Chapter 1656: The History of Oil Painting
Regarding the appraisal conclusion given by Ye Tian, no one on the scene was suspicious, including the poor stall owner!
As long as Steven says that this painting is the work of Botticelli, then it must be true, this classical oil painting must be by the master Botticelli!
Steven is the world's top expert in antique art, with a sharp eye, he has never heard of it, and today is no exception.
Because of this, the stall owner regretted his pain, anger and despair.
The biggest wealth in life passed by himself, and in the blink of an eye it fell into someone else's pocket, who can not be angry?
After the stall owner vented and the scene was a little quieter, Ye Tian smiled and said:
"Man, you don't have to feel angry or hopeless, and you shouldn't hate me, this painting must have been in your hands for some time, and you didn't find it of great value.
If I hadn't happened to be here and found this classical painting, this very important piece of art would probably have been buried or in the hands of someone else who didn't know it.
In that case, it would be a pity, the world will be missing a top-notch artwork, what a huge loss, for everyone the same, and it will never be remedied!"
Hearing this, the stall owner was immediately dumbfounded, and for a while, he didn't know how to respond!
However, the anger in his heart burned even more vigorously, his eyes became more desperate, and his blood-red eyes were staring at Ye Tian and staring at the classical oil painting, and they were about to burst out of blood!
Ye Tian's words are reasonable, they seem to be impeccable, but how awkward they sound!
Many onlookers at the scene rolled their eyes angrily and complained to themselves one by one!
All good things should fall into the hands of you bastard, others deserve to be unlucky, swept away by you bastard, how can the hell be reasonable? It's so annoying!
While secretly complaining, everyone at the scene looked at the poor stall owner who was on the verge of collapse, and everyone's eyes were full of sympathy and pity!
After persuading the stall owner for a few words, Ye Tian immediately shifted his gaze, looked at the two Italian cultural relics gendarmes in civilian clothes, and said with a smile:
"Pizarro, as far as I know, this portrait of Botticelli is not on the list of stolen artworks, nor is it in the Leonardo da Vinci database of your Italian gendarmerie of antiquities, am I right?
How I got this painting, you all saw it with your own eyes, and many people here also witnessed the transaction, including my personal lawyer, and the whole transaction process was completely legal and without any problems."
Hearing that the two guys in civilian clothes were Italian cultural relics gendarmes, everyone at the scene immediately turned their heads to look at them, their eyes full of curiosity, and they were secretly frightened!
Steven's bastard's destructive power and deterrence are so terrifying, there are actually cultural relics gendarmes in civilian clothes who are closely following, who has ever heard of such a thing!
Even so, it still didn't stop this guy from crazy sweeping top antique artworks and sweeping wealth, as evidenced by the Botticelli work in front of him.
Obviously, the antiquities gendarmes that terrified other antique dealers and professional treasure hunters were no threat in the eyes of Steven's bastard, just decorations!
Although he didn't want to admit it, Pizarro had to nod his head and say:
"You're right, Steven, it's true that this Botticelli work is not on the list of stolen artworks, nor is it in our 'Leonardo da Vinci' database, and has never even been found before.
The process by which you acquired this classical oil painting was indeed reasonable and legal, and the whole transaction was impeccable, and everyone here witnessed it, including us, and we cannot deny it, and we will not deny it.
But it's not sure that you'll be able to leave Italy and return to New York with this classical painting, and if it's really important, we'll probably put it on the list of restricted artworks.
Once you are restricted from leaving the country, you can only collect or trade the painting in Italy, and you must not leave Italy with it, nor can the next owner take it out of Italy.
Let's not talk about that, we still have a lot of doubts about this classical oil painting, Steven, can you continue to explain it to us, so that we can really understand the value of this painting!"
As soon as Pizarro's words fell, many onlookers at the scene immediately responded.
"That's right, Steven, let's go ahead and explain the painting, we're still confused!"
"Steven, don't forget the market value of this painting, if you announce it in public, it must be worth a fortune, right?"
All of a sudden, the scene became very noisy and lively, and everyone was very excited and full of anticipation.
And that doesn't include the poor stall owner, who is now dead-faced, with anger and despair in his eyes, and nothing else!
Ye Tian glanced at everyone at the scene, then raised his hands and pressed down gently, signaling everyone to be quiet.
When the scene was a little quieter, he smiled and said aloud:
"Botticelli, as we all know, was the last famous painter of the Florentine School of the early Renaissance and a top master of art, and he is recognized as the prelude to the three Gerals of Fine Arts.
In the Uffizi Museum, there is a collection of Botticelli's most famous and outstanding representative works, such as "Spring", "The Birth of Venus", "The Coming of the Three Wise Men" and other paintings.
In addition to being the last great painter of the Florentine School, Botticelli was also deeply influenced by Dutch portraiture and was a pioneer of Italian portraiture, most famously the Madonna and Child.
In this painting, we can see the style of the Florentine school, and we can also see the influence of Dutch portraiture, which was painted only by Botticelli in the early Renaissance.
The next thing is simple, we can use high-tech detection methods to detect the canvas and mineral pigments of this oil painting, so as to determine its exact age, and thus determine the identity of the creator.
As far as I can judge, this painting is painted in the early eighties of the fifteenth century, when Botticelli was the most famous Florentine painter and the pinnacle of his artistic career, and was admired by countless people.
Through high-tech detection methods, as long as it can be determined that the painting was created in the early eighties of the fifteenth century, combined with the characteristics shown in the painting, its creator can basically be determined.
If you look closely, this portrait bears a lot of similarities with Botticelli's Pallas and Kentaulus in 1483."
Hearing this, some knowledgeable people at the scene couldn't help but nodded, obviously agreeing with Ye Tian's explanation.
At the same time, the envy and even jealousy in people's eyes have become more intense, and everyone can't wait to replace Ye Tian and own this top artwork!
Of course, this did not include the poor stall owner, who had only endless despair and anger in his eyes.
After a pause, Ye Tian continued:
"After talking about the artistic style and painting techniques, let's talk about the problem of the paint in this painting, it is these faded and discolored pigments that make this painting devalued so much that no one cares about it.
But the most precious thing about this classical painting of Botticelli is precisely because of the pigments, which may sound paradoxical, and when you listen to the explanation, you will understand why.
As we all know, the predecessor of oil painting was tempera painting in Europe before the 15th century, such as Botticelli's most famous work, "Spring", which is a famous tempera painting.
After entering the fifteenth century, it was only after the improvement and development of painting materials by the famous Dutch painter Jan van Eyck that oil painting and corresponding pigments appeared, and gradually became popular.
It was only in the second half of the fifteenth century that the form of oil painting spread to Florence, and it was at the height of Botticelli's popularity, and this trend naturally affected him.
Coupled with his admiration for Dutch portraiture, it can be said that the influence and impact of oil painting as an artistic form on him was far greater than that of other painters of the same period.
Botticelli, who first came into contact with oil painting as a form of artistic creation, must have a learning process, from painting techniques to the mixing and proportioning of pigments.
The painting in front of me is a work created by Botticelli during his studies, the painting technique is a little jerky, and he does not know much about painting pigments, and there are problems with harmony and matching.
Because of this, the painting has such severe fading and discoloration, not only because of poor maintenance, but mainly because of Botticelli's unskill.
Through this painting, we can see Botticelli's process of learning the creative form of oil painting, as well as the initial history of oil painting in Italy, as if we were witnessing it.
In this respect, this classical oil painting is particularly important, and its importance is even less than that of Botticelli, one of the treasures of the Uffizi Museum.
Speaking of this, a painter at the scene suddenly asked loudly:
"Steven, what you say seems to be very reasonable, but how do you prove it? If it is as you say, then this classical oil painting must be priceless, and its value is no less than that of Spring."
Ye Tian looked at the painter, then smiled and said loudly:
"How do I prove my claim? It's not difficult, but later we'll go to the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence to see Michelangelo's David, and other top antique artworks.
When I got there, I offered to study this classical oil painting with the Florentine Academy of Fine Arts, and I believe they would not refuse, because with the strength of the Florentine Academy of Fine Arts, there is no difficulty.
It won't be long before the results of the study will come out, and I am extremely confident in my eyesight and judgment, and the results of the high-tech test are absolutely consistent with my identification conclusions, so let's wait and see!
Let's talk about the most concerned issue, the valuation of this classical oil painting, although the condition of this painting is not very good, but because of its particularity, as well as its status in the history of art, it must be of great value.
Combining all these factors, combined with the current antique art market, I value this Botticelli's classical oil painting at 80 million euros, which is only a low valuation!"
Not surprisingly, the scene was completely boiling in an instant, and the entire Piazzale Michelangelo was completely boiling.
Just when people were shocked and hugged their heads and exclaimed, no one noticed that there was another tourist in the square with a backpack, no different from other tourists.
The guy who quietly appeared was none other than Bowie, who had just received Ye Tian's message and came to sweep Piazzale Michelangelo!