Chapter 279: Three Purchases

Oil paintings, which originated in Europe, were introduced to Guangdong, China at the end of the 16th century, and according to literature, Zhaoqing was the earliest city in China to enter oil painting outside of Macao. During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Italian Jesuit missionaries Luo Mingjian and Matteo Ricci entered Guangdong successively, and they built a church in Zhaoqing, which was still the residence of the Liangguang Governor's Palace, and hung the statues of God and Our Lady painted in oil paint in them for the locals to enjoy. In the middle and late Qing Dynasty, with the prosperity of Sino-Western trade, a large number of oil paintings with Chinese customs as the theme appeared in Guangzhou, Macao and Hong Kong. Export paintings have flourished for more than 100 years, and a number of accomplished local oil painters have appeared, but due to some special historical reasons, oil paintings in that period are currently extinct among the people.

Only then did he realize that a large number of collectors had gathered around, and only a few groups of people were still communicating in the hall on the first floor. The biggest problem is that everyone's attention has been condensed by Lin Yizhen's words, and Zhou You can't refrain from resigning at this time.

"Portraits of the early Qing Dynasty!

Traveling around to see the creation era and the payment, I don't know how to say it for a while.

The creation era is the Yongzheng period, and the name is only a simple surname, which is impossible to deduce. If it is a portrait of the court, it is fine, because then there will be some more marks to judge, or the final result can be filtered from the figures in the portrait, but the portrait in front of you looks like an ordinary rich and noble family, and it is impossible to judge.

When he saw this rare portrait painting, he immediately admired: "If this oil painting is not a forgery, then its significance is extraordinary." Looking at the museums across the continent, it seems that none of them have a single collection of folk oil paintings from the early Qing Dynasty. ”

Folk oil paintings are different from court oil paintings.

Oil painting was introduced to China at the end of the 16th century and appeared in Chinese mainland during the Ming Dynasty, but because the gap in style was slow to open the Chinese market, coupled with the humble status of ancient painters, many things could not be recorded, becoming a blank in history.

Even in the relatively stable and prosperous early Qing Dynasty, oil painting was only a little appearance in the court, but there is still no record, if it is not for the discovery of a court Chinese oil painting in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty in Beijing, otherwise everyone would think that the appearance of oil painting will be further delayed.

"Looking at the degree of age, there is no sign of age, and I think it's true. ”

"I think the probability of counterfeiting is very low, because almost no one will fake ancient folk things, and if they want to fake them, they must at least add the identity of the royal court. ”

"There have always been many folk things, and it's not surprising that there is one now. It is only because of historical reasons that folk oil paintings can be preserved like court oil paintings, and finally evolved to the point where they are scarce and expensive. ”

Immediately afterwards, Brother Guang, Huang Yiyun and others expressed their opinions, but everyone agreed that this work was genuine.

There are two reasons for this: First, the commercial trade between the Qing Dynasty and the West only developed in the middle and late periods, and at that time, in order to meet the needs of exports, folk painters painted a lot of oil paintings with Chinese customs as the theme, and this oil painting is a bit deviated in terms of both the object and the period; second, the status of the painters in ancient times was very low, and they were not qualified to leave their signatures on the paintings, but there was a sign here, which was a bit of a snake to add to the taste. ”

When you hear this, you really settle down.

I have to say that these two points of view are very sharp, go straight to the heart, and refute everyone so much that they have no words to respond.

However, Huang Yiyun saw that Zhou You was silent, and asked, "Mr. Zhou, if you have anything to say, just say it, everyone is communicating." ”

Zhou You nodded and said, "I also think it's true." ”

Everyone smiled smugly.

Zhou You then added his own opinions: "The evidence provided by everyone before is very convincing, but I also have some points that I hope you can agree with: first of all, because the artistic expression of oil painting is more realistic, government officials, wealthy businessmen and nobles at that time were more willing to let oil painters paint oil portraits of themselves and pass them on to future generations. So, it's not surprising that there's a rich businessman here. ”

"I seem to have heard of it. ”

"I've also read the relevant materials, but I can't remember which book specifically describes it. ”

It seems that this view is true. ”

In the midst of the discussion, Zhou You's first point of view was quickly accepted by everyone, and even the expert who put forward the rebuttal did not insist on it, and his expression remained serious.

Zhou You saw that the first argument was valid, and hurriedly continued: "It is a very sad thing that ancient painters had no social status and could not leave their signatures on their masterpieces. However, the other party's creative object was a businessman with a low status, and the painter himself may have been well-known at the time, so he could leave a surname. ”

This argument is a bit far-fetched, but it is also reasonable.

However, everyone's opinions are a bit contradictory, you say yours, I say mine, each has its own opinion, and there is no way to have a unified statement for a while.

"Everyone, please be quiet, I have a third argument. ”

Zhou You knew it was time to make the strongest argument, pointed to the portrait and said, "Did you notice the background of the portrait?"

Everyone followed Zhou You's instructions and looked down, and sure enough, they noticed a little different.

The background of the oil painting is not a blank one, nor is it a home background from time to time, but a rare street background picture.

Zhou You put forward the final argument: "If you look at the background streets, you can see that it is the ancient Zhaoqing street map, but it is a pity that Zhaoqing in this period does not have the prosperous trade scene of the middle and late Qing Dynasty, and it is still full of old and decadent atmosphere, and there is no foreign atmosphere at all." ”

"Yes, Zhaoqing in this period is definitely not from the middle and late Qing Dynasty!"

"Look, isn't that a sign of the Yongzheng period?"

"That's right, this is definitely the scenery characteristic of the Yongzheng period!"

"I didn't expect that there could be such a story to dig in the background!"

Everyone's enthusiasm once again climbed to a new height, and the atmosphere was extremely active, among which Huang Yiyun's enthusiasm was the highest, as if he had won.

Seeing everything in his eyes, the door shao sighed, and whispered to Lin Yizhen and made a request: "Miss Lin, I don't know if you have any intention of selling? If so, the price is not a problem." ”

Brother Guang also came in: "Miss Lin, I am also very interested in these two works. ”

Zhou You was naturally not to be left behind, and also made a request: "Sister Lin, I hope to introduce these two works, as for the reason, I believe Sister Lin also knows." ”

Being so sought after by three big names shows the value of the two works.

But the problem is that Lin Yizhen likes these two works very much, and Lin Yizhen is not short of money, basically she doesn't have to think about it if she wants to take the money route. Now the only thing that can be aggressive is affection or equal exchange.

Men Shao is not a fool, and directly proposed a big price: "Miss Lin, I am willing to provide one of Matisse's works in exchange for your two works." ”

When Lin Yizhen heard the name of "Matisse", her eyes immediately lit up.

Matisse, together with Picasso, was a giant of modern art in the 20th century and an outstanding representative of Fauvist painters. His "Pastoral" was worth about 15 million euros, and "Bouquet for July 14, 1919" sold for a whopping $28,642,500. All these brilliant achievements are enough to show what an outstanding painter Matisse was.

As soon as he opened his mouth, there were Matisse's masterpieces, which shows how optimistic he was about these two works.

But Lin Yizhen thought about it for a while, and finally shook her head.

Men Shao thought that the matter of nine out of ten was actually the result of rejection, and he was stunned for a moment and asked: "Miss Lin, don't you like Matisse's works?"

Lin Yizhen replied: "Although Matisse is a great painter, the style of Fauvism is not very personal to my liking. If I had a choice, I would rather choose Braque's cubist paintings. ”

Menshao shook his head in disappointment.

In his eyes, although Zhao Mengfu's masterpieces and early Qing folk oil paintings are very collectible, there is still a big gap between them and Matisse's works worth tens of millions of dollars. He was able to make this exchange request, and he felt that he was the highest praise for Lin Yizhen and the two masterpieces.

It's a pity that Men Shao is not a mainlander after all, and it is difficult to truly appreciate the strong sense of historical heaviness of the national treasure, as well as the artistic achievements that fill the gaps in history.

Lin Yizhen finally opened her heart and said: "There are few doors, it's not that the little woman doesn't know how to have fun, but this folk oil painting in the early Qing Dynasty must be made public to the world to fulfill the long-cherished wish of my generation." ”

"I see, I'm sorry!"

Men Shao is not a fool, and immediately understands the historical consciousness of a Chinese collector. However, Men Shao would not give up so easily, and said: "Since that folk oil painting of the early Qing Dynasty has heavy historical significance, then I will only exchange that masterpiece of Zhao Mengfu." ”

Brother Guang suddenly laughed and said, "Miss Lin, maybe I don't have as much skill as Menshao, but I still have some energy in my hands." I just heard that you have a big project that is a little blocked, so if you need my help, just ask. ”

"Shameless!"

"Despicable!"

Zhou You and Men Shao scolded secretly at the same time.

In many parts of China, money is always not as good as power, and Brother Guang is the best talent who uses power to the extreme.

I didn't want Lin Yizhen to think for a while, so she shook her head and refused: "Don't worry about the little problems on the construction site, the little woman believes in the strength of the company's team." If Guang Shao doesn't have any particularly attractive chips, then please offend the little girl. ”

"I wonder if Miss Lin is interested in glass jadeite?"