Chapter 41: Agreement 3

Yang Yuxi stared at Ye Ming in shock. She was very doubtful of what he said. She had not heard of such a painting, how could it be worth 64,000,000 yuan. How was this possible?!

“You may not have heard of ‘Virgin Mary in Glory’, but you must have heard of its artist,” Ye Ming said. “Who is it?” Yang Yuxi asked. “Van Gogh,” Ye Ming replied. “Van Gogh? Vincent Van Gogh? Yang Yuxi raised her voice. She was very surprised by this answer. “Yes, that’s him.” Ye Ming nodded.

“Nonsense, I have never heard of such a painting by Van Gogh. Don’t think you can fool me with a famous artist. I took an oil painting art history course in the college,” Yang Yuxi said. She had heard of Van Gogh and he was very famous. Everyone who had some knowledge of oil painting knew his name. Although Yang Yuxi did not know a lot about oil painting, she took a course in Western oil painting in college. She might not be very adept at appreciating the paintings, but she still had some knowledge of well-renowned painters, as well as the names paintings that were auctioned off at a high price. She remembered that Van Gogh’s “Portrait of Dr Gachet” was bought by a Japanese tycoon for US dollars 82.5 million in 1990. It was already sold at such a high price in the 90s, it would have increased by a few times now, and the price might even reach a few hundred million US dollars. If the painting was really from Van Gogh, it was considered very cheap to be priced at 64,000,000 yuan.

“I know all the works of Van Gogh. There is no ‘Virgin Mary in Glory’ at all. You can’t fool me,” Yang Yuxi said loudly. “Our young master never lies. This ‘Virgin Mary in Glory’ is indeed Van Gogh’s work,” a lady in a cheongsam interrupted. This was the woman who used the urumi to undress her previously. Her name was Qiu Li. Yang Yuxi snorted, she did not make any comments. She clearly did not believe her. “Miss Yang, since you know about the painting, “Portrait of Dr Gachet”, you must also have some background information about this painting,” Qiu Li, the lady in a cheongsam asked.

“Of course, Dr. Gachet was Vincent Van Gogh’s psychiatrist, who took care of Van Gogh for a long time. In order to thank him, Van Gogh painted a portrait of Dr. Gachet one month before his suicide, expressing his gratitude to Dr. Gachet.” Yang Yuxi was very familiar with the subject. “That’s right.” The lady in cheongsam nodded, then said, “However, this is not the truth.” Yang Yuxi had a puzzled look on her face as she turned to look at Qiu Li. She continued, “Van Gogh was indeed suffering from mental illness and it was Dr. Gachet who took good care of him, and he indeed painted a portrait of Dr. Gachet. However, this painting is not his last art piece.”

“Don’t tell me that Van Gogh’s last work was ‘Virgin Mary in Glory’?” Yang Yuxi sneered. “Miss Yang is really clever, this painting ‘Virgin Mary in Glory’ was indeed the last artwork of Van Gogh, and this painting was his highest achievement,” Qiu Li said. “Haha, it is really funny. Who are you to say that this is Van Gogh’s work?” Yang Yuxi sneered, she did not believe her words.

“Of course, what I say does not count. But young master said so, so it must be true.” Qiu Li said, looking toward Ye Ming with adoration and worship in her eyes. “You take his words as the truth? Did you really see him as an omnipotent god?” Yang Yuxi arched her eyebrows.