A week later,

Graz, Austria.

A black Lincoln sedan pulled up in front of the gate of an old house with an oak sign of Elena Gutsherrs (German: Elena Estate), followed by a fully enclosed van with DHL Express on it.

"Countess Elena, you are truly glorious today. What should I do according to etiquette? Kiss your hand, or get down on one knee? ”

Thomas got out of the bulletproof car and started with a joke to greet the owner who was already waiting outside.

He pointed to the camera that the camera crew was holding next to him, indicating that he was now recording.

The owner of the manor turned out to be a girl, with dark black hair neatly tied by a crown of gauze on her forehead, and fine pearl earrings tucked between her earlobes.

She looked to be only about twenty years old, but she had a calm and peaceful temperament.

This kind of temperament is often a privilege reserved for the elders who have experienced the ups and downs of the world and advanced age.

Thomas said that the other party's glorious compliments came from the heart.

There are countless beautiful girls in the world, and the beauty of this young lady in front of you is unique.

The two contradictory propositions of wisdom and youth are fused together, the fresh, sweet face, the slightly fluffy hair under the silver veil crown, and the sensitive, secluded gaze.

All of a sudden, there is no scum left in his usual Twich or those female Internet celebrities who sell meat and rub the edges on the pipe.

Anna Elena.

Art critic and student at WYN Academy of Fine Arts, Austria.

She inherited the estate from her aunt and was the last heiress of the ancient family, whose ancestors were known for their generosity to impoverished artists.

When her great-grandfather, the old count, founded the famous art journal Ölgemälde (Oil Painting), it was the last Habsburg monarch who ruled the lands of Austria.

Anna did not get up to welcome the guests.

This is not arrogant, because she is sitting in a wheelchair and behind her is a fat aunt nurse pushing a wheelchair.

"Just call me Anna, I'm not a countess. I'm not one of those Englishmen who like to be related to the royal family, I'm just an ordinary citizen of Austria, and if there's anything special, it's only because I'm born lame. ”

The girl's voice was cold, and German was a dry-sounding language, which gave her voice the illusion of a cold spring.

It is deplorable that such a beautiful girl should be disabled.

The aristocracy of Europe is complex, the progressive is progressive, and the retro is retro.

Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire, like the Kingdom of Prussia, was a bitter brother in the collapse of World War I, and abolished the monarchy and aristocracy almost at the same time.

But the attitude of the Austrians towards the aristocracy was very different from that of their German relatives across the wall.

Although there is no such privileged document as a noble passport, you can still see the words "Duke So-and-so" and "Earl So-and-so" on the documents of Germans today.

This is because after World War I, with the abdication of Wilhelm II, the Weimar Republic allowed them to retain their titles of nobility, only with the need for surnames.

For example, it turns out that you are Zhang San-Earl, and then the emperor is gone, and the aristocracy is gone.

You can change your name to "Lord Count Zhang San".

You look like you're still a decent count.

But in Austria, it was illegal to do so in order to prevent the Habsburgs from making a comeback.

All traces of nobility must be erased.

Anna's family, starting from her great-grandfather's generation, even the "Don" or "Von" signs that clearly bear traces of nobility in their names have been removed by law.

However, not all descendants of the nobility are as willing to be commoners as Anna.

Many people are nostalgic for the life of superiority in the past.

THE BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY STILL RECOGNIZES THEIR PRUSSIAN RELATIVES, AND IF YOU GO TO THE BRITISH TOP, YOU CAN STILL BE CALLED SIR OR LORD BY BEING CHEEKY.

Moreover, the descendants of the nobles who are serious and have clear bloodlines can intermarry with the royal families of old Europe without hindrance.

The surviving royal families in Europe also send people to their weddings with gifts.

"It's a very ...... opening line The demeanor of an art critic. ”

Thomas smiled and shook hands with the girl in a wheelchair.

He confirmed that the photographer had captured the footage.

In the field of video, no one is more expert than Thomas, and no one understands the commercial value of the eyeball effect better than Thomas.

Find a girl with a better figure and play the piano in a bikini can easily attract millions of fans.

He estimated.

A girl with a queenly temperament sits in a wheelchair with the corresponding subtitle on the cover of the video - "I am just an ordinary citizen of Austria, and if there is anything special, it is only because I am born lame." ”

The temperament of the whole artist comes out.

He knows that there are not many painting enthusiasts among the hundreds of millions of viewers. Most of them are attracted under the guise of a dollar challenging a million dollars.

But who doesn't like a beautiful and sassy young lady?

Once the video is made, a green screen with a sea of green cash paved with millions of "Washington" (one-dollar bills) can add 10 million views to the cover in a week.

"Hello, Ms. Anna, I think I made my intention known before I came. We'd like to ask an art critic to judge the artistry and collectible value of seven illustrations ranging from $1 to $1 million. ”

Thomas decided to ponder the cover while pointing to the gun-wielding security guard behind him who was picking up the drawing from the van.

"I wanted to bring the camera team and send the painting directly, but obviously the insurance company didn't think it was a good idea. They insisted on armed escorts. ”

Due to the mobility and fragility of artworks, basically every famous painting will be insured when it is exhibited or moved in the art museum.

There are really art thieves in Europe, and there are quite a few of them, and grabbing a piece of paper is easier and more convenient than grabbing a pocket of cash.

There is even a National Gallery of Art that has a book with a funny title, "Sir! Rembrandt is lost again! tells the story of their theft.

This time, Thomas paid a million dollars for one of the illustrations, and some of the art museum paintings couldn't be sold for that price.

If this million-dollar painting is accidentally damaged or stolen, the small art insurance company will go bankrupt after paying twice.

"Million dollars...... Spending a million dollars on a proposition illustration is not a smart collector's choice. Anna tilted her head to look at the DHL delivery van.

"The illustration market is declining in the art market."

Anna said coldly, "Especially the works of living painters. Illustration is not oil painting, focusing on realism, it is difficult to have a special art style, its value lies in the story, and Ling has already prescribed the subject matter, which obviously stifles the creativity of painters.

It's a failure from an investment point of view, and it's a complete failure from an art point of view, and I don't expect to see works that surprise me. ”

The girl said it very bluntly.

"WOW, I really should have asked you to be my investment advisor before I signed the check."

Thomas smiled.

He knew that Anna had a point, and before spending a hundred dollars to ask the master for a manuscript, the other party's studio also explained it.

The story value of an illustration is higher than the artistic value.

In the case of a prescribed subject matter, there is not necessarily a clear difference in technique between a million-dollar work and a $100,000-dollar work.

However, it is still the same sentence.

What Thomas needs is eyeballs, gimmicks, contrasts.

He is not a professional art collector, but a big influencer.

Whether it's a dollar car to a million-dollar Bugatti, or a dollar windsurfing board to a million-dollar deep-sea dive, there are stark contrasts that viewers love to watch.

But if everyone paints their own paintings, and at the end of the day, the art critics explain the spiritual connotation of love and peace contained in each painting, then it becomes an art seminar again.

If you want to see a professional art seminar, you should go to an art exhibition, so why bother to watch his videos?