Van Gogh Reborn! - Chapter 63
There was tension at the WH Art museum Auction site.
No one could predict how much Ko Hun’s painting, which has recently been the center of attention, would be sold for.
There were about 200 participants, and even that aspect was unusual.
WH Group Chairman Yoo Jang, who drew attention by visiting the {Sweet Happiness} exhibition, did not attend contrary to expectations, but Henry Marceau, the world renowned painter and a billionaire, did attend.
Many celebrities, including Christine Nolan, the best film director and producer of the 21st century, and Richard Phillips, the chief product designer of Pineapple, participated.
NBC, a South Korean broadcaster, unusually broadcasted WH Art museum Auction live, and nearly 300,000 people watched the auction through the WH Art Museum’s New Tube channel.
Ko Hun is gonna swim in cash today.
Wouldn’t it be at least more expensive than his first painting?
I guess Yoo Jang didn’t come.
He just went to see the exhibition in the first place, it was the media that got excited again without any source.
Who has the most money among the people over there?
It’s either Henry Marceau or Christine Nolan.
I think it’s Nolan.
Everyone knows him as a movie director, but he also producer.
I think he would have made a huge fortune from the movies he made and the one he produced.
Yeah, well, there are a couple of $1 billion movies in the World Wide Box Office.
Is Henry Marceau rich?
The Marceau family had a tight grip on the French economy.
Paribas were originally owned by the Marceau family.
What’s a pari… ba…!!?
It is now merged with BNP and is called BNP Paribas, the largest and richest bank in Europe. Henry Marceau is also a major shareholder there. There’s a huge amount of personal income.
Henry did brag about his money to reporters last time.
As of last year, he was among the top 50 richest people in the world.
BTW…Who are those people holding the phone?
Telephone bidders. Some people can’t participate in the auction in person, so they can call the amount over the phone and them participate in the auction.
Here we go.
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The auction took place in a tense atmosphere in which all employees of the WH Art museum Seoul branch were mobilized.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I’m the auctioneer, Jong Sijoon.”
The participants showed no reaction.
Jong Sijoon, who had been in charge of several auctions, had no choice but to be nervous for the auction today.
It was his job to sell the auctioned goods at the highest price possible.
The responsibility was heavy since the profits going to the WH Art Museum and Artist Ko Hun changed according to his progress.
“Today’s auction covers five works introduced in the first solo exhibition of young Artist Ko Hun.”
Ko Hun’s Art history was introduced on the front screen.
“Artist Koh Hun began his work in November last year with his work [Sunflower]. He successfully finished his first individual exhibition in February this year with an impressive sense of color and sublime mind.”
The auctioneer’s words were simultaneously interpreted in English, but none of them entered into Henry Marceau’s ears.
All he was interested in was [Frost wheat field].
Christine Nolan and Richard Phillips were expected to compete, but he decided that he will definitely going to buy it no matter who his competitor was.
He closed his eyes with a pamphlet introducing Ko Hun’s works.
“Let’s take a look at the first piece. It’s [Ravoux Lodger].”
The painting was sketched by Ko Hun at Auvers-sur-oise and completed in Korea.
Although it was a already released painting, the participants were admiring it politely.
“It’s an oil painting on a 30F canvas. It is the painting of Ravoux Lodger, where Vincent van Gogh stayed until just before his death. The bold omission reminiscent of Korean ink painting and the texture expressed in light colors are impressive.”
Jong Sijoon, an auctioneer who explained the painting, spoke after looking around the participants.
“Then we will begin the auction for the work [Ravoux Lodger]. The starting price is 50 million won. Do we have 50 million won?”
Some people raised the number tag.
Auctioneer Jong Sijoon calmly raised the price, and people who wanted to buy the [Ravoux lodger] rushed in.
On the front screen, the Korean won, the U.S. dollar, the yen, the yuan, the Hong Kong dollar, and the euro were updated in real time.
“Customer No. 2 has bided 500 million won. The highest price. The highest price is 500 million won on the spot, on the phone.”
Jong Sijoon, who was looking at the participants in person, reached out to the person holding the number tag as if hesitating.
“Would you like to bid Sir? Yes…No.118 has accepted 550 million won and No. 47 has accepted 600 million won.”
The higher the price, the fewer people raised their hands.
They had no choice but to be cautious while looking at each other.
The desire to have Ko Hun’s work and not wanting to spend too much money were evident, since there was an upper limit that each person had in mind.
The auctioneer Jong Sijoon had to overcome the upper limit set by them with his eyes, gestures, and speech.
The number of people who wanted to buy a [Ravoux Lodger] was narrowed down to two.
“800 million won, No.60 customer bid 800 million won.”
An elderly woman raised the price from 600 million won to 800 million won in a single stroke.
“Ugh….!”
A middle-aged man who had been competing all the time groaned uncomfortably, wrinkling his face.
Jong Sijoon, the auctioneer, turned his head sideways and looked at the hesitant man with his chin pulled.
He was provoking him to give up here.
The middle-aged man hesitated with his mouth shut and held up his number tag.
“Customer No.47 has bid 850 million won. Thank you. The current highest price is 850 million won.”
Jong Sijoon, who raised the amount, was not in a hurry.
While watching the auction, Jong Sijoon didn’t think that the old-lady, who suddenly raised the price, would give up here.
As he predicted, the elderly woman immediately picked up the number tag.
“900 million won. The customer No.60 bid for the highest bidding price of 900 million won. Do we have 1 billion won?”
Ko Hun, who was watching the auction process, was deeply impressed.
The auctioneers words and actions that seemed to provoke auction participants while having manners and dignity were very impressive.
The attitude that stimulates the desire of prospective buyers and prevents them from hurting their pride was excellent.
“One billion, I’ll make the final call. On-site, telephone, and written highest price of 1 billion won. 1 billion won. 1 billion won.”
Tang Jong Si-joon hit the auction stand with hammer.
“ Sold. [Ravoux loger] sold for 1 billion won. Thank you.”
It was purely the ability of the auctioneer Jong Sijoon that raised the price, which would have originally been only 800 million won.
‘I also need an auctioneer.’
While 200 people who visited the site, phone participants, and written participants competed.
In an instant, it was determined how much the participants wanted to buy the work for.
There was a difference in the price of the painting according to the auctioneer’s capabilities.
‘Curator, secretary, auctioneer….Who else do I need?’
Every day and every time, Ko Hun almost had a headache while understanding the bucket of new knowledge, but Ko Hun was not in a hurry.
It only accumulated knowledge that was needed to run a completely independent gallery.
“800 million won. 800 million won. 800 million won. Sold.”
While Go Hun was contemplating, the second work that came up for bidding got sold.
one billion and eight hundred million? Isn’t the amount less than what expected?
It’s still a great amount, even though [Sunflower] got sold for 2.8 billion and [Guest] for 5.4 billion .
Wow…the painting of 10 year old boy was worth of hundreds of millions. What kind of world are we living in.
Only few Korean artists can sell one billion won worth of paintings.
Ko Sooyeol, Kim Hyunki, Yoo Jinhee, and Jang Mirae are the few…right?
Paintings of those people are much more expensive.
[Sunflower] was brought upon by Henry Marceau himself, while [Guest] was in Paris. But It’s not easy to get billions from auction in Korea.
The auction price doesn’t go up because of a few rich people. No matter how rich you are, you want to buy it cheaply. If competitors are passive in raising prices, that’s it.
Henry Marceau didn’t raise his hand.
Not only Henry Marceau, but also rich people like Christine Nolan and Richard Phillips aren’t.
Everyone is aiming for [Frost wheat field].
It was as expected by viewers watching the auction broadcast live.
The last piece, which Pierre Malo, the master of frames, fell in love with and the that was commented by art historian Caroline Streak as a work that marks the beginning of a new era.
The hope and courage contained in the 30F canvas appeared at the auction.
Finally.
Marceau will join the war.
Who..Who will win this war
The heated discussions became intense.
All those seeking [Frost Wheat Field] tried to hide their emotions, but fierce competition was expected.
Even Jong Sijoon, an auctioneer who successfully auctioned countless times, could not help but be nervous.
“The last work is [Frost wheat field]. It is a work by Ko Hun that expresses the winter wheat fields of Auvers-sur-oize. Dr. Caroline Streak also compared [Frost wheat field] to Vincent van Gogh’s [Wheat field with crows].”
Jong Sijoon carefully explained the work.
“The work of Van Gogh, who felt death in the rich wheat fields waiting for harvest, this [Frost wheat field] of Ko Hun, expressed the holiness of life in the wheat fields facing the severe cold. From autumn to winter, from winter to spring, it feels like a series.”
While continuing his explanation, Jong Sijoon looked at the participants of the auction participants.
While he took time to test their patience but at that moment he judged that they had reached the limit.
Thus the auction began immediately.
“The starting price is 100 million won.”
As soon as Jong Sijoon finished his words, he couldn’t help but panic.
It was a view that he saw for the first time in his 16 years of auctioneer career.
All the participants raised in the Auction house raised their hands.
Reporter Kim Jiwoo, who was watching the auction, was also surprised and opened his mouth wide.
It was the first time that all auction participants, including 200 people at the site, 13 on the phone raised their hands in unison.
“Whoaaa.”
Kim Jiwoo’s heart skipped a beat.
It was the moment when painting, which was enjoyed by only a very small number of people was reaching out to public due to a ripple caused by a Little Genius.
Kim Jiwoo turned his head.
At the end of his sight, there was Ko Hun, drinking coke.
He was so happy that Little Genius was not like painters who gets drunk in their fame.
Kim jiwoo was looking forward to the day when the Little Genius would take this situation for granted.
Meanwhile, the auction continued under the fierce competition
‘What should I do?’
Jong Sijoon swallowed his saliva.
It was not an environment where he could respond one by one and raise the price.
The priority was to reduce the number of participants by offering prices directly.
“Thank you very much. I’m looking for 200 million won. Do we have 200 million won?”
At the end of his words, the view in front of him did not change.
Jong Sijoon’s heart, which was leading the auction with a quick and cool judgment, began to beat like a drum.
Jong Sijoon had never felt like this before.
He could feel the strong will of the participants.
“Thank you very much. I’m looking for 400 million won. Do we have 400 million won?”
Once Again, the raised hands didn’t come down.
Reporters who came out for coverage moved busily, and the chat window of the live stream fluctuated to the point where it was impossible to recognize what was being posted.
Jong Sijoon raised the price once again.
“Do we have 800 million won?”
Did I hear it right..? He doubled the price
How far is the stalemate going to continue?
But this time, the number of people has decreased a little.
Wow, this is the real deal. This is crazy.
Unlike before, some gave up, but the majority still expressed their willingness to bid.
The appropriate price of the [Frost Wheat Field] predicted by the WH Art Museum was between 4 billion won and 5 billion won.
Jong Sijoon did not hesitate.
When he was about to double the price, a voice was heard.
“Five million euros.”
The auction house was shocked by Henry Marceau’s sudden declaration.
