Soul Painter

The "Appreciation of Gao Van's New Works" convened by Director Hollein was held in early May.

Participants included academic professors who had long-term "art consultant" positions with the Metropolitan Museum of New York, well-known art critics, collectors, and of course several old friends of Hollein's artists.

The title of Art Consultant of the Metropolitan Museum of New York means not only lucrative professional commissions, but also a status in the art world. After all, they can provide opinions and suggestions on all acquisition contracts of the museum, and they are stationed in the "Metropolitan Museum", one of the four largest in the world. Museum', for a contemporary artist, is the highest honor.

Of course, the 'force' between the collectors and artists is mutual.

For example, Chaplin does not need Oscar to prove his greatness, but Oscar needs Chaplin to prove its authority.

That's why the Metropolitan Museum provided a studio to Gao Fan, the most famous oil painter in the world, hoping to prove the bond between the artist and the museum.

But in the past sixteen months.

The performance of this young master who founded the Demon Sect is confusing.

Hollein and his art advisors, although not present in the painter's studio, knew what the painter had been doing.

He is copying Degas.

And copied it twice.

As one of the founders of Impressionism, Degas's pioneering role in the history of modern art is beyond doubt.

However, Gao Fan's status in the history of art should not be inferior to that of Degas. If you are a beginner, copying Degas is undoubtedly of reference, but for a master like Gao Fan who has formed his own style, The imitation of another master seems out of date and very strange.

Being able to endure such weirdness for sixteen months was already supported by Gao Fan's fame and status as well as the "greatness" of his past works, but a month ago, Klein finally couldn't resist the pressure of the board of directors and the advisory group Suggestion, issued an ultimatum to Lawrence.

Now, Gao Fan's new work is in front of everyone.

But some people do not understand.

This is a 60X80 piece of work, not very big, the description of the overall background is vague, the color is darker, and the figure is light in color, the model is sitting there, the sun shines on her cheeks, which makes the She looked plump and rich, with a smile on her lips—a rare expression on model Anna's face.

"There is a bit of the style of Degas's later period, but it is not the same. It is very... well, very ordinary." An art consultant said that Degas's later period integrated the solemnity of classicism into modernism, so Degas' works at that time, The beauty is gorgeous, but Gao Fan's work is different. Its tone and composition are very... um, ordinary.

"Gaofan's early works, that is, the "Mask" group paintings, already had a very obvious modernist style." Another academic professor said, "I was fortunate to participate in an auction at PACE, and I saw that he was still in school. Of course, that work has a weird name, so I won’t mention it, I mean, in the earlier period, Gao Fan’s modernist painting style was relatively mature, similar to Degas.”

"Yes, from the "Mask" series of paintings to "Bostonians", it is in the same line. "Bostonians" is the pinnacle of Govan's modernism, and it is a great work. They are similar, but Degas's works are beautiful and passionate, while Gao Fan's works are insight into the soul and transcend human nature." A senior art critic said.

"That's why Lindsay Pollock of "American Art" said that Gao Fan gave modern painting a new anchor point, which is the insight and liberation of the human soul." The academic professor nodded.

"Afterwards, several of Gao Fan's works seem to be trying new things, including "Cat", "Ring" and "Veteran". He seems to want to turn from modernism to classicism. This change is unusual, and few artists Such a choice will be made." The critic said, "Of course, I think this transformation is a failure. Although the "Buddha" among the themes of his series was sold at an unprecedented high price, this did not give the art of the 21st century Find out what's left."

After finishing speaking, the critic who had a column in the "New York Times" looked at the new Gaofan product in front of him, thought for a while while holding his shoulders and pinching his chin, and then said: "I am very confused by the thematic nature of Gaofan's creation of this work. And inheritance, is it not the continuation of the peak of modernism in "Bostonian", nor is it an attempt to return to classicism like "Buddha", did he take the third path? Then why did he copy Degas?"

"Maybe he thinks he has reached the peak on the two roads, so he is making a new attempt?" An art consultant suggested.

"No, no, no!" The professor who had participated in the auction of "The Surge of Maggots" suddenly discovered something, and he announced: "Everyone, I have discovered the inheritance of Gao Fan's creation of this painting. You see, in the painting In the painting, Gao Fan chose his early creation style. His lines, coloring and structure are very similar to Degas's later period, that is, his early style. The shapes are accurate and vivid, the lines are hazy and smooth, and the colors are blurred and changing.

However, unlike Degas, Gao Fan's rendering of ambient light obviously has a sense of Titian's atmosphere, which makes the whole work full of a vivid emotion. Only this small difference can distinguish Gao Fan Van and Degas, Degas's description of the characters is cold and alienated, while Gao Fan is curious and vivid. "

“So, Gao Fan chose to come back after reaching his peak?” an art consultant wondered, “He is now returning to the early days.”

"But the technique is more proficient." The academic professor added, "Of course, its expressiveness is inferior to that of Degas."

So far, the appreciation meeting has been going on for more than an hour.

All the art consultants found the inheritance of this painting in Gaofan’s creative career. Regardless of Gaofan’s next choice of style, whether it is a return or not, this painting is enough to become a symbolic action in his artistic attempts. Based on Gaofan’s The value and fame at the moment are enough for the Metropolitan Museum to collect it.

The conclusion is: Although it is not surprising, it is worth collecting.

At this time, Hollein said again: "In order to facilitate everyone's better understanding of Mr. Gao Fan's ideas and expressions when creating this work, I invited this model to the scene."

Invite a model to come?

Does this have any significance for appreciating paintings?

When the art consultants were puzzled, Ana Armas, another painter of the Demon Sect, had already entered the room by appointment.

"Huh? Gao Fan painted Ana Armas?" The art consultants were taken aback for a moment. They were also familiar with Ana Armas. Although this female painter did not often show her face in public, at least she had seen photos and videos Well, when I was looking at the painting just now, I didn't expect it to be a portrait of Ana Armas.

But at this moment, Ana Armas is standing next to this 80X60 oil painting, and they look more and more alike. Countless details link the person in the painting with the female artist, and they are clearly one person. Can't you notice?

……magic!

All art consultants feel like their hairs are going to stand on end.

Well, I’m here first, I’m tired, I’m bored haha~ The next chapter is an adventure chapter that follows the changes in the world situation. Due to some reasons, I can’t write about the domestic situation, so I will focus on foreign countries. After that, I will write about the Buddha Kingdom on the ground. , an article on STK, an article on the battle of time and space, and then it will enter the 1920 article.