The Mysterious Art Museum

Chapter 113 (2) - The Mysterious Art Museum

As we finish our meal, Monica asks, Are you going to work today?

Hmm, Im planning to observe for one more day.

More observation? What exactly are you planning to draw that takes so much observation? With your skills, Ban, you should be able to easily draw a stationary house, right?

Haha, it's harder than you think.

Monica looks at me skeptically, then smiles slyly.

You must be plotting something, Ban.

I wave my hands and laugh.

Plotting? Someone might think Im conspiring a crime, haha.

After a moment, Monica looks at me and says, Its a series, isnt it?

Wow, she's incredible. Just by knowing that I'm observing the house, she guessed that I'm planning a series of paintings.

Ah, thats right, Monica also graduated from the Florence Academy of Art, didnt she?

Monica, you can't be fooled, can you?

I just took a wild guess, but I got it right. Youre planning a series on Sofia's house, right? Since you observed for a day, I guess about four pieces will come out? Dawn, just after the sun rises, the appearance in the morning or afternoon, and the night. Right?

Yes, about that.

Will you only capture the impressions?

Well, since it's a series based on the changes in light, it seems like they will be impressionistic.

Like Claude Monet?

I smiled wryly.

Maybe.

Maybe? The two words 'light' and 'series' are representative of Monet, aren't they?

I laughed and leaned on my hand, looking towards the square.

I see some of the few children in the village holding their parents' hands, heading to school. I'm not sure where the school is located, but it seems to be quite far since everyone is driving.

A child who doesn't want to go to school.

Parents trying to soothe their child and send them off.

A child eager to go to school, pulling their mother's hand.

A mother, still half asleep, being dragged along.

In these few people, I see a variety of life's scenes.

I said to Monica, looking intently at the people in the square.

Monica.

Yes?

About Monet.

Yes.

He spent his lifetime painting nature, didn't he?

Thats true. Except for the paintings of his first wife, Camille, and his son Jean, most of his works were of natural environments. After they died, almost 100% of his work was about nature.

Its more accurate to say he painted the impressions of nature, not just nature itself.

Thats right.

I looked in the direction of Lea's house, not visible from where we sat in the square.

A small alley leading up to the church at the edge of the square. Lea's house is in the middle of that alley.

According to Monica, the houses in front of and behind Lea's house are currently empty.

People who lived there moved to America a few years ago.

I thought about the landscape of Lea's house and said,

Now, the real question.

Yes?

This village is in the midst of nature, right?

Monica looks around her hometown village and smiles fondly.

Yes, that's why I love my hometown. A village in the mountains, this air, the smell of grass. No matter where my body was, I always missed this.

Yes, this village exists naturally as if it's a part of nature itself.

But?

I looked at Monica and winked.

So, is this village nature?

Monica was momentarily speechless.

It was a question she had never considered before.

Is it not nature just because it has been touched by human hands?

Let's assume there's a painting of a beautifully manicured garden. Is that not nature? Who can define that?

Monica looked at her hometown village again.

A village in the mountains. The village doesnt spoil the surrounding landscape; rather, it blends in and enhances its beauty. But can it itself be called nature?

Monica wanted to say in her heart that her hometown village is nature itself, but her reason didnt allow it, and she answered.

No.

I leaned on my chin and met Monica's eyes.

Why not?

After pondering for a moment, Monica said,

Most paintings of nature dont include people. Nature is depicted just as it is. If people live there, I think it's not nature.

Hmm, so if theres a small person drawn in a mountain painting, is it not a painting of nature?

That's not what I mean.

Then why do you think it's not nature?

Monica pondered again. Why did she think this village, amidst nature, isn't nature?

As she looked at the square and the pretty houses, she suddenly said,

Houses.

I heard Monica's answer and laughed deeply.

Correct.

Monica sighed lightly and straightened her hair.

Yes, the existence of houses determines whether it's a true natural landscape or not. Because people live in them.

Its more about the proportion in the frame rather than just the existence of houses. If theres a painting with just one cabin in the mountains, it's likely seen as a landscape painting.

So, if you paint the entire village, it's not nature?

'Not just nature' would be more accurate.

Monica nodded and then asked again,

But why are we having this conversation? Your answer to my earlier question about painting like Monet seems off-topic, Ban.

"Haha."

I softly spoke while looking at the people walking through the village, which retains its natural essence.

I will combine Monet and Manet.

The two masters of Impressionism.

As I mention these two painters, whose similar names often confused scholars, audiences, and even the artists themselves, Monica's eyes widened in surprise.

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