The clerk made a long speech, and slightly exaggerated the details of the painting in front of him, one by one.

"Sir, although this painting is only a sketch, but the whole painting has more than 80% of the place, close to the finished painting, and the size is the same as the original, is 2 meters wide, 1.53 meters high, as a sketch of a masterpiece in the world, but it is very rare, I wonder if you are interested in it, Mr. Lu Dao?"

Although the clerk's introduction just now was exaggerated, most of it was correct, and Chu Chen was also more interested in this painting, so he nodded and said, "I wonder if I can check this painting now?" ”

The clerk was very happy to see Chu Chen nodding, and he knew that if Chu Chen really bought this painting, he would have a lot of commission, so he hurriedly said, "Please wait a moment!" ”

After a while, the clerk walked over with a foreign man in his fifties, who had a large round face and a slightly fat body, and this person was the owner of the gallery, John.

Greeted Chu Chen politely, the boss John smiled and said, "Sir, your vision is so good, this painting can be said to be a unique work in the world, and I can guarantee that it is genuine Waterhouse." ”

"Each painting is unique in the world, and if two paintings are exactly the same, then one of them must be a fake."

Chu Chen also smiled and said, and then said: "If this painting is indeed genuine, then I will definitely buy it, but the current price tag, it does not meet the value of Waterhouse." If I couldn't get a discount, I definitely wouldn't buy it. ”

John? William? Waterhouse was a representative painter of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He is generally considered to be a Pre-Raphaelite, but in fact this is not the case. He leaned towards neoclassicism in the early days and pre-Raphaelites in the future.

Waterhouse's works are mostly based on myths, historical stories, and literary works, and the style of painting is fresh and natural, with a mysterious color, but it is more secular than the works of Pre-Raphaelite painters. His paintings are particularly reflective of the realistic life of his contemporary British royal earl aristocratic family. His paintings are fresh, elegant, and brightly colored. It was widely admired and collected by major British museums and royalty at the time.

However, Waterhouse's paintings have been collected and exhibited by many major British galleries, art galleries, and the Royal Society of Arts. But after all, his fame is not as famous as Dante and Holman is, therefore. The price of his paintings is not very high.

Like this work in front of you. Although it is a sketch of a famous painting in the world. The artistic conception was also very good, but Chu Chen felt that the real value was still far from the one million pounds he marked.

John smiled slightly, but didn't say anything more. He also knew that the price was not in line with what Waterhouse was worth now, but he believed that Waterhouse's fame would grow over time, and his paintings would grow in popularity.

Therefore, even if this painting is to be discounted, he will not be much cheaper, anyway, he is not short of money, he can put it aside and wait for it to slowly appreciate.

John asked the clerk to take down the painting, and then invited Chu Chen and the two into the VIP room on the side.

"Lady Charlotte" is based on a poem by Tennyson and is based on the legend of King Arthur in the Middle Ages. It tells the lamenting story of a girl named Charlotte.

Just like the original, this painting is full of mystery and sadness, and people can't help but be attracted to it, but what made Chu Chen a little curious before was that in addition, he also felt that this painting was different, as if there was something else that attracted him.

Putting on gloves and taking out a magnifying glass, Chu Chen observed it carefully little by little, first of all, he felt that the canvas of this painting seemed to be made of more materials, and in some places on the canvas, you can also see bubble-like ups and downs, although it is not obvious, but it can't escape Chu Chen's keen eyes.

Such characteristics, coupled with the feeling just now, combined with his previous experience, Chu Chen immediately thought of a possibility, so he couldn't wait to use the Spirit Treasure Eye on this painting, and while using the Spirit Treasure Eye, in an instant, two streams of spiritual energy, one strong and one weak, were directly transmitted from the painting in front of him to his body.

Needless to say, that weak spiritual energy was the sketch in front of him, but the other spiritual energy made Chu Chen extremely surprised, not to say that this spiritual energy could be comparable to a strange treasure like a self-warming cup, he was surprised that the valuation given by the ability was actually about the same as the value of the multicolored necklace!

This made Chu Chen curious and excited, and hurriedly looked into his mind, and under the induction of Lingbao's eyes, the "Lady Charlotte" in front of him gradually faded, revealing the true face of the painting inside.

When Chu Chen saw this painting, he couldn't help but be a little dumbfounded, the familiar picture displayed on the canvas made him instantly understand the name of this painting, which is known as the youngest of the "Three Masters of the Renaissance", the famous Italian painter Raphael during the Renaissance created "School of Athens"!

In a majestic hall, many men who looked like ancient Greek scholars gathered together, and they were engaged in a free and lively academic discussion around the two men in the middle.

These people are either listening intently, or gesturing to express their opinions, or turning their heads sideways to look at the world, or writing something on a wooden board, or preparing to record something, etc., etc.

This grand scene, the numerous figures, the vivid gestures and expressions, the portrait of the characters' personalities, and the harmonious, changing and unified rhythm of the layout, can be said to have developed the creation of painting to the peak of the Renaissance.

What made Chu Chen a little sluggish was that this "School of Athens" was obviously a mural, how could it be reduced to the current size, painted as an oil painting, and hidden under the sketch of "Lady Charlotte" in front of him?

Although Waterhouse was a pre-Raphaelite painter, the Pre-Raphaelites got their name because they believed that real (religious) art existed before Raphael, and they tried to promote Raphael's previous art to save British painting, and it has nothing to do with Raphael.

If Waterhouse and Raphael have something to do with it, it means that Waterhouse's mother is Italian, and he was also born in Italy, is it because of this that he got this rare work? This is likely to be a mystery that will never be solved.

Chu Chen shook his head secretly, and didn't think much about it, although the masterpiece in front of him has become smaller, the artistic conception it shows, as well as the demeanor of the characters on the canvas, have not changed, and it is the same as the original mural, it is so lifelike, coupled with the popularity of the original mural, it is no wonder that the ability will give such a high estimate.

Chu Chen suddenly felt dizzy in his head, knowing that the Lingbao Eye had been used for too long, he hurriedly put away the ability, and slightly eliminated the discomfort just now, he raised his head and asked the owner of the gallery:

"Boss, I like this work very much, I wonder if the price of Ludao can be cheaper?"

"At least 900,000 pounds, although Waterhouse's reputation is not high now, I believe that with his level, it will definitely be more than this value in the future!"

"Boss, to be honest, I know that Waterhouse's paintings will be more valuable in the future, but I don't think many people will pay the price of the future for what they are now, right? Anything at a given time always has a specific value, and I think 200,000 pounds should be enough to reflect the value of this painting. ”

The boss John was slightly stunned when he heard this, he didn't expect that the price offered by Chu Chen was the same as the price he bought at that time, in fact, it was precisely because the price he bought at that time was relatively high, so he clung to the current price tag, resulting in the painting never being sold.

"No, sir, your price is so outrageous, I can give you another 50,000 pounds, or I'll have to say I'm sorry."

"Five hundred thousand! Boss, I sincerely want to buy this painting, and I believe that there should be few people who will pay 500,000 yuan for this painting, after all, this is just a sketch, isn't it? ……”

The two then exchanged words, and the work was sold for £680,000.

After the transaction was completed, Chu Chen didn't have the heart to play, and returned to the hotel with Wu Ke with two painting tubes.

Back in the room, Chu Chen couldn't wait to take out the oil painting he had just bought and put it on the table. Then he put on his gloves and began to take a closer look at the four corners of the canvas.

Seeing this, Wu Ke asked a little strangely: "Achen, what are you doing here?" ”

Chu Chen raised his head and smiled slightly: "I'm looking for a layer of canvas below." ”

"A layer of canvas below?"

Wu Ke was a little puzzled at first, but after a while, she reacted and asked with a surprised face, "Could it be that there is a painting under this painting?" How do you see that? ”

Chu Chen explained with a smile: "First of all, the oil canvas of this painting is too thick, and secondly, if you look at these places, are there some subtle protrusions, this is probably because there is a canvas underneath, which was not treated tightly at that time, so there is this phenomenon." ”

Wu Ke looked at the canvas, and it really looked like Chu Chen said: "However, even so, it doesn't prove that there are paintings underneath!" ”

"That's why I'm just looking for the flaws in it now, but I don't have much on hand now, so it's best to use a special potion, but ......" Speaking of this, Chu Chen smiled and said, "There is!" ”

Wu Ke was stunned to see that Chu Chen was really in one of the corners of the canvas, and gently divided the two layers of canvas with tweezers. And since it is hidden under this masterpiece, it is very likely that another painting must be of higher value, or a stunning masterpiece. (To be continued......)

PS: It's been a bit of a Kavin in the past two days, and the update is late, so I'm sorry!