Chapter 46 (2) - The Mysterious Art Museum
After Youngju, still bound to her job, leaves, I, alone in the cafe, start to laugh again while pondering the company name. Ah, look at my state of mind. This is not the time for this. It's crucial to decide today. No time for stray thoughts.
But I can't help thinking about my mother's face this morning.
My heart warms at the thought of her joy, not just at living in a nice house.
I can almost hear her laughter-filled voice explaining about the house to my blind brother.
Eventually, I give up pondering in the caf and step outside.
I thought walking might help me think better, but all I can think about is my mother.
"Agh, this is driving me crazy."
It's a problem when you're too happy and content.
You need just the right amount of happiness to focus on your work.
As I slowly walked from the caf near Youngju's house, the thought of the art museum suddenly crossed my mind.
Come to think of it, I hadn't visited the museum once during the two months I spent painting portraits.
I wonder if the Klimt exhibition is still on?
I slowly walked towards the museum.
It seemed more productive to view an exhibition than to brood over such unfruitful thoughts. Plus, I might just luck into another dream.
After about ten minutes, I arrived at the museum, which always seemed deserted, and smiled upon seeing that the current exhibition hadn't changed.
"Will there ever be another Alphonse Mucha exhibition?"
I long to see the great teacher who has had such an influence on my life. Although Klimt is an amazing artist, I feel a stronger connection to Mucha, who has been more influential in my life.
I buy a ticket and head down to the basement.
Now, this corridor and the stairs leading underground are all familiar.
Even Beethoven, Korea's favorite composer, sounds delightful to my ears.
From my standpoint, someone who knows little about classical music, familiar tunes seem more pleasant.
The museum is still deserted.
I head to my usual rock sofa, looking around. The grand space, with its majestic music, shoots out huge golden paintings. But despite the grandeur, I can't help but worry about the museum.
'How can there be no visitors?'
Even though it's a weekday afternoon, it's as if not a single ant is around. Actually, I've never seen another visitor here besides myself.
What if it suddenly goes bankrupt?
It's become a precious place to me.
Should I spread the word somehow?
I don't do social media, so the number of people I can tell is quite limited, but maybe I should do it anyway.
Sitting on the sofa, resting my chin on my hand, I start to admire Klimt's beautiful golden paintings. Then, suddenly, an excellent idea hits me, and I slap my knee.
"That's it! Artist Company!"
The idea struck me while looking at Klimt's paintings. What a simple, clear, and neat name!
The company Klimt started with his brother Ernst, Artist Company, became the most famous company in Vienna at that time.
I grinned at the sudden idea.
It's a name Youngju would like too.
As a program I had been half-watching comes to an end and starts again from the beginning, I adjust my position to watch it properly.
And as it starts, I smile unknowingly at the beautiful golden waves decorating the entire museum.
Klimt's most famous work, The Kiss.
A painting of a man tightly embracing a woman and kissing her cheek.
Although it ignores perspective and is two-dimensional, it remains Klimt's most famous work, adorned with beautiful golden patterns. Especially popular among mothers, most households have a fridge magnet with this pattern.
Klimt's paintings vary in style from his early, middle, and late periods. Initially, his style was realistic, similar to the Italian Caravaggio. The Kiss is from his middle period, inspired by his travels to Ravenna, Italy, where he was moved by the Byzantine mosaics in the Basilica of San Vitale.
Considering Klimt's father was a goldsmith and Klimt grew up attending craft schools and being close to goldsmithing, it seems natural that he used gold in his art materials.
Resting my chin on my hand, I mumbled as I looked at the painting.
"People only see the beauty of this painting and think it's a portrait of happy lovers, but that's not the case."
This painting is not just about happy lovers.
It's only noticeable upon closer inspection, but the couple is standing at the edge of a cliff. There's a bench, a park, a lakeside, yet they choose to kiss at the edge of a cliff.
The meaning behind this is well-known to those who study art history.
'Klimt and Emilie Flge.'
A precarious love with a woman that could not, and should not, have come to fruition.
The woman in this painting was the sister-in-law of Klimt, the wife of his deceased brother, Ernst.
After Ernst's death, Klimt lived with Emilie, sharing a lifelong platonic love without physical intimacy.
It is said in academic circles that after Klimt's death, Emilie burned documents that could have been scandalous, leading to a lack of records about him.
What could have been the feeling of the elder brother who loved his younger brother's wife even after death?
And what thoughts must the wife have had, loving her husband's brother?
I can't understand it at all.
And then, as I was resting my chin on my hand, my wrist lost strength, and my head drooped down.
It seems I am being drawn into a dream again.
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