The Versatile Master Artist-Chapter 50 - 42: Art Critic from Austria

A week later,

Austria, Graz City.

A black Lincoln sedan stopped in front of an old house with the oak sign "Elena Gutsherrs" (German: Yilena Manor) hanging over its entrance, followed by a fully enclosed van painted with DHL Express logos.

"Countess Ilana, you look absolutely radiant today. According to etiquette, what should I do? Kiss your hand or kneel on one knee?"

Thomas got out of the bulletproof sedan, opening with a joke and greeting the host who was already waiting outside.

He pointed to the cameras held by the filming crew beside him, indicating that they were recording.

The owner of this manor turned out to be a girl, her dark hair neatly bound by the gauze crown on her forehead, and tiny pearl earrings clipped to her earlobes.

She looked no older than twenty, yet carried an air of calmness and serenity.

This kind of aura is often the privilege of those who have experienced life’s ups and downs, usually belonging to seasoned and elderly upperclass elites.

Thomas’s praise of her radiance was heartfelt.

The world is full of various beautiful girls, but this lady before him is uniquely beautiful.

The two opposing concepts of wisdom and youth merged into one, with her fresh and sweet face, the slightly fluffy hair under the silver gauze crown, and the intelligent and deep gaze.

It instantly overshadowed the flashy female influencers he usually saw on Twitch or YouTube, leaving them with nothing but dust.

Anna Elena.

An art critic, a student of the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, Austria.

She inherited the manor behind her from her aunt and is the last female heir of this ancient family, known in her ancestors’ time for their generosity towards impoverished artists.

When her great-grandfather, the old count, founded the famous art journal "Ölgemälde (Oil Painting)," the last monarch of the Habsburg family was still ruling over Austria.

Anna did not rise to welcome her guests.

This was not out of arrogance, for she was sitting in a wheelchair, with a stout nurse behind her pushing it.

"Just call me Anna. I’m not a countess. I’m not like those British people who love to make connections with the royal family; I’m just an ordinary citizen of Austria. If there’s anything special about me, it’s just that I’m a born cripple."

The girl’s voice was very cold, and German is already a language with a hard pronunciation, giving her voice an icy, uncomfortable feeling.

Such a beautiful girl being disabled inevitably elicits a sense of pity.

European aristocracy is quite complex; some are quite progressive, while others are very traditional.

Though both Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Prussia were close cousins that collapsed during World War I, abolishing monarchy and nobility almost simultaneously,

Austrians’ attitudes towards nobility are significantly different from their German relatives just across the border.

Though there’s no longer any aristocratic passport as a privileged document, you can still find titles like "Duke" or "Count" on Germans’ documents today.

This is because after World War I, with the abdication of William II, the Weimar Republic allowed them to retain noble titles, though they had to be incorporated into surnames.

For example, if you were "Lord Zhang San-Count," after the emperor was gone and the nobility abolished,

You could change your name to "Zhang San Count."

It still made you appear to be a proper count.

But in Austria, to prevent the Habsburg family from making a comeback, such actions are illegal.

All traces of nobility must be erased.

In Anna’s family, since her great-grandfather’s generation, even markers like "Don" or "Von" that obviously signify nobility were legally required to be removed from names.

However, not all noble descendants are as willing to integrate into the civilian life as Anna is.

Many miss the days of living distinctly superior lives.

The British Royal Family still acknowledges their Prussian relatives; if you went to Britain, you could still have the audacity to be addressed as SIR or LORD.

And those with clear, legitimate noble lineage can freely marry into the surviving royal families of Old Europe.

At their weddings, members of these European royal families still send representatives with gifts to attend.

"This introduction really has the... aura of an art critic."

Thomas smiled and shook hands with the girl in the wheelchair. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

He ensured the cameraman captured the footage just now.

In the realm of video content, no one is more knowledgeable than Thomas, and no one understands the commercial value of getting attention better than Thomas.

Having an attractive girl play the piano in a bikini could easily garner millions of followers.

He made some calculations.

A girl with a queen’s aura sitting in a wheelchair, with accompanying subtitles on the video’s cover—"I’m just an ordinary citizen of Austria. If there’s anything special about me, it’s just that I’m a born cripple."

The entire artist’s aura would emerge.

He knew among millions of viewers, there were very few painting enthusiasts. Most were drawn by the pretense of a one dollar vs. one million dollar challenge.

But who doesn’t love a beautiful and sassy young woman?

After the video is made, using a green screen adorned with a million sheets of "Washingtons" (one dollar bills) forming a green cash sea on the cover, it would surely increase video views by at least ten million within a week.

"Hello, Lady Anna, I believe I already stated my intention before coming. We wish for an art critic to professionally evaluate the illustration techniques and collection values of seven paintings, ranging from one dollar to one million dollars."

Thomas pondered the cover issues while pointing back at the armed security guards unloading paintings from the truck.

"I had originally wanted to bring the filming crew and directly send the paintings over, but evidently, the insurance company thought that wasn’t a good idea. They insisted on armed escort."

Due to the liquidity and fragility of artworks, practically every masterpiece is insured during gallery exhibitions or transport.

Europe really has art thieves, plenty of them too, and stealing a canvas is much easier and more rewarding than robbing a bag of cash.

In fact, some national galleries even published books with eye-catching titles like "Sir! Rembrandt Has Been Stolen Again!" recounting their theft histories.

This time, Thomas genuinely spent a million dollars for one of the illustrations, something some gallery-held paintings can’t fetch even that price.

If inadvertently damaged or stolen, a small art insurance company would go bankrupt after paying out twice.

"A million dollars... Spending a million on a themed illustration isn’t a wise collection choice." Anna tilted her head towards the DHL transport truck.

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

Anna said coldly, "Especially works by living artists. Illustrations aren’t oil paintings; they focus on realism, and it’s hard to possess a distinctive art style. Their value lies in the story, and you’ve predetermined the theme, evidently stifling the artists’ creativity.

From an investment perspective, it’s a failure. From an art perspective, it’s an utter failure. I don’t expect to see works that will surprise me."

The girl spoke frankly.

"WOW, I really should have hired you as my investment advisor before signing the check."

Thomas smiled.

He knew Anna made sense. Spending a hundred dollars for a commission from a master, their studio also pointed that out.

The story value of illustration surpasses its artistic value.

In a predetermined thematic scenario, a million-dollar work may not necessarily be technically superior to a hundred-thousand-dollar work.

However, the point remains.

Thomas needs attention, hype, and contrast.

He’s not a professional art collector; he’s a big influencer.

Whether it’s a one-dollar car to a million-dollar Bugatti, or a one-dollar sailboard to a million-dollar deep-sea dive, the stark contrast attracts viewers.

But if everyone paints their own thing, and each artwork is explained by an art critic about its love and peace blah blah blah spirits, then it becomes an art symposium.

For a professional art symposium, it’d be better to go to an art exhibition. Why watch his video then?