Dangerous Aesthetics

But David had another worry.

Because this is modern art, "Years" has been published for less than five years, and the general identification methods are based on painting techniques and linework, just like handwriting identification.Oliwen's ability to imitate is too strong, I'm afraid the appraisal experts will have to think about it.

"Don't worry, I've already 'signed' the painting." Olivan packed the painting with a smile, and prepared to go to London with David.

Although it is not the first time to come to this city, David will still let out a voice of admiration in his heart when he sees the miniature through the layers of clouds.

"When you are tired of London, you are also tired of life." Salioel Johnson, a master of English literature in the 18th century and famous for compiling the "Dictionary of the English Language" alone, once said with emotion.

London has maintained its long tradition since the ancient Roman Empire, and is known as the capital of the great empire "the sun never sets".Every corner here has historical relics telling the past, and the streets and alleys show the demeanor of years of frost and snow.

The taxi took them to the Berkeley Hotel in the heart of Knightsbridge. Harrods Department Store and Hyde Park are within two steps. The nearby residents are either famous or well-known, and it is self-evident that they pay attention to enjoyment.

David frowned when he saw the big bed.

"Why, don't you like it here?" Olivan had already started packing his luggage leisurely.

"Why... a couple's suite?"

"Just treat it as a honeymoon." Olivan still looked like he didn't care about anything.

As David expected, the other party pressed him on this bed again that night, lingering so much that he didn't wake up until the evening of the next day.

According to Olivan's speculation, since his grandfather Raymond Waleran once publicly stated that he wanted "The Years" very much, the person who stole this painting, since he could not sell it in a formal way, would definitely want to get it. Contact Raymond privately.The most important thing is that since the painting was stolen during transportation, the person who should be most suspicious is not Wenman or the curator of the Times Museum in New York, but the person responsible for the transportation.

At that time, besides the driver, there were two people in charge of guarding the painting in the delivery vehicle.

Two weeks after the painting was stolen, two huge sums of money were transferred to the accounts of these two people.Despite four relays, Neo managed to track down that the money came from an art dealer's secretary.And the art dealer's name was Victor Merlin.His reputation in the industry has always been not very good. Some people say that he often steals the works of art he likes and sell them at a high price, and some people say that he often forges fakes and deceives many ignorant people.

Of course, most of these are rumors and very little has been confirmed.

Most coincidentally, there happened to be a red wine dinner in a certain exhibition hall.Some wine merchants will offer their high-end series to the upper-class people present, hoping to win their favor.Guys like Victor who like to take advantage and have a bit of social status will naturally not be absent.

David's "Ruby" is also one of them.

Just attending a dinner party, very few men would enter the arena holding the hand of another male companion. Of course, Olivan would not let David find a woman casually, but introduced a local female painter, Reina, to Dai. dimension.

After David saw Reina, he was ready to move again.

Oliwen saw through his small thoughts at a glance, and told him directly that Reina liked women.

David was shot through, as expected of a female painter, artistic enough...

After seeing David, Reina grinned, pointed her finger on David's shoulder, and circled around him.

"Olivan, do you like him?"

All of a sudden, David suddenly became nervous.

What would you say?

Will you admit that you like me in front of others?

"Yes." Olivan pulled David to his side without extra expression, "So Lena, you have to make sure that no man or woman with evil intentions will approach him."

"It's quite troublesome," Reina folded her arms, "You know, he has a face that is easy to attract men and women with evil intentions. But, seriously, when did you fall in love with this kind of face? A man who can see?"

Only the face can be seen... This kind of statement really deserves to be Oliwen's friend.

"If he only had his face to see... I would be much more relaxed." Olivan's palm moved around David's waist.

Reina shrugged her shoulders, disapproving of Olivan's words: "Love is blind, it can make you see cow dung as gold."

David's good impression of Lena at the beginning is gone...

On the day of the dinner, Reina wore a black evening dress with crystals on the neckline and cuffs. The hem of the skirt was slit just right, and the looming legs made the men present almost drool.

Only David felt resentful, why would such a stunner like women?

The entire dinner party was filled with the aroma of red wine, and David could roughly distinguish the taste of several famous red wines.

David originally thought that "Ruby" would be eclipsed in front of those already unshakable red wines, but he didn't expect that after tasting Ruby, almost everyone in the room showed endless expressions and asked what the name of this wine was .

Because the market of "Ruby" is mainly in the United States, this dinner will also play a very important role in opening up the British market.

When those present knew that the brewer of "Ruby" was at the dinner party, David was quickly surrounded.

In fact, as soon as he entered the arena, he got the attention of many ladies and ladies, but Lena beside him was already very eye-catching, and she was not very confident to go forward to chat.

David's demeanor during the tasting is so impressive that even Lena can't help but stare at him.

During the conversation, David talked about artworks. In addition to red wine, he also had unique insights into artworks. The two collectors around kept nodding and chatting with him.

"Mr. Hovland, this is a phase pendant painted by a French court painter that I bought by chance, but I have never been sure about its authenticity. I wonder if you can give me some advice." A collector wrapped his neck He took off his phase pendant and handed it to David.

All of a sudden, several collectors gathered together.

David smiled to himself as his target, Victor Merlin, joined him.

"Hmm..." David looked at it seriously, "If the pendants were painted by French court painters, since their techniques are all orthodox training, even portraits that are only the size of a thumb will be very clear. .And the paints they use are solid and can be preserved for a long time. But the brush strokes in your pendant are a bit flimsy, and the paints used are not expensive, because the whole portrait is already flushed. Of course, it may be Because of the oxidation reaction with the falling metal. Look at the girl in the painting again. There is no decoration on her neck. Just imagine, how could a noble lady of the court not wear decorations? So I think This should be an ornament given to a sweetheart by a folk painter."

The collector showed a somewhat disappointed expression: "It seems that this pendant is not worth much..."

"That's not necessarily the case." David smiled meaningfully, and suddenly the men and women around him lost their minds, "This pendant looks very old. If I guessed correctly, this painting style should belong to France. During the period of Louis XV. At that time, Chinese-style lacquerware just flowed into France, which made the king and his lover Mrs. Pomba very obsessed. This pendant just reflects the folk painting skills influenced by the court art style at that time. Although it is not the court The work of the artist, but the value will not be low."

After the collector stopped David's explanation, he suddenly became enlightened, and happily took the pendant back.

David naturally caught Victor Merlin listening very seriously from the corner of his eye.

Maybe it was because David had too much attention, which caused many wine and art collectors present to gather, and Victor felt a little uncomfortable.

"Oh? Isn't Mr. Hovland a wine brewer? How can he have such a deep understanding of artworks? I'm afraid you are only commenting from a personal point of view?"

At this time, Reina took David's arm and said with a smile: "David, why didn't you tell everyone that before you went to France to run a vineyard and winery, you were still a member of the National Association of Art Appraisers?"

Turning around, she whispered in David's ear again: "I think I know why Olivan takes you so closely. If you were a woman, I would fall in love with you too."

David twitched the corner of his mouth. Is this a compliment?If he is a woman...

As soon as Reina's words came out, many people around showed surprised expressions, and even Victor had to lower his posture.

"It turned out to be like this, it is really disrespectful and disrespectful."

Soon, Victor was acting like a good student, asking David questions about his art collection.

And David also skillfully turned this topic to Uris's work "Years".

"It would be difficult for Mr. Merlin to ask me to do the appraisal for you, because I've been very busy recently. You see, there is a trade issue of red wine in Europe, and my old friend just bought a famous painting privately. It's Uris's age..." According to the confidentiality rules of the connoisseurs, they are not allowed to disclose the collector's information, David pretended to have slipped his mouth, and quickly shut up.

"Did you just say "Years" by Uris?" Victor was very sensitive to this topic, and immediately jumped into David's trap.