expression of unknown reason came to me even more sorrowfully. 

TRIVIA

The Vatican was going to kill all those who had the right to inherit, but public protests intensified. To appease public opinion, the Vatican spared young youngest member Bernardo Cenci but made him watch his mother, brother and sister executed, confiscated all his property, and imprisoned him. Given this, there was speculation that the reason why the Vatican killed all of the Cenci family was because of their huge wealth.

(To be Continued)

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