Van Gogh Reborn! - Chapter 39
It’s the new year.
Reporters who were clamouring around me, now withered and were not camping in front of the hotel.
Sometimes there are people who blindly hold the microphone, but there was no big problem while sight-seeing Paris.
I can relax and drink tea at the cafe.
“Was the food delicious?”
“Yes, Grandpa.”
On my way back from visiting the Louvre Museum with my grandpa, I ate Beef Bourguignon.
I admired this modern version of the food that I ate when I was Van Gogh.
Even though it is the same dish, I can feel a different because of the quality of the seasoning and ingredients.
It is regrettable that there’s only three meals a day.
“Let’s go to the Musée d’Orsay tomorrow. There are many paintings from Golden age that you might like were in Orse.”
“Golden age.?”
“From 1848 to 1914 is the Golden age of European paintings.”
From 1848 to 1914, then I can get to see the works of the people who were active a little earlier than me and those who were after I died.
“You can see the works before Golden age in Louvre, and the works after Golden age at the Pompidou Center.”
Come to think of it, the Louvre only had works before the 19th century.
As my grandfather said, it is divided and managed by period, it is like a typical French, who likes to standardize everything.
By the way, I looking at masterpieces of past masters for more than a month, staying at a luxurious hotel, and enjoying colorful dishes.
I really wonder if this is okay.
I know I have a lot of money, but it still feels weird.
The concept of money in this era is not yet clear.
For the time being, I should check whether it is okay for me to stay like this or if it’s not time to be relaxing.
I really want to build my own gallery someday.
I took out my smartphone and fumbled to access the bank app.
Sales of sunflowers are about 2.5 billion won, excluding 10% given to the Seoul Museum of Art.
When I moved to the overseas account, Marceau Gallery sent 4 million euros in sales of [Guest].
So…
I fumbled and accessed the Internet to find an exchange rate calculator.
When the amount was entered, a little over 5.6 billion won was displayed in Korean money.
In total, it is about 8.2 billion won.
Grandpa said I had to pay 20% of the tax under the name of corporate tax, so I should say that my money is a little over 6.5 billion won.
“Even if I eat potato pizza for every meal for the rest of my life, there will be lot of money left.”
How much would it costs to build a building like Marceau Gallery?
“Uh.”
While thinking for a long time, I noticed something strange.
“Grandpa.”
“Huh?”
“Why didn’t Marceau Gallery take any share for selling my painting?””
I heard that when paintings are sold, artists and galleries usually divide in 50 : 50 ratio.
It’s a total rip off, but anyway, it is strange that they had not taken a penny.
“Really.?”.
When I showed Grandpa my smartphone, he narrowed his eyes.
“There should be something wrong.”
Grandpa thought for a while and called somewhere.
“Hmm. Yes, yes. I contacted you to inquire about the sales price.”
He seems to have contacted the Marceau Gallery.
“CEO? Marceau?”
Grandpa hung up the phone with a serious look.
“ Marceau told them to deal with it like that.”
“Why?”
“Well, who knows how a maniac will think and act.”
That’s true.
I wondered if it was his way of apologizing.
Nope. Not a chance.
That can’t be the case when I think of him getting angry when I refused to receive his statue.
“Will it be okay?”
“What Grandpa?”
“I’m talking about the painting. Can you draw it in a month?”
He was talking about my appointment with curator Bang Tae of the WH Art Museum.
There should be at least 10 paintings needed to open an individual exhibition.
A month is more than enough for drawing 10 paintings.
“Yes, it’s enough.”
I’m overflowing with ideas of what I want to draw.
As I stayed in Amsterdam and Paris, I have developed a wider view.
There is a whole lot of new things that I want to try in my paintings.
Also, I don’t get hungry like I used to in my previous life and I’m not tired because of the insomnia and hallucinations.
There is no paralysis or seizure, so I can draw all day without worrying about anything.
It’s the ideal environment that I’ve been dreaming for so long.
If it’s now, then.
I think I will be satisfied with the wheat field of Auver, that I couldn’t draw in my previous life.
“How long does it take to get to Auver, Grandpa.”?
Paris and Auver are close, so I think we can travel quickly if we travel now.
“Auver? I don’t know.”
Grandpa took out his smartphone and searched for transportation to Auver.
Smartphone. It is really a very commendable object because you can find anything using it.
“You can take the train from Paris Buk Station to Fontoz. It takes about 40-50 minutes. Do you want to go?”
It’s much faster than I thought.
“Yes.”
“Hmm. Do you really want to go there.? Grandpa has been there before. There’s not much to see.”
It’s a very small village, so it’s worth it.
It doesn’t matter if there’s nothing to see.
It won’t be bad to walk around reminiscing about memories, but the goal is to complete the picture I was going to draw at the end of my previous life.
“Can I bring paint and canvas?”
“Of course. My my. Are you going to draw something for the exhibition?
“Yes.”
There will be no more meaningful picture than that for my first individual exhibition.
“Then let’s go tomorrow right away. Just in time, your grandpa also had some work to do there.”
“Work?”
“My friend is doing a Van Gogh commemorative project there, so he asked me to come.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“ Hohoho…I wanted to surprise my grandson Hun. By the way, don’t you need to go to Musée d’Orsay tomorrow.”
“I can go there anytime, right?”
“Of course.”
I can come back and look as much as I want, it’s a pity, but I think it’s better to postpone to next time.
⏩⏩⏩⏩⏩⏩
The next day.
We Arrived at Auvers-sur-Oise.
After leaving the station, there is a map attached to the information board.
It is said to be a tourist destination.
It seems to have become a tourist destination just because I lived here for a while.
“Let’s take a look around since we have some time left until our appointment.”
I started walking along with my grandpa, but unlike Paris, this place hasn’t changed much.
There are shops, roads, and cute paintings are drawn on each wall.
Nostalgic memories come to mind in every alley.
The reason why the village has not changed much over 130 years is because this place is still underdeveloped.
“It’s Van Gogh Park”.
A park to commemorate me.
I felt shy and proud.
One of the visitors I met at the Van Gogh Museum said there was a statue of me here, and I want to make sure it’s true.
“It’s small even though it’s called a park, right?”
As grandpa said, it feels like more of a small garden, rather than a park.
As I hurried inside, it was not very different from the surrounding scenery.
It doesn’t seem to be managed with much care.
However, there is definitely a statue like the visitors told me.
I ran out in joy.
If they celebrated me, wouldn’t they sculpt me in a cooler way.?
But contrary to my expectations, it became clear that the person who created this place hates me so much.
Abnormal skinny body, skinny arms and legs, and the eyes are deep in shadow, bushy hair, and untouched beard.
On top of everything, worn out clothes that make me look like a beggar.
It’s not the sculpture of a human body, but of a skull.
“It’s Vincent van Gogh.”
“… It’s not.”
Although I was not feeling well, I was not this hideous.
“Haha. It’s very different from the self-portrait, right? But before he died, he looked like this.”
“No, he didn’t.…”
The person who made this statue has no idea how handsome I was,
He just wanted to make me look so ugly.
“Ha ha. Okay. Yeah I understand. You can feel bad since you like Van Gogh very much.”
I was clenching my fists because I was so angry, but my grandfather brought up an unexpected story.
“I said Van Gogh died of lead poisoning, do you remember.?
“Yes.”
“He had gum disease as an early symptom of lead poisoning. He had abdominal pain, and he wouldn’t have eaten properly in his later years. That’s why he’s so skinny.”
“It must have been really painful. They said that the only time he ate properly for six or seven days in a month.”
At that time, I survived with hard bread, but my gums hurt so much that I couldn’t even eat it properly.
I could eat a little without soaking it in water, and even that started upsetting my stomach.
Thanks to this, I didn’t eat much for a month before I died except for paint.
I didn’t think much because it was painful.
Now that I look at it, this statue looks the same as before I died.
Still, they could have made a little cooler.
Looking closely at the sculpture, the middle end of the right hand and the brush were particularly worn out.
“Touch it Hun. There might be Van Gogh’s talent in them.”
No, there was no talent or anything in them, that’s why my life ended like this.
“Let’s go Grandpa.”
I don’t want to recall the painful memories.
As I walked a little out of the park with Grandpa, I could see the town hall.
“The white building over there is Auver Town Hall.”
The town hall building remains the same.
I approached the town Hall with Ravoux Lodger on the opposite side.
[La Mairien d’Auvers]
My painting is printed in front of the town hall building and hung with a guide phrase.
Blue roof on a white exterior wall.
When I first saw that building, I was surprised by the pure exterior and had no choice but to leave it as a painting.
It’s incomplete.
Looking at it now, there are regrets, but at least I can feel the emotions of that time again.
I don’t know about anything else, but I honestly drew that tree well.
“Isn’t it amazing”?
“Huh…..?”
“Isn’t that ordinary building looks differently in the eye of an Artist? It’s all thanks to Van Gogh that this place has become a tourist destination.”
Like Kevin at the Van Gogh Museum, when I listen to my grandpa’s words, I really feel like I’m a really great person.
“If you look at an ordinary village from the eyes of Van Gogh, doesn’t it feel so beautiful. People who sympathize with it come to this place.”
On second thought, it’s amazing.
With this painting I was able to communicate with so many people.
“Van Gogh lived here in Auver for about 70 days.”
My grandfather said, closing my collar button, since it became cold.
“There are 72 paintings of the town hall, streams, wheat fields, and farmhouses.
“Except for a few days before moving and dying, he drew more than one piece a day.”
As Grandpa said.
During this period, I didn’t know when I couldn’t draw, so I drew everything that came to my eyes.
I burned everything into the canvas like a flame that knew it was going to go out soon.
Since I was desperate, all I could do was draw as many paintings as possible.
“Let’s go.”
When I left the town Hall behind, I immediately saw the Ravoux Lodger where I stayed.
[Auberge Ravoux]
It looks like the time when I stayed here.
The outer wall is intact, and the paintings seems to be new.
The first floor with doors and window frames painted in high brown on a pink background.
The second floor painted with light beige and white goes strangely well.
The small trees in front of the building are neatly arranged and flowers are cultivated in the front and back of the building.
There were people in the building.
There are not many people who eat, but there are two tables.
I didn’t know they were running this place even now.
I suddenly started to miss Mrs. Ravoux’s tasteless food.
