a week later,
Graz, Austria.
A black Lincoln sedan parked in front of the gate of an old house with the oak door plate of Elena Gutsherrs (German: Elena Manor), followed by a fully enclosed van with the words DHL Express printed on it.
"Countess Jelena, you look so radiant today. What should I do according to etiquette? Kiss your hand, or kneel down?"
Thomas got out of the bulletproof car and greeted the owner who was waiting outside with a joke.
He pointed to the camera held by the camera crew beside him, indicating that it was currently recording.
The owner of this manor turned out to be a girl, with dark black hair tied neatly by a gauze crown on her forehead, and tiny pearl earrings on her earlobes.
She looked to be only about twenty years old, but she had a calm and peaceful temperament.
This kind of temperament is often a privilege reserved for senior elders who have experienced the ups and downs of the world.
Thomas said the glowing compliment came from the bottom of his heart.
There are countless beautiful girls of all kinds in the world, but the young lady in front of me is uniquely beautiful.
The two contradictory propositions of wisdom and youth are merged together, with that fresh, sweet face, slightly fluffy hair under the silver gauze crown, and smart and profound eyes.
All of a sudden, there was no trace of his usual Twich or those female internet celebrities on YouTube who were selling meat and cheating.
Anna Elena.
Art critic, student at WYN Academy of Fine Arts in Austria.
She inherited the estate from her aunt and was the last heiress of an ancient family known for its generosity to impoverished artists.
When her great-grandfather, the old count, founded the famous art journal "Ölgemälde (Oil Painting)", the last monarch of the Habsburg family ruled the land of Austria.
Anna did not rise to welcome the visitor.
This is not arrogance, because she is sitting in a wheelchair, and behind her is a fat aunt who is pushing the wheelchair.
"Just call me Anna. I'm not a countess. I'm not one of those British people who like to be related to the royal family. I'm just an ordinary citizen of Austria. If there's anything special, it's just because I was born lame."
The girl's voice is very cold, and German is a language with a very dry pronunciation. This makes her voice feel like an icy spring.
It is a pity that such a beautiful girl is disabled.
European aristocrats are very complex, very progressive, and very retro.
Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia were fellow victims of the collapse of World War I, they abolished the monarchy and aristocracy at almost the same time.
But the Austrian people's attitude towards the nobles is also very different from their German relatives across the wall.
Although there are no longer privileged documents such as noble passports, you can still see the words "Duke XX" and "Count XX" on German documents today.
This is because after World War I, with the abdication of Wilhelm II, the Weimar Republic allowed them to retain their noble titles, but they only needed to change their surnames.
For example, it turned out that you were Lord Zhang San, but later the emperor disappeared and the aristocracy also disappeared.
You can change your name to "Lord Count Zhang San".
You seem to be a decent Earl.
But in Austria, this was illegal in order to prevent the Habsburgs from coming back again.
All traces of nobility must be eliminated.
Starting from her great-great-grandfather's generation, Anna's family's names, including "Don" or "Von", which were obviously signs of nobility, were clearly stipulated by law to be removed.
However, not all descendants of nobles are as willing to become common people as Anna is.
Many people miss the past life of being superior to others.
The British royal family still recognizes their Prussian relatives. If you go to Britain, you can still be shameless and call them SIR (Sir) or LORD (Lord).
Moreover, they, the descendants of noble nobles with clear bloodlines, can marry into the royal families of old Europe without any hindrance.
The existing royal families in Europe also send people to attend their weddings with gifts.
"This opening is very...art critic-like."
Thomas smiled and shook hands with the girl in the wheelchair.
He confirmed that the photographer had captured the footage.
In the field of video, no one is more expert than Thomas, and no one understands the commercial value of the eyeball effect better than Thomas.
If you find a girl with a better figure, she can easily attract millions of followers by wearing a bikini and playing the piano.
He calculated.
A girl with a queenly temperament is sitting in a wheelchair, with corresponding subtitles on the cover of the video - "I am just an ordinary citizen of Austria. If there is anything special, it is only because I was born lame."
The whole artist's temperament comes out.
He knew that there were only a few painting enthusiasts among the hundreds of millions of viewers. Most of them are attracted by the guise of one dollar challenge to one million dollars.
But who doesn’t like a beautiful and sassy young lady?
After the video is finished, use a green screen and a sea of green cash paved with millions of "Washington" (one-dollar bills). This cover alone can increase the number of video views by 10 million within a week.
"Hello, Ms. Anna, I think I have already expressed my intention before coming here. We would like to ask an art critic to judge the painting skills and collection value of seven illustrations ranging from one dollar to one million dollars through a professional eye."
Thomas decided to think about the cover while pointing at the armed security guard behind him who was removing the painting from the van.
"I originally wanted to bring the photography team and send the painting over directly, but obviously the insurance company didn't think that was a good idea. They insisted on an armed escort."
Due to the mobility and fragility of artworks, basically every famous painting will be insured when it is exhibited in an art museum or moved.
There are real art thieves in Europe, and there are quite a few of them. Stealing a piece of paper is easier and more profitable than robbing a pocket of cash.
The National Gallery of Art even published a book with a funny title "Mr. Rembrandt is lost again! ” tells the history of their theft.
This time Thomas actually spent a million dollars for one of the illustrations. Some of the paintings in art museums can't be sold for that much.
If a million-dollar painting like this is accidentally damaged or stolen, a small art insurance company will go bankrupt after paying twice.
"A million dollars... Spending a million dollars to buy a proposition illustration is not a wise collection choice." Anna tilted her head and looked at the DHL transport truck.
“The illustration market keeps going down in the art market.”
Anna said coldly, "Especially the works of living painters. Illustrations are not oil paintings, they focus on realism, and it is difficult to have a special art style. Its value lies in the story, and you have already prescribed the subject matter, which obviously stifles the creativity of the painters.
It was a failure from an investment perspective, and a complete failure from an artistic perspective, and I wasn’t expecting to see anything that would surprise me. "
The girl said it very straightforwardly.
"Wow, I should have asked you to be my investment advisor before signing the check."
Thomas smiled.
He knew what Anna said made sense, and before spending one hundred dollars to request a manuscript from the master, the other studio also explained this.
The story value of illustrations is higher than the artistic value.
Given the prescribed subject matter, there may not necessarily be an obvious difference in technique between a $1 million piece and a $100,000 piece.
But, it’s still the same sentence.
What Thomas needs is eyeballs, gimmicks, and contrast.
He is not a professional art collector, but a big internet celebrity.
Whether it's a $1 car to a million-dollar Bugatti, or a $1 windsurfing to a million-dollar deep-sea dive, there's a clear contrast that audiences love to see.
But if everyone draws their own paintings, and in the end the art critic explains the spiritual connotation of love and peace bulabula contained in each painting, then it becomes an art seminar again.
If you want to see a professional art seminar, it is better to go to an art exhibition. Why watch his video?
