"Teacher, what are you doing?"
Lin Tao looked stunned.
Everything was going well, and Mr. Cao himself seemed to admire Gu Weijing very much.
Why was this proposal suddenly blocked?
Gu Weijing was also a little confused. He looked at Mr. Cao, waiting for the old man's next explanation.
"what do you mean……"
"Gu boy, do you want to be my close disciple?"
The little old man's eyes fell on Gu Weijing, and in a calm tone, he told an extremely shocking news.
"Teacher, what did you say?"
Lin Tao's pupils shrank suddenly, and he even thought he was hallucinating.
"I said, I am over ninety years old this year, but my health is still good. Maybe I have a few more years to live, and I should be able to teach an apprentice. Do you want to be my last apprentice in my lifetime?"
Mr. Cao's tone was very serious.
"Gu Weijing, how could he..." Lin Tao was shocked today more than he had been in the past year, and he was even a little incoherent at this time.
"Can I...can I?"
Because this news was so untrue that it seemed ridiculous, Gu Weijing did not feel happy, but found it a bit puzzling.
Why?
Is he worthy?
One day, you find out that you have won five million in the lottery, and you will feel happy.
If someone said that you had won a lottery with a face value of one billion, would you think the world was crazy?
What kind of concept is this for Mr. Cao's closed disciple?
Being a student of Professor Lin Tao is a blessing that makes ordinary people jealous.
However, professors of the same level accept apprentices dozens of times a year. It is not uncommon in the art world of Eastern Xia.
Looking at the whole world, it is just a pebble thrown into the pond of painting.
So if Mr. Cao wanted to accept a disciple, or a closed disciple with a very different concept, he would just drop a depth bomb into the pond.
As long as this news is spread, tomorrow morning, even Larry Gagosian (the founder of the Gagosian Gallery), Nicholas Logsday (the helmsman of the Lisson Museum)...such a multi-billion dollar culture Tsars and godfathers of art would ask their agents.
"WHO IS FUCKING... Gu Weijing?"
(Who the hell is Gu Weijing?)
Becoming a disciple of Lin Tao has already enabled him to embark on the path of becoming a professional painter.
Become a disciple of Mr. Cao, and you will already have half a foot on the threshold of modern art history.
If you don't know yet, what kind of concept is this.
There once was a painter named Robert, who was lucky enough to learn painting from Picasso, but this man was almost useless, full of misdeeds, and his painting skills were beyond description.
During the teaching period, he was addicted to alcohol and caused trouble. He was expelled from the school because he did not learn from Picasso.
If he hadn't been a disciple of Picasso, people wouldn't even be able to remember that there was such a person in the art world.
His biggest drawcard in the painting market is to take advantage of his master's popularity - "I am a student of Picasso, once."
How much can his paintings be sold for?
Divided into two time periods, before Robert met Picasso, the price of a sketch was about US$200 to US$400, and some were not as valuable as the works of Gu Weijing's grandfather Gu Tongxiang.
If it could be proven that this was a work left by Robert after he became Picasso's student, he would have been expelled from the school.
Sorry, the average price of this sketch can reach about 40,000 US dollars. If the condition is not good, even the frame is damaged, it can be sold for 10,000 US dollars.
Lin Tao remembered that the last time Mr. Cao accepted a disciple was more than thirty years ago.
It happened to be Mr. Cao's 60th birthday at that time, and his apprentice was Tang Ning, a younger junior sister who came from a family of calligraphers and painters in the south of the Yangtze River.
Although it was not stated clearly, at that time everyone thought that the junior sister would be the disciple who would inherit the mantle of Cao Lao, and basically all the prominent figures in the calligraphy and painting world were here.
The junior sister is now in her forties and living in the UK. Last year, a total of 17 oil paintings and Chinese paintings of hers were auctioned by Sotheby's and other auction houses.
The most expensive painting was sold for $4.5 million, and the cheapest was $700,000. With a total of US$34.5 million, he ranks sixth on the Hurun Artist Rich List.
Being able to become Mr. Cao's close disciple, Gu Weijing's name will immediately go from being a nobody worth mentioning to being an up-and-coming painter, and becoming a well-known artist like Lin Tao.
Although Gu Weijing's skills are not worthy of the title of artist at all, at least from a market perspective, this is the case.
Even if he takes a piece of white paper, scribbles on it, and signs his name, there are still many people willing to buy it. Anyway, it is Mr. Cao Xuan's face that will be lost by doing this.
Of course, if he dared to play like this, Lin Tao and other disciples would probably be so angry that they would want to kill him and silence him.
"Teacher, think again. It's good for me to teach Xiao Gu. You don't need to do it yourself. Even if you want to give personal guidance, it's better to use my name."
Professor Lin Tao could not wait to kneel to the teacher at this moment.
The way he looked at Gu Weijing now was like looking at a time bomb that could destroy the reputation of the school at any time.
"Mr. Cao, I may not be able to afford it."
Gu Weijing also gritted his teeth and forcibly restrained his desire to kneel on the ground and kowtow.
He believed in himself and felt that one day he would become a real artist. It would not necessarily be a good thing if he relied on Mr. Cao's fame to become famous too quickly and to encourage others.
The highest rating the system gave him was semi-professional, not even a professional painter.
Gu Weijing does not belittle himself. He thinks that he is very good among his peers. For example, it would be great to be a student of Professor Lin Tao and a third-generation disciple of Mr. Cao.
As for the artist's title.
People have a reputation for self-awareness, but he really can't afford it now.
When all kinds of public opinions and flashlights from all over the world come over, everything about him will be under the spotlight, and Gu Weijing may not be able to withstand it.
"Well, you are a good boy if you know you are not worthy. If you hit the snake stick immediately, you can't wait to become a disciple. Although it is human nature, I will worry that I have seen the wrong person."
Mr. Cao was not angry, and seemed to be satisfied with Gu Weijing's knowing how to advance and retreat.
"Teacher, are you kidding me?"
Lin Tao was almost frightened by the little old man's heart attack just now, so he wiped the cold sweat on his forehead with the corner of his clothes.
"Of course it's not a joke."
With these words, Lin Tao's heart that had just been in his stomach was lifted up like a roller coaster.
"Why don't we make an agreement."
Mr. Cao smiled playfully.
"The Singapore Biennial Art Exhibition in August this year." Mr. Cao Xuan thought for a while. "If you can participate and win an award, then you can be my disciple."
It turns out that the teacher just wanted to inspire young people, which scared me to death.
Hearing this, Lin Tao breathed a sigh of relief. With Gu Weijing's age and strength, it was still a bit impossible to get ahead in a serious biennale.
This is like asking middle school students to play in a professional league.
It's very difficult.
"Of course, I am referring to the professional group, not the amateur group. If you want to be my student, how can you do it if you don't have some abilities that are beyond ordinary people." Mr. Cao added lightly.
Lin Tao was completely relieved.
