Starting My Treasure Hunting In England

Although Van Gogh's paintings were not very popular during his lifetime because they were inconsistent with the main styles of that era, after his death, his paintings and his status in art history became increasingly high, and even became the pride of the Netherlands.

However, unlike what most ordinary people imagine, Van Gogh did not live in poverty during his lifetime. To give the simplest example, his brother gave him 100-150 francs per month, and at that time, a teacher's monthly income was only 75 francs.

At the same time, there are too many coincidences in saying that he failed to realize his talent. After all, that era was not the Internet era, everything was very slow, and the marketing channels were not smooth. It was not easy for a painter to become famous. He had to practice art for at least 25 years before he could be accepted by the market.

Van Gogh's problem was that he started too late. He did not decide to pursue art until he was 27 years old. His career as an artist lasted only 10 years, and the year he passed away, professional art critics already seriously reviewed his paintings in magazines.

Around 1908, collectors began to purchase Van Gogh's paintings in large quantities. If Van Gogh were still alive, he would only be in his 50s at this time, which is not considered old at all from today's perspective.

It is a pity that Van Gogh passed away so early that he was never able to enjoy the recognition he deserved. Otherwise, he would most likely have enjoyed success and fame during his lifetime.

In addition, whether Van Gogh's madness qualifies as a psychopath in the current sense is also a question worthy of discussion. After all, the reason why Van Gogh gives people the impression of being "crazy" is closely related to the fact that he inherited a family disease called epilepsy.

It is well known that epilepsy is still a disease that can only be alleviated but cannot be cured. Therefore, Van Gogh's periodic chronic illness deeply affected his mood. He was irritable and easily depressed, and also caused him to suffer from short-term amnesia.

In addition, he was poorly fed and malnourished, but he also liked to drink high-alcoholic absinthe, drink a lot of coffee, smoke cheap tobacco and other stimulating foods, which made his mood violent and violent.

Absinthe is a high-alcohol liquor with anise and anise flavor. The main raw materials are anise, fennel and absinthe herbs. These three are often called the "holy trinity".

This wine has a strong aroma, a light and slightly bitter taste, and contains a high alcohol content of over 45 degrees. Therefore, it is traditionally diluted with 3-5 times of ice water dissolved in sugar cubes, so the taste is sweet at first and then bitter. With a lingering herbal smell.

What's more, the main ingredient in absinthe is the absinthe herb, a bitter herb that contains a chemical called absinthe, which is very similar to a drug that's legal in many countries but illegal in others. THC, the active chemical component in the plant.

This means that both wormwood and THC produce psychotomimetic effects by interacting with common receptors in the central nervous system. Simply put, drinking alcohol can produce effects similar to those of taking drugs.

As we all know, for epilepsy, whether it is alcohol, tobacco, caffeine or psychotropic drugs, they will double the impact on the recurrence of the disease.

So under the influence of a large amount of hallucinogens, alcohol, coffee and nicotine, even Van Gogh once suspected that he was "going crazy". Voluntarily admitted to the mental sanatorium of Saint-Rémy.

However, a few years ago, a scholar visited this mental sanatorium and obtained Van Gogh's medical records from that year. According to an analysis of Van Gogh's medical records from that year, Van Gogh was "not crazy."

In addition, some Van Gogh researchers believe that Van Gogh was regarded as a madman because "his ideas were too ahead of his time" and people at the time could not understand them.

The most important thing is that the large number of letters left by Van Gogh show that his brain is normal. It can even be said to be sharp, at least a madman cannot write such a logical and well-organized letter.

Therefore, Liang En feels that the reason why later generations promoted it like this is because only Van Gogh who was poor and lived a miserable life could fit the image of an "artistic martyr saint" and produce a stronger dramatic effect.

"This is a national treasure, yes, this is a national treasure." While Liang En was telling Joan of Arc a short story about Van Gogh, Nelson, who had read the entire notebook, became excited, and then He raised his head and looked at Liang En.

"Liang, can I ask you something?"

"First let me hear what you ask of me." Liang En looked at him and said, "You also know that I am only one person after all, so I may not be able to fulfill your request."

"Of course you can do it." Nelson raised the notebook in his hand and said, "I will take care of everything I found this time and give it to you. At the same time, I will give you a manor of mine in Ireland. I just hope that you will Can you give me this note?"

"Are you really willing to give it up?" Liang En was a little surprised after hearing what Nelson said, because the wealth here is definitely not a small number, and the manor Nelson mentioned is even more expensive.

It is a Victorian-style building built in 1863. It has been renovated and renovated many times. It has 6 luxuriously decorated bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, and three living rooms. The entire property covers an area of ​​more than 120 hectares.

In a way this is a real mansion. It can be fished, farmed, and polo matches can be held. Even if the current economic situation is average, similar real estate will cost about 5.2 million euros.

To be honest, although Liang En's wealth is definitely not a small number now, as his industry is on the rise, he is more willing to put that wealth into industrial development, so he definitely does not want to spend a lot of wealth on enjoyment. .

Of course, this does not mean that Liang En is the kind of masochistic ascetic monk but just a more realistic person, so he naturally likes this kind of big house, so he confirmed it to Nelson.

Because in his opinion, even if Van Gogh's record book is sold at the highest value, it is actually inferior to what he paid this time, so he must understand why in advance.

You must know that even if they are works by the same famous artist, the prices are obviously different. Take Van Gogh's works as an example, the prices of his famous works and his unknown works are at two levels, let alone oil paintings and drafts.

Although the contents of the paintings in the notebook in front of me are several masterpieces by Van Gogh, including a pair of sunflowers and a draft of his last work during his lifetime, the price is not as high as those oil paintings, and can even be said to be several orders of magnitude lower. .

“There are many reasons, such as the fact that these works have considerable room for appreciation,” Nelson said with a smile. "The more important point is that these things have played a big role in opening up the Dutch market for me——"

The Nelson family is still in the shipping business, and their next expansion target is the Netherlands, so he hopes to make contact with the Netherlands, which will be beneficial to his next move.

There is no doubt that these works of Van Gogh are the easiest stepping stone to contact the Dutch authorities. So to Nelson, the value of these things was much higher than the market value.

"So that's it." Liang En nodded after hearing Nelson explain the reasons, because many things have different values ​​for different people. So it makes sense that some values ​​are unusually high for some people.

"Then I'll give you this book. I hope your business in the Netherlands goes smoothly this time."