In the process of taking paintings, Wang Zhiwei's heart has been pinching, and he may not be so nervous even when doing a big business.

Zhao Tianming rolled his eyes, he had handled a lot of items in the auction house, and he didn't have much of this craftsmanship?

In the eagerness of the two of them, a picture scroll finally appeared in front of them, it was a little smaller than Liu Haili's picture of Huangshan, but the original owner made a disguise in order to cover up the real treasure, leaving a blank space of about ten centimeters under the rice paper used to mount.

The original owner probably didn't want to cover up the truth forever, as long as it was reframed, he would definitely be able to find this surprise, but it was framed so well, and it hadn't been reframed for many years, which caused it to not see the light of day again.

Zhao Tianming turned his attention to the content of the painting for the first time, this is a "Qinglian Picture", the peculiar thing is that the whole painting has leaves and no flowers, the slim jade stands in a bay of clear water, the branches are lush but scattered, look at it for a long time, there is a sense of sparseness.

At the bottom of the painting, there are two clear inscriptions.

"Bitter gourd monk, blind venerable, whose painting is this?" Wang Zhiwei was more anxious than anyone else, and read it directly, but when he saw that the two were names he didn't recognize, he felt a little empty in his heart, and almost asked how much it was worth.

These two are the names of Shi Tao in the Qing Dynasty, and they are also his two most famous aliases. Zhao Tianming said to Wang Zhiwei, who was curious about knowledge.

Shi Tao and Zhao Tianming knew each other, and they had come into contact with one of his paintings when they were in the auction house, but they were not considered masterpieces. He is a very important figure in the history of Chinese painting, not only creating a large number of fine works, but also an explorer and innovator of painting practice, and an art theorist.

His later work "Quotations on the Painting of Bitter Melon Monk" talked about the unity of art and reality, the unity of internal and external, the unity of mind and object, and the unity of cognition, which profoundly summarized the painting art concept and aesthetic ideas of this genius in the painting world, which had a profound impact on later generations, and was highly respected by many painting masters in modern times, which also led to the high value of his paintings, which was difficult to find.

Shi Tao and Hongren, Zhu Chen, and Zhu Qi are collectively known as the "Four Monks of the Early Qing Dynasty", in his early years, he taught the Song and Yuan dynasties, and his painting style was sparse and clear, and in his later years, he used his pen to indulge in it, and the ink method was dripping, and the style was changeable, especially the album sketches; the flowers were chic and clear, innocent, and the spirit was clear; the characters were clumsy and simple, and they were unique. The surviving works include "Shitao Arhat Hundred Open Albums", "Searching for Strange Peaks and Drafts", "Mountains and Rivers and Clear Sounds", "Bamboo and Stone Pictures" and so on.

In fact, he has many aliases, Ah Chang, Da Dizi, Qingxiang Old Man, Yuan Ji, etc., the two aliases of Bitter Melon Monk and Blind Venerable, and there is also a different saying.

Shi Tao, like the Bada Shanren, that is, Zhu Qi, is a descendant of the Ming Dynasty royal family and has suffered a lot all his life. The bitter gourd, with green skin and vermilion, means that he is in the Manchu Qing Dynasty and remembers Zhu Ming, and the blind Venerable, who is blind, also means that he lost the Ming Dynasty. How can a blind person not want to regain his sight?

It can be seen that he always wants to restore the glory of the Ming Dynasty in his heart, but he is powerless in the face of reality, he can only send love to calligraphy and painting, and his heart is full of contradictions.

This can also be reflected in some of his works, whose style is contrary to the retro trend of the time, seeking change and innovation, but also focusing on tradition.

What is the most famous, Wang Zhiwei said that he has never heard of any of them, however, Shi Tao he still knows, this name may be a little unfamiliar to ordinary people, but it is very famous in the industry, it is said that the status in the history of Chinese painting is very high, many masters in modern times are very respectful of him, Wang Zhiwei has been in contact with a lot, naturally I have occasionally heard people mention, it is difficult to hear it.

"The paintings of the Qing Dynasty should be very valuable, right?" Li Sisi asked, although he was not blessed, it was good to have an eye addiction, if it weren't for the fact that he came with Zhao Tianming, there would not be many such opportunities.

Shi Tao is one of the four monks in the early Qing Dynasty, and the Bada Shanren are equally famous, his fine paintings are naturally very expensive, 11 years of auction of large-scale boutique "Min You Farewell Landscape Volume", auctioned more than 135 million yuan. ”

Zhao Tianming said a number, which directly scared the girl stupid, and even the eyes that looked at the painting in front of her changed, as if it was worth more than 100 million.

"More than 100 million?" a painter who has never heard of it, but his work can be auctioned at this price, and the impact is indeed a bit big.

However, in his later years, he was a professional painter, selling paintings for a living, and the amount of works created was very large, and many of the works were perfunctory and uneven, so the difference was also very large, and it was not that the paintings of celebrities were valuable. Zhao Tianming changed his words and continued.

"And is this painting worth anything?"

Hearing him say this, Wang Zhiwei, who was originally smiling, was not calm again, and he also heard many friends say that not all of Shi Tao's works are valuable, is he so unlucky, it just so happens that this one is a worthless ordinary goods?

"Don't worry, according to my judgment, this is also a masterpiece, not those paintings that have coped with things, and this painting is a bit peculiar, the whole painting has leaves and no flowers, and it is declining in the midst of complexity, highlighting the word 'Qing'. ”

"Really, you didn't even notice it if you didn't say it. ”

Wang Zhiwei and Li Sisi looked at the scroll again, only to find that there was really not a single lotus flower on it, it was all branches and leaves, swaying with the flowing water.

"So, the value of this painting should not be low, right?" Wang Zhiwei didn't know the artistic value, but as a businessman, he knew what it meant to be a strange commodity.

Of course, he didn't want to sell the painting with such an idea, from the beginning, he planned to keep it for himself, and in the future, he would raise his face in front of those friends, so that they would know that his vision was not bad, and it was just a small matter!

"Don't worry, I have to tell you, according to my judgment, this is a fake, and it is likely that it was not painted by Shi Tao himself. Zhao Tianming smiled mysteriously again.

"Fake, brother, don't play with me, can you make it clear at one time?" Wang Zhiwei's mood is like a roller coaster, ups and downs, when opening the real estate, the sales situation is not so exciting, pick up a fake?

"Brother, are you sure this is a fake?" Wang Zhiwei was very unwilling, looking left and right, as if he could see the flowers in the picture scroll.

"You see, this painting core is a little new, and the paper used is not less ancient than that of the Qing Dynasty. Zhao Tianming pointed out to him.

"Could it be that it has been hidden for too long?" Wang Zhiwei comforted himself with a hint of luck.

Zhao Tianming shook his head: "There is no such possibility, Liu Haili's painting should be completed in the forties or even after the liberation, and it is likely that it was re-framed and hidden, which was probably a matter of the Cultural Revolution." In fact, the paper production process of different dynasties is different, and there are great differences. ”