Uncle Sakai's proposal - they should give the most eye-catching guess about Carroll's true identity in the paper to increase the value of the paper and fill up the space.
In layman's terms, it means making as big news as possible.
Camille is the wife of Monet, the most familiar artist of Impressionism, and the target chosen by Katsuko Sakai under the guidance of Professor Sakai.
compare to,
The hostess of a little-known studio... seemed too ordinary.
"Is there any reason why you have to do this?"
Sakai Katsuko frowned slightly.
In order to collect enough evidence in the paper that at least looked like that, she had to go through a lot of trouble to arrange the timeline of Camille and Monet's sojourn in a reasonable way.
"The main reason is that we have not found any record that Camille can paint in addition to being an art model. If there is, it is impossible that her relationship with Monet will not be passed down."
Gu Weijing put down his notebook and retrieved relevant information from the document manager on his tablet.
"I have noticed that Degas once accidentally mentioned this in a letter to a friend - the owner of the studio at No. 203 Licorice Street is an aristocratic lady with amazing talent, with hair like the morning sun... Her use The painting is as dreamy and prosperous as an ukiyo-e. Perhaps one day, her works can change Parisians' stereotypes about female painters."
The collection of daily letters of these great painters, as documentation for studying them, has long been properly compiled and published by future generations.
It was not difficult for Gu Weijing to find the contents of these documents.
"It's as dreamlike as an ukiyo-e, prosperous and grand...Have you thought of anything?"
Gu Weijing smiled.
At the end of the 19th century, ukiyo-e became popular in Europe.
The mysterious and fresh oriental art deeply influenced the Impressionist painters.
Monet even built an oriental garden imitating Ukiyo-e in his home garden, with a wooden bridge spanning a pond full of water lilies.
His masterpiece "Water Lilies" was born in it.
Ukiyo-e style oil painting was a very important feature in the early formation of Impressionism.
"But……"
Sakai Katsuko pursed her lips slightly, as if she wanted to say something.
"At first I thought Degas was talking about Mademoiselle Marie, but after checking the register of the Paris Telegraph Company at the time, I discovered that the tenant of the studio at No. 203 Licorice Street was named Carla."
Gu Weijing looked directly into Sakai Katsuko's eyes.
"Miss Katsuko, who can be recognized by Degas, has hair like the morning sun, amazing talent, and an impressionistic style of painting. Adding these conditions together, I feel that we are very close to the truth. At least she is Carroll's The possibility is much greater than that of Monet’s lover, what do you think?”
"But her name isn't Carol."
"The spelling difference between the names of Camille and Coral, Monet's lover, is also quite large. We originally interpreted this as a nickname or a nickname. This situation is not uncommon in art signatures, but it can also Not very common.”
Sakai Katsuko shook her head and sighed: "This is an unavoidable choice. Since I started writing the thesis, I have carefully checked all the relevant information I can find. There is no goal that completely matches the name Carroll."
"Now, why is it signed not as Carla, but as Carol? This question has been explained. Considering the social atmosphere at that time, it is quite possible that a noble lady would not use her real name if she wanted to be a painter."
Gu Weijing pointed to a line in the telegram register.
"Katsuko, look here. Apart from the name Carla, the owner of the studio at No. 203 Licorice Street did not leave his last name like other registrants. This is also consistent with this conjecture, isn't it?"
"But……"
Sakai Shengzi looked back at Gu Weijing, "Sorry, I don't quite understand why you care so much about the true identity of this female painter?"
Does the true identity of the painter Carroll matter?
Important, but not important.
Her identity is important to the paper's value in the eyes of reviewers and the public.
But whether this person is really the female painter who painted this "Old Church on a Thunderstorm" in history is actually not that important.
Whether it’s a judge or a collector.
All people need is an identity.
"Even after this article was published and exposed, it is unlikely that the exact identity of the owner of this painting can be verified. This kind of thing is not uncommon in the art circle. The convention is usually to find a painter with the biggest reputation. Just install it.”
Sakai Katsuko reminded the boy next to her with a particularly serious expression.
"Whether this painting was written by Monet's wife or by Carla, a little painter who has never been heard of, the market's reaction is completely different. If you really want to pay attention to detail, even if it is Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting "Salvator Mundi", we can't actually tell who the real author is. But both buyers and sellers prefer to treat it as an authentic work by a great painter, and we all know the specific reasons."
"Don't worry, this is not academic fraud. Whether it's scholars, auctions or art galleries, everyone does it. No one will give up huge benefits for a little persistence."
She lowered her head and spoke softly.
Salvator Mundi from Miss Katsuko,
Translated as "Savior".
This painting is the most expensive work of art ever sold at auction in human history.
none of them.
In the most recent market transaction, it was purchased by a Middle Eastern prince for nearly US$500 million, which is higher than the market value of most small and medium-sized listed companies.
"Salvator Mundi" is indeed a good painting.
But to this day, the true identity of the artist is still shrouded in mystery and doubt.
Some people believe that this painting was the last painting painted by Leonardo da Vinci while he was alive.
Some people believe that this is the masterpiece of Bernardino Luini, a student of Leonardo da Vinci.
Others believe that the artist of this painting is Bottafeo, a representative of the late Milan School, or even another painter who has not left his name in history.
A master-level painting with exquisite brushstrokes, but the specific author is unknown.
This kind of thing will definitely not only be encountered by Gu Weijing and the others.
The situation of "Savior" is very similar to the problem that Sakai Katsuko and Gu Weijing need to deal with.
Whether the author is Leonardo da Vinci or another small painter means that the market value of a painting is a question of whether there are more or less zeros at the end.
Just like Sakai Katsuko said.
The National Gallery in London, which owns the painting, did not hesitate to choose the path with the greatest benefit.
After hiring scholars to publish several professional papers, the museum identified the owner of the painting as Leonardo da Vinci at the 2011 exhibition without any conclusive evidence.
Then again, in this case, there is usually no conclusive evidence.
The market is actually very happy to have another Leonardo da Vinci work appear, and there are too many buyers willing to pay for this name to count.
The current transaction price of close to US$500 million has said it all.
Make money, not shabby.
Da Vinci is just one example.
There are many works by great painters such as Titian and Giorgione whose authenticity is questionable.
As long as Xiaoxiao puts academic persistence aside, it will be a happy ending for you, me, and everyone.
Gu Weijing fell into silence.
In fact, rationally, what Sakai Katsuko said makes sense.
But there are some unknown small persistences in his heart.
This painting, "Old Church in a Thunderstorm", was of a very good quality, had too much historical significance, and was obtained too easily by myself.
This gave Gu Weijing a sense of mission like "a great responsibility from heaven".
If it weren't for the system, he wouldn't have been able to get this precious piece of art anyway.
Just like Spider-Man's cliché and classic line - "With great power comes great responsibility."
Gu Weijing felt that he had a responsibility to do something for the female painter "Carol" from more than a century ago.
Such an amazing master painter has been in this world, but was swallowed up by time in obscurity. This is already a very sad thing.
Now, both the value of the famous painting itself and the opportunity to publish a paper. In all senses, Gu Weijing has received too many gifts from this unknown female painter of the 19th century.
The only thing he could give back to this artistic predecessor from a century ago was to use a paper to highlight her name to the world.
Gu Weijing was not so pretentious.
The probability that the author of this painting is actually Camille is extremely low.
But what if Gu Weijing didn't find any clues when checking the information.
He didn't mind just putting up an eye-catching headline. Tell the world that they have found a rare authentic painting of Monet's wife or something.
Strictly speaking, the flaw in hair color that I mentioned was not a fundamental problem.
This can be seen from the large number of portraits Monet made of his wife Camille.
Her hair color is dark brown with slight blonde hair. Although this hair color is habitually called reddish brown, if you don’t say golden red,
It’s not impossible.
However, now that there is a more possible speculation in front of him.
Do this again,
Gu Weijing felt that this was a blasphemy against the female painter Carroll, and also a blasphemy against his own good fortune.
He knocked on the table.
"It's more likely that it's Carla. Reality can't be turned into fake, and fake can't be turned into real. After the paper is published, the academic community or society may be able to give more specific information about this painting."
"If we can really guess the identity of the painter, the value of this paper will be much greater. On the contrary, if the real author is Carla, but we impose it on Camille, it will be a joke."
Gu Weijing explained.
"This is not a reason. The probability is too small. There are hundreds of papers on art works whose origins cannot be determined in history. After many years, how many can find conclusive evidence? It is like looking for a needle in a haystack."
Sakai Katsuko's tone was a little urgent.
Miss Katsuko actually pays very little attention to things other than painting.
But this paper meant something different to her.
Whenever Katsuko thought - if this paper can leave a place in the history of art, at least in the field of Impressionism research.
Many years later, every subsequent student will be unable to avoid this paper when reading relevant information.
They will all see the names Gu Weijing and Sakai Katsuko next to each other on the cover of the paper.
Her heartbeat would start to speed up inexplicably, and it was like a fire was beating in her chest.
therefore,
Katsuko Sakai always takes this paper extremely seriously.
She didn't want Gu Weijing to give up such a gimmicky idea easily.
"If there are no additional discoveries, the art market will always be preconceived, and the views of our paper will play a decisive role. By then, collectors, at least some collectors, are likely to use the name we have decided on now. Be considered the true creator of this painting.”
"It's also a conjecture that has a high probability of being unverifiable. If you give this honor to an inconspicuous little painter now, wouldn't you feel it is a pity."
Katsuko Sakai bit her lower lip and said, "If this painting were regarded as a work by Monet's wife, it might be sold for tens of millions of dollars. By then..."
By the time,
My mother won't look down on you anymore.
She swallowed the second half of the sentence.
"What a shame, it's unnecessary."
Sakai Katsuko looked at Gu Weijing with pleading in her eyes.
"If this is the case, then shouldn't we choose the more likely painter as the basis for our speculation?"
Gu Weijing avoided Sakai Katsuko's eyes and said softly, "This is the original purpose of our thesis."
Looking at the boy’s persistent and serious face,
Sakai Katsuko was silent.
She knew that if her father, Uncle Sakai, was here, he would definitely not agree with Gu Weijing's opinion.
To put it bluntly, it is just a conjecture.
Professor Sakai Kazunari has been involved in the art circle for many years.
It would not be wrong to say that he has no integrity, but in some aspects he has evolved into a seasoned person.
Maybe there is some truth in what Gu Weijing said.
However, obviously from a profit perspective, replacing Camille with Kara is definitely not a wise choice.
In the face of benefits within reach.
How many people can persist?
Not to mention it is just a low-risk, high-yield assertion, even if it is intentional academic fraud, there are still people who will do it.
She didn't know what her father would think.
But Sakai Katsuko felt that she was really moved before the other party said - "This is the original purpose of writing our thesis", and even her face became a little feverish.
"He's really cool."
Looking at Gu Weijing's not-so-handsome face, Sakai Shengzi had a little person in his mind marveling.
Female high school students in Japan believe that the standard for a boy to be cool is that he has a handsome boyish face, can play in a band, and can play sports. If he occasionally has the fierceness of the male protagonist in a Yakuza comic, it is considered a bonus in some people's eyes. .
At least Gu Weijing did not meet this standard.
But Sakai Katsuko felt that all the handsome guys she had seen in the past combined were not as good as the boy next to her.
In the face of huge financial interests,
It is so rare for such people to still maintain their pure heart.
Let me tell you something, I have read everyone’s comments.
I know some people are not satisfied with the emotional line of this book. I'm really sorry. I accept everyone's criticism.
Spend money to read a book, and criticize the author if you are dissatisfied.
Really sorry.
…
All I can say is that I will do my best to write as well as possible.
I'm really sorry, but it's impossible for me to delete the emotional line.
For one thing, this leads to an incoherent plot.
Secondly, this is irresponsible to readers who like these plots.
Sorry again.
Then I was very busy this week, and I still owed the leader an update, so I tried to pay it back next week.
(End of chapter)
