British writer

Chapter 155 Professor Lu is trying to pick up girls~

Of course it was impossible for Lu Shi to accept Mondrian as his disciple.

1. He cannot teach painting;

Second, he was worried that his influence would cause Mondrian to change direction, from a pioneer of geometric abstract painting to a pioneer of comics.

This has happened in history,

For example, E. O. Braun, the author of "Fathers and Sons", graduated from the Royal Academy of Drawing and Publishing in Leipzig, but later tasted the benefits of publishing comics and changed his direction.

Lu Shi waved his hand,

"No, I can't teach you."

Mondrian sighed and rolled his eyes, as if he wanted to persuade him again.

Margarita on the side whispered: "Professor Lu, I think you are fully capable of teaching him painting theory."

Lu Shi: "..."

"You think that I am too omnipotent."

Margarita pouted slightly,

In her mind, Professor Lu is a character who can teach everything, but is always so humble.

Lu Shi said to Mondrian: "That's all I can say. You need to explore the rest by yourself. By the way, if possible, I would like to buy a few of your paintings. What if you become popular in the future?"

Mondrian couldn't help but be delighted after hearing this.

At this time, he had not yet made a name for himself in the painting world and could only make a living by selling paintings. Being asked to buy paintings was undoubtedly a kind of recognition.

He asked in a low voice: "Professor Lu, I heard that you have a painting of "Water Lilies" hidden away?"

Lu Shi smiled,

"What? You want to trade your painting for "Water Lilies"?"

Mondrian shook his head repeatedly,

"How dare I!?"

However, Lu Shi's words were equivalent to giving him an answer. The rumors circulating on the streets of Paris seemed to be true.

Mondrian couldn't help but imagine,

A hundred years later, people sorted out Lu Shi's collection and found that there was a painting by an unknown person next to "Water Lilies", and the painter was himself.

What an honor!

What he didn't know was that in addition to "Water Lilies", Lu Shi also had "Pictures of Admonitions of Women's History".

Mondrian said: "Professor Lu, I can give you a painting."

Lu Shi shook his head,

"How can that be done? I have to pay!"

He had already made enough money by buying paintings when they were not famous, so it was really not appropriate to do it for nothing.

Mondrian opened his mouth, as if he still wanted to shirk.

Kandinsky next to him leaned over, nodded in the direction of Margarita, and whispered: "You should collect money. To a certain extent, this is also helping Professor Lu."

Mondrian looked confused and said he didn't understand.

“Why do you still help when you’re being paid?”

Kandinsky shook his head, looking like "a child cannot be taught" and said, "Just listen to me~"

In terms of age, he was several years older than Mondrian.

Moreover, he was already well-known at this time and had contact with many art dealers, critics and publishers, so he knew better about interpersonal communication.

Although Mondrian was confused, he still believed it.

He said to Lu Shi: "Professor Lu, come to the studio with me?"

Lu Shi nodded,

"If you're willing to part with me, that's the best thing."

Four people and one cat helped Mondrian pack up his easel and left Tower Bridge Park together.

Mondrian's dormitory is not far away,

He must have spent a lot of money to rent it. In addition to the single room for accommodation, there is also a studio of nearly 20 square meters.

Various paintings are piled up on the walls and in the corners, with more unfinished than finished.

There is a certain studio-specific smell in the air, a bit like diluted disinfectant.

There is a small desk in the corner, with one reference book on the east and one on the west.

The whole studio was in a mess.

We climbed up on the desk and lay down on the "throne" made of books, "snoring~ snoring~" in comfort.

Mondrian Sorry,

"Sorry, a little raunchy."

Lu Shi waved his hand,

"It doesn't matter."

He looked around, looking for works that impressed him, but found nothing.

Today, Mondrian's abstraction is still in its infancy, so most of the works are from the Hague School, which is far from modern art.

As for those experimental attempts, almost none of them were completed and were in a semi-finished state.

Margarita muttered: "I...well..."

He hesitated to speak.

Mondrian understood it,

"Miss Margarita, I understand that you think they are ugly."

Margarita is embarrassed,

"Ah this..."

Lu Shi said, "Rita, you should understand that these attempts are necessary."

The first time Lu Shi called her a nickname, Margarita's heart skipped a beat.

But she had to pretend to be nonchalant, try to stay calm, and ask: "Why is it necessary?"

Lu Shi spread his hands,

"What's the use of making a painting look like it? There's a photo that looks like it?"

Margarita said "Huh?"

As a result, when he was about to speak, he was interrupted by Lu Shi: "I know that the resolution of current photos is not good enough. But technology is developing at any time, and the situation will change in less than twenty years."

Kandinsky on the side nodded and said: "Moreover, from the perspective of printing and communication, photography has more advantages than painting."

Margarita understands,

"That's why today's painters find other ways."

Lu Shi waved his hand,

"Your statement seems like painters are evading competition with photography. Admittedly, this is a factor, but the main factor is to break the shackles of vision."

He pointed to a painting by Mondrian,

There is a tree painted on it, with bare branches and messy twists.

It's a bit like Mondrian's masterpiece——

"The Gray Tree".

Lu Shi asked: "What is this painting called?"

Mondrian gave an unexpected answer: "Winter. It's not finished yet."

Lu Shi looked at Margarita,

"Is there such a tree in reality?"

Margarita shook her head and said, "Of course not. The branches of this tree are intertwined and messy, almost weaving into a spider web. However, it does fit the name "Winter" because the painting is full of a solemn atmosphere."

Lu Shi nodded,

"So, on the one hand, painting can strive to be realistic and paint the existence that people see in front of them; it can also paint the existence in people's minds and thinking."

With that, he turned to Mondrian,

"I'll buy this painting...well...Mr. Mondrian, you..."

Lu Shi took a step back calmly.

Because at this time Mondrian was looking at him with affectionate eyes,

It looked like a prisoner who had been in prison for ten years had just been released. When he went to the bar to drink, he saw the 180-pound proprietress and had the enthusiasm of "a sow competing against Diao Chan".

Mondrian said: "Professor Lu, I want to become your teacher!"

The third time.

If he knew the rules of becoming a master in China, he would definitely bow his head and worship without hesitation.

Lu Shi was helpless,

"Let's talk about the price."

He picked a few more paintings,

They are all very stylized works that are incompatible with the mainstream.

When Mondrian met his confidant, he did not want to accept money at all and said: "Professor Lu, it is my honor to have a collector like you collect my paintings. How can I..."

Before he finished speaking, Kandinsky beside him shook his head at Mondrian.

And Lu Shi also directly took out a wad of cash.

"You must accept it!"

Mondrian looked grateful and asked, "Aren't you afraid of losing money?"

How could there be a loss! ?

Of course, it was impossible for Lu Shi to predict the future, so he said nonsense: "Mr. Mondrian, you are also a Dutch painter. You must know the story of Van Gogh."

Van Gogh's paintings have extremely high artistic value, but even one of them could not be sold during his lifetime.

After his death, his sister-in-law sorted out all the paintings, compiled the correspondence between Van Gogh and his brother, and Van Gogh's story into a volume for publication. At the same time, Van Gogh's works were loaned out to various exhibitions.

Van Gogh's paintings gradually became known and later sold for sky-high prices.

Mondrian said: "Professor Lu, I understand what you mean. But how can I compare with Mr. Van Gogh?"

Lu Shi chuckled,

"I trust you."

He put the money into the other person's hand,

"Whenever the rain stops, you can just send someone to the headquarters of the Mirror."

Lu Shi pulled our cat leash and left with Margarita.

Two people and one cat, they come and go quickly.

Mondrian looked at the banknotes in his hand, but still had an incomprehensible feeling, and said, "Is this real money?"

He probably clicked,

Fifty, £20 face value.

In other words, Lu Shi chose a few paintings and paid 1,000 pounds. This price is not low even for a long-established painter.

Mondrian is like in a dream,

"This is real money."

Kandinsky rolled his eyes and said: "Isn't that nonsense? Or are you saying that you have never seen a face value of 20 pounds?"

In 1901, the UK even had special banknotes with a face value of 100 pounds, but this kind of banknote was extremely rare because the face value was too high to be spent.

In fact, even £10 notes are rare on the market.

No wonder Mondrian looked like he had never seen the world.

When Lu Shi went out and brought so much money with him, he really wanted Mondrian to slash his butt with a knife——

My eyes were opened.

He said: "No, I have to return it to Professor Lu!"

Kandinsky grabbed hold of him.

"Just keep it honestly! Don't you see? Professor Lu gave you the money for a purpose!"

Mondrian was puzzled;

"What purpose?"

The corners of Kandinsky's mouth curved up, revealing a smile that saw everything through.

"I remember you told me before that the creation model of "Jane Eyre" comics is a novel division of labor. Miss Margarita is responsible for the plot, which is the so-called 'original work'; you are responsible for the painting, the so-called 'Original painting'. Right?"

Mondrian nodded,

"right."

Kandinsky sighed and said, "Why don't you understand? For comics, which one is more important, the 'original work' or the 'original painting'?"

Mondrian suddenly realized,

"Ah this..."

In comics, of course “drawing” is the most important thing!

So there is no "novel division of labor and cooperation" at all.

For Mondrian, he was acting as a gun for Margarita.

As the editor-in-chief of "Mirror", Lu Shi must be well aware of this.

As for the purpose of his money...

Mondrian's eyes flashed,

"Could it be..."

What Lu Shi did was a bit similar to the way in the university where a big-name scholar bribed an important paper and made his girlfriend the corresponding author to join SCI.

Kandinsky nodded,

"Yes, that's the 'Could it be'. I think Professor Lu had a crush on Miss Margarita, so he spent a lot of money. Of course, he must also have a love for talent. After seeing your paintings, he decided to help generously .”

Mondrian said: "Then I can't accept it anymore! At least not this much!"

As he spoke, he put on his coat and prepared to go out.

As a result, Kandinsky pushed Mondrian back and said: "Why are you so stupid! Why can't you accomplish such a romantic thing?"

Mondrian scratched his head,

"But……"

Kandinsky immediately interrupted: "Stop saying 'but'! There is nothing to say 'but' about!"

His eyes moved to the misty rain curtain outside,

"Professor Lu is trying to pick up girls~"

…

In front of Tower Bridge.

Lu Shi looked at the suspended tower bridge and couldn't help being speechless.

According to the maintenance workers, a ship just passed by and the tower bridge was lifted, but it couldn't be lowered no matter what.

Even though Britain in the early 20th century was an empire on which the sun never set, the quality of its engineering was the same as that of the modern crotch-stretching British, which was quite shabby.

Lu Shi complained: "I saw that the Tower Bridge was still in good condition just now, but why did the lifting system break down just now?"

Margarita was very happy,

"Walking around?"

She pointed to Tower Bridge Park with her delicate fingers.

Lu Shi was not very interested in walking in the rain, but since Her Highness the Princess mentioned it, he had no choice but to go along.

The two of them walked along the river and in the park.

When Margarita looked sideways at Lu, she felt an indescribable emotion in her heart. She even had the urge to walk in the rain with Professor Lu for as long as possible. .

Unconsciously, Her Royal Highness smiled,

She looked at Lu's profile,

Professor Lu must have the same idea, right?

Lu Shi was a little confused, seeing the other party smiling inexplicably, and asked: "Your Highness, are you..."

Margarita pouted,

"What did you call me just now?"

Lu Shi was even more confused.

"I call you 'Her Royal Highness'? What's the problem?"

Margarita was dissatisfied: "You clearly called me 'Rita' just now?"

Lu Shi: "..."

I don’t even remember it anymore.

He touched his nose awkwardly and continued the topic: "You are smiling so happily, what are you thinking about?"

The smile on Margarita's face became even brighter,

"Thought the same thing as you."

Lu Shi:? ? ?

He didn't even know what he was thinking just now, so how did Margarita know?

Weird!

So weird!

Lu Shi didn't know what to say, so he could only remain silent.

Margarita continued: "Professor Lu, why did you buy Mr. Mondrian's work just now? And it was at a high price..."

Lu Shi looked at the other party cautiously,

"I should have said it just now, firstly, I appreciate Mr. Mondrian's innovation, and secondly, I want to invest in art."

fraud!

Margarita was convinced that Professor Lu did that for her.

What original work...

What original painting...

It's just rhetoric.

Margarita had never heard of division of labor in comics.

She murmured to herself: "Professor Lu, although you are not British, you are a pure gentleman."

Her Royal Highness the Princess used some caution when she said this.

On the surface, she lowered her voice and talked to herself;

In fact, she controlled the volume just right so that Professor Lu next to her could hear her.

Lu Shi was a little embarrassed by the praise and explained: "It's not gentlemanly. My purpose of buying Mr. Mondrian's paintings is very pure and not that complicated."

It's really not complicated,

He simply felt that Mondrian's works would definitely appreciate in value in the future.

result,

"I know!"

Margarita raised her head, looked at Lu Shi, and said in a thin flute voice: "I know Professor Lu's purpose of buying paintings at high prices. I know...how could I not know?"

Her face turned red,

Suddenly, she made a face at Lu Shi,

This is a Phyllis-style action, revealing the girl's charm and quirkiness.

Lu Shi fainted,

"Ah? What's wrong with me?"

Margarita hummed softly, and this time she said in a voice that only she could hear: "Professor Lu is trying to pick up girls~"

She turned around and looked at Tower Bridge in the distance,

"It's fixed! Let's go!"