"Teacher, what are you doing?"
Lin Tao’s face was filled with astonishnt.
Everything had been going so well, and Elder Cao himself seed very appreciative of Gu Weijing.
Why would he suddenly stop this proposal?
Gu Weijing was also sowhat puzzled. The young man looked at Elder Cao, waiting for the older gentleman’s next explanation.
"Do you an...?"
"Young Gu, do you want to be my last disciple?"
The small old man’s gaze fell on Gu Weijing. Mr. Cao spoke in a dry and straightforward tone, delivering an utterly shocking piece of news.
"Teacher, what did you say?"
Lin Tao was stunned, he even thought he was hallucinating.
A simple sentence.
Lin Tao saw a different aning within it.
"I said, I’m already over ninety years old this year, but my health is still quite good. Maybe I have a few more years to live, and I should be able to teach one more disciple. Do you want to be my last student in my lifeti?"
Elder Cao’s tone was very serious.
"Gu Weijing, how could he... possibly..." Lin Tao was so shocked today that he exceeded all the surprises he had faced in the past year. At this mont, he was almost speechless.
"? Can I?"
Because this news was so unbelievable that it seed absurd, Gu Weijing didn’t feel any joy, but rather was equally perplexed.
Why,
Is he worthy?
Imagine a piano boy who suddenly gets an opportunity to beco a student of Liszt, how would he feel?
Or.
You find out you’ve won five million in the lottery, and you feel elated.
If soone tells you one day that you’ve won a ten-billion-dollar lottery, you’d wonder if the world has gone mad?
Being the last disciple of Elder Cao, what kind of concept is that?
If becoming Professor Lin Tao’s student is a stroke of luck that ordinary people would envy.
But events where professors of the sa level accept inner disciples happen dozens of tis a year, which is not rare in the art world of Dongxia, and it’s uncertain whether they will succeed. Looking at the whole world, it’s just a small stone thrown into the pond of painting.
However, if Elder Cao were to accept a disciple, and still intended to make him a unique last disciple, it would be akin to dropping a deep-water bomb into the pond.
As soon as this news spreads, tomorrow morning even Larry Gagosian (founder of Gagosian Gallery), Nicholas Logsdail (leader of Lisson Gallery)... such cultural tsars, art godfathers worth billions, would ask their agents.
"WHO IS FUCKING... Gu Weijing?"
(Who the hell is Gu Weijing? Laughter.)
Becoming a disciple of Lin Tao ans you have one foot on the path of becoming a professional painter.
Becoming a disciple of Elder Cao ans you have one foot already on the doorstep of modern art history.
If you’re still unclear about what this concept is.
Caravaggio rose to fa at a young age, earning nurous opportunities, becoming a well-known great painter by the age of twenty. This was because he worked in the studio of Peter Zaro, who was a student of Titian, Venice’s chief painter, at the age of thirteen.
How did Titian beco famous?
He gained nurous commissions in his teens through the style of his senior brother Giorgione.
And Giorgione? He got help from their teacher Bellini, the forr chief painter of Venice.
Collectors might not trust the talents of young painters, but they trust Bellini.
Getting such an opportunity ans, on one hand, that your talent is remarkable, and on the other hand, that you receive imnse attention and a wealth of resources.
The last ti Elder Cao accepted a disciple, Lin Tao rembered it was more than thirty years ago.
That coincided with Elder Cao’s sixtieth birthday, the one who beca his disciple was the little junior sister Tang Ning who ca from a Jiangnan family with a tradition in painting and calligraphy.
Although it was never explicitly stated, everyone at the ti thought the little junior sister would be the last disciple to inherit Elder Cao’s mantle, with almost all the big nas in the world of painting and calligraphy attending.
Now the little junior sister is also over forty, residing in the United Kingdom, and last year she had a total of seventeen oil paintings and Chinese paintings auctioned by Sotheby’s and other auction houses.
The most expensive painting fetched 4.5 million US dollars, the cheapest one was 150,000 US dollars. The total amount exceeded 34.5 million US dollars, which made her famous on the Asian artist rich list.
Becoming Elder Cao’s last disciple would an that the na Gu Weijing will imdiately leap from an obscure nobody, past the erging artist stage, to becoming a well-known artist like Lin Tao.
Although with Gu Weijing’s skills, he doesn’t really deserve the title of artist, at least from a market perspective, it’s like that.
Even if he just takes a blank piece of paper and scribbles on it, after signing his na, many would be willing to buy it. In any case, doing so would be an embarrassnt for Mr. Cao Xuan.
The art market often speculates on various concepts and reputations.
"Teacher, think twice, my teaching Xiaogu is just fine, there’s no need for you to personally step in, even if you want to guide him in person, it would be better to do it under my na."
At this mont, Professor Lin Tao almost wanted to kneel to his teacher.
He now looked at Gu Weijing as if he was a ticking ti bomb that might destroy the reputation of the entire school at any mont.
"Elder Cao, I might not be able to handle it."
Gu Weijing also gritted his teeth, forcibly restraining the urge to imdiately kneel and kowtow.
He believed in himself, thinking that one day, he would beco a true artist. If he beca famous too quickly relying on Elder Cao’s reputation, it might not be a good thing, like pulling seedlings to help them grow.
The highest rating given by the system was only semi-professional, not even considered a professional painter.
Gu Weijing was not self-deprecating; he considered himself excellent among his peers. For example, becoming Professor Lin Tao’s student, a third generation disciple of Elder Cao, was pretty good.
As for the title of artist.
People esteem themselves for having self-awareness, and at this mont he really couldn’t handle it.
When all sorts of public opinions and the glare of caras from all over the world co bearing down on him, everything about him would be magnified under the spotlight, and Gu Weijing might not be able to endure it.
"Mm, knowing your own worth makes you a good child. If you had imdiately jumped at the chance, desperate to beco my disciple, although that would be human nature, I would worry that I had misjudged you."
Elder Cao was not angry, seeming quite satisfied with Gu Weijing’s understanding of his own limits.
"So, teacher, are you joking?"
Lin Tao had almost had a heart attack from the small old man’s words and wiped the cold sweat off his forehead with his sleeve.
"Of course, it’s not a joke."
With that sentence, the heart Lin Tao had just put at ease felt like it was on a roller coaster again.
"Why don’t we make a deal."
Elder Cao smiled with a playful look on his face.
"This August’s Singapore Biennale." Old Sir Cao Xuan thought for a mont. "If you can participate and win an award, then you shall beco my last disciple."
So the teacher just wanted to give the young man so motivation, scared to death.
Hearing this, Lin Tao breathed a sigh of relief. Given Gu Weijing’s age and skills, making a na at a formal biennale was sowhat far-fetched.
It’s like asking a middle school student to play in a professional league,
It’s very difficult.
"Of course, I am referring to the professional category, not the amateur one. To beco my student, you must have so skills beyond the ordinary." Elder Cao added calmly.
Lin Tao was completely at ease.
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