When others open galleries, you have to find a way to squeeze your paintings in and exhibit them together. That means they leave a small space for you in the corner of the gallery so that when tourists get tired of looking at the big paintings, they can look at your works to relax.
In this way, your reputation in the circle will leap from "a seasoned ascetic" to "a potential newcomer who is qualified to exhibit with Master XX."
When you have achieved a perfect combination of strength and fame, you have established yourself and can be said to be able to gain fame and fortune by playing with paint. Then the next step is to spend your days accumulating experience. When you are older and become a "senior", you will also be qualified to mentor newcomers.
An ordinary family cannot take this path... There is only one way out for poor people to go into this business, which is what Hitzfeld told Xia Yibing, called "martyrdom."
"No matter how good their paintings are, it's useless." She still remembered the heavy tone of the girl when she said this, "How many people in Sara can't even fill their stomachs, how can they afford to buy good paintings? So it is destined that the people who pursue these things are the rich, and the rich... they will never buy the works of a person who struggled out of a pit of shit and piss."
"But I've seen quite a few low-level painters?" Xia Yibing didn't understand at first, "I think they all think they can succeed."
"Oh, that's mostly wishful thinking. They are deceived by the glamour of this industry."
"how to say."
"Art is always intertwined with wealth... You see, even a local merchant who has become rich overnight doesn't want others to see his true colors, so what is the way to improve his background? Naturally, he would learn to associate himself with elegance like the nobles."
"But in fact, that's just a lie." Hitzfeld lowered his voice when he said this. "Commoner painters can never get real recognition in their lifetime. The only way for them to succeed is to die - and it is the most painful kind of death."
"starve?"
“I can’t say which one is more cruel… If you die of starvation, the process will only last a few weeks at most, but this kind of death requires you to be a true ascetic—to treat art seriously every day for the rest of your life, and you will never get any reward from this kind of effort. Only when you die of exhaustion or commit suicide because you can’t bear the impact of something, will they recognize you and think that you have finally sublimated your work with death.”
To be honest, Xia Yibing was a little shocked when she first heard these analyses. She had only seen the glamour of those gallery cocktail parties, but she didn't expect that there was so much blood hidden under the thick accumulation of paint.
Afterwards, she asked Hitzfeld if that was why she didn't pursue this path, because she felt that the girl's painting was also very good, and in her mind was no worse than those of the famous artists.
Hitzfeld quickly said that she was still far from it - darkness did exist, but as she and Xia emphasized at the beginning, at least in this era, when the road has not yet been paved, no matter how dark it is, you must at least have a certain level of strength.
Unlike the modern world, many painting schools and paths have long been trampled by classical masters. Some people find that they cannot surpass their predecessors in this field in their entire lives, so they either give up or start to go crazy and come up with some weird new schools and new paths, calling them art.
After all - the life of a poor person is life, but the life of a master is not life?
Oh, your poor work can appreciate in value when you die, but they are famous artists, masters, and their works will increase a hundred or a thousand times after their death, plus the bonus of the times and background... What can a living modern person do to surpass them?
Returning to reality and substituting the actual situation into this logic, it is easy to find that Ebony Dodge's status does not match the logic.
He has a lot of experience and is a good painter, but he is not dead yet.
How can he compare to those famous masters who have passed away?
Xia Yibing immediately cited the example of "Black-Sirloin"①, saying that other people's paintings could be sold for millions of dollars, and she didn't believe that Dodge could do it.
--------
Blake Sharon: The author of "The Tree of Life", has been mentioned many times in cases such as "The Forbidden Fruit of Wisdom" and "Dead Woodland". This painting has become a powerful clue to find out the truth.
--------
"That's different." James was almost speechless. "Almost all of Blackshall's drawings have been lost. In addition, he was a famous artist who was no less talented than Dodge, and he even founded the 'Shadow School'. Of course the only remaining painting is valuable!"
"So how much can this Dodge painting sell for?"
"A large painting like this would probably cost tens of thousands of serras." James hesitated. "This is just my estimate... because at this stage they are rarely traded, most of them are given as gifts..."
Such a big difference?
Xia Yibing was stunned for a moment, then she felt that this made sense.
The reason why "The Tree of Life" can sell for so many dollars is that there is a lot of added value in it. If Black-Sharon were still alive and had so many paintings that they could fill up this corridor, one painting would probably be worth tens of thousands of Selas, or maybe even less.
"It's amazing."
The emotion comes from Daryl.
There are few man-made things that can make the mechanical apostle sigh, but art is an exception. Daryl must admit that some things cannot be replicated by mechanical industry.
Take Daryl herself, for example, she has a strong ability to learn and replicate. She can perform a set of fighting moves targeting the human body to the exact same degree every time, without even a tremor in the end of her fingers.
By the same token, as long as she is given time to study, drawing will not be a problem for her.
It’s not that she hasn’t tried, but the things she drew...how should I put it, compared with others, they always seemed to be lacking in something.
"It's probably because of the lack of popularity, or it can be said that it lacks the 'artistic taste'."
When Hitzfeld heard her thoughts, he immediately knew what she was struggling with.
"Take these paintings as an example - 'hyperrealism' is a breakthrough based on 'realism', like clearing away the fog and revealing the truest appearance of things."
She talked to the group, "This style has its own connotations and is quite meaningful... But if you really want to delve into it, you can't just focus on the 'technique'."
"If you only focus on 'skills', no matter how good the painting is, it is meaningless. The real meaning of these paintings is to reveal the truth, and the truth is often...ugly, so what this faction really pursues should be 'the catharsis or expression between personal emotions and ugly reality'."
“You have to make people see that… In other words, you have to make people realize that what you paint is both a painting and reality.”
After these words were spoken, the group of people were no longer just a little shocked but deeply shocked.
No one expected that she had such a deep understanding of this industry!
Even James... this rich young man who had been hanging out in famous galleries since he was a child was a little confused. He felt that he couldn't understand many of the nouns the young countess said when they were combined together - wasn't this the tone of commentary used by his father's generation?
"I still don't quite understand..." Daryl began hesitantly.
"What is 'painting taste'?"
"This is it."
Stopping, Hitzfeld pointed to a painting.
That was also a work in the style of 'hyperrealism'... Of course, Sarah's hyperrealism was not hyper enough compared to the Earth, she was just following the local customs.
The others looked at the painting and saw that it was a street scene during the day.
The morning mist spread in the air, and rickshaw drivers, hawkers and pedestrians were mixed together. Not far away was a bustling dock, and from a distance it looked like a color photo.
“It looks real, doesn’t it?”
Everyone nodded.
"Look here again." Hitzfeld pointed to one of the pedestrians.
"If you look closely, his hat is just a random stroke of mixed paint."
"If you look closely, similar brushstrokes are everywhere. If you zoom in, you'll even think they're dirty and messy, and you might suspect they were simply not handled properly, but in fact, they were intentional."
"deliberately?"
"Near and far - fake and real." The girl nodded. "It's not quite right to say it was intentional... I did it on purpose, but these brushstrokes, every single one of them, are a flash of inspiration when the artist enters a certain state."
“You have to do this, leaving deliberate flaws, perfect yet imperfect, to tell others that this is a painting, not a photograph.”
"Otherwise the meaning of the painting is lost." Daryl continued, "...then it's better to take a photo!"
So this is the "flavor of painting"!
At this moment, she suddenly felt that she had realized.
She didn’t understand what he realized specifically, but it seemed to be very powerful... Her admiration for His Highness became even deeper!
As for Hitzfeld…she didn’t think what she said was very profound.
Any college student, if he carefully reads those boring art history textbooks, can have a basic understanding of painting schools and styles.
The understanding of "painting taste" is not uncommon. Any candidate who plans to take the art exam will have similar content emphasized by the instructor after entering a professional college.
It was just mixed with some of her personal understanding, and she didn't dare to take credit for it at all.
"I didn't expect you, Count, to have such profound knowledge of art!"
But there was no problem in fooling James. At least in terms of art appreciation, this young master of Larence was convinced by her.
He began to feel that he was not qualified to be Hitzfeld's guide.
Apart from knowing the stories behind these paintings and the circumstances under which they were painted, he knew no more than she did. In terms of understanding and cultivation, he was ruthlessly crushed.
Thinking of this, James was naturally very curious, so he asked, "The Earl knows so much, and he also likes to study painting?"
“I like to draw a few strokes occasionally.”
"Then why not go deeper?" The young man was puzzled. "With such insights, I believe that if the Earl continues to study, it will be easy for him to surpass some famous masters, not to mention reaching Dodge's level?"
"It's not that easy." Hitzfeld just shook his head. "You underestimate the talent required for this job, Mr. Lawrence... And besides, I don't like to delve into painting."
"what?"
Seeing his extremely surprised expression, Hitzfeld hesitated whether it was appropriate to say the following words.
But the atmosphere was definitely there.
I’m a count now…it doesn’t seem to matter if I offend people?
Thinking this way, she simply said it directly: "Because art is inherently both beautiful and evil."
"Beauty is because intelligent life is born with a pursuit of beauty."
"Just like people like pretty faces, young bodies... exquisite jewelry and clothing, maybe when we were still beasts, beauty was just a tool for courting and accelerating reproduction, but with wisdom, beauty can also be used by us to anchor our hearts."
"It is actually a very profound concept, not limited to art or paintings. Using only these things to interpret beauty is actually a very one-sided view."
Xia Yibing was very considerate and helped her to steer the topic: "Then how do we talk about sin?"
"The crime is simple!" The girl smiled at her, "because artists don't produce."
James stared: "...Huh?"
"Take painting for example. Whether you come from a rich or poor family, if you want to study this, you basically can't engage in production."
Hitzfeld continued to give him examples.
"You draw when others are farming, you draw when others are working, you draw when others are cleaning, you draw when others are cooking."
"You've become so obsessed with painting that you don't even have the energy to get food for yourself. This shouldn't be a rare case, right? Then how are you going to survive? You still have to rely on others to take care of you, either servants or family members... It's always going to be a waste of time and money."
"But for society, you can't create any actual value." She pursed her lips. "I'm not saying that artists are guilty, nor that painting is guilty, but this is indeed a phenomenon, a reality. You are actually consuming society's productivity to satisfy your own pursuit of beauty, and I..."
At this point, Hitzfeld paused.
"Because humans do need aesthetics, and they need someone to lead them to discover and explore beauty. I respect such people - people who can do this job well."
“But I don’t want to be that person.”
“So I don’t plan to delve into this.”
This statement does not contain much information, but the concept and expression are very novel.
Not only James was stunned, the others were also in a trance.
Like Xia Yibing, she thought of her many adventures with Hitzfeld and the reason why she fought... that belief.
So this is how it is interpreted.
She still is.
Too kind...
As they talked, the corridor almost reached the end. James came to his senses as if waking up from a dream, pointed to the exhibition area in the far corner and said, "It should be there."
“The last time I was here, Dodge’s final transformation was sitting there.”
In fact, Hitzfeld noticed that from the middle to the end, the paintings on both sides of the corridor were no longer in the "hyper-realistic" style.
Instead, it tends to be more like the three stolen paintings, where the brushstrokes are more casual, even overly sloppy.
Well, it's more impressionistic, and from this point on, the painters left the paintings more to the poor people at the bottom of society.
Like three stolen paintings.
"shepherd".
The Shoemaker's Wife.
"Peasants Attending the Square Meeting".
As you can guess from the name alone, the content depicts simple things.
So this is a kind of evolution or sublimation of ideas...
Hitzfeld pondered secretly.
Ebony Dodge's style changes are regular and traceable.
At first, he was obsessed with "skills" and only pursued painting likenesses and painting well. From here, he broke through the shackles of realism and became "hyperrealism". Later on this path, he changed his mind and incorporated more of the "painting flavor" of free will.
The painter’s thoughts are hidden here. She can almost see how a shriveled figure studies, ponders, and finally wakes up - it turns out that the truest ugliness is the hidden dark side, the people at the bottom, and their cries!
Thus, his style changed again and he began to paint works such as "The Shepherds".
So she really became more and more curious... For such a painter with great spiritual pursuits, what would his paintings look like after his fourth style change?
