Starting My Treasure Hunting In England

Alphonse Maria Mucha, if this name is translated in Chinese, it means Alphonse Mucha, a famous Czechoslovak painter.

He has achieved important results in posters, decorative paintings, advertising paintings and product packaging paintings, jewelry design, architectural design and oil paintings, and is considered a brilliant standard-bearer of the Art Nouveau movement.

Mucha's works absorbed the elegant depiction of shapes and contours of Japanese woodcuts, the gorgeous colors and geometric decorative effects of Byzantine art, and the detailed and fleshy depictions of Baroque and Rococo art.

He used sensual decorative lines, concise outlines and bright watercolor effects to create characters known as "Musha style".

After his processing, all female images appear sweet and elegant, with slim and curvy figures, full of youthful vitality, and sometimes have flowing and soft hair.

His paintings often consist of young and beautiful women and decorative flowers and plants with smooth curves. Unlike most painters of that era, he also worked part-time as a photographer and used photography to assist his creation. For example, many of his poster materials came from photos.

This special way of creation was mainly related to his poverty at that time, because painting models were paid based on time, and the poor Mucha couldn't afford it, so he simply used photos to assist painting in order to save money.

In this way, he adapted to this method of artistic creation, and in his later career, he used photography as an important creative aid as sketching.

Like Qi Baishi of China, Mucha was also a successful commercial painter. But in addition to his commercial success and artistic breakthroughs, what he is most commendable for is his love for his motherland.

In 1910, Mucha gave up the reputation and comfortable life that his success in commercial painting had brought him, and ended his long-term sojourn in France and the United States with his family and returned to his hometown.

During this period, he used paintbrushes as weapons to fight against the Habsburgs of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which ruled the Czech Republic at that time, and created important works: a set of twenty giant oil paintings of Slavic epics.

When Czechoslovakia finally became independent in 1918, he designed the first set of stamps and the first set of banknotes for the new motherland, contributing his own strength to the motherland.

However, when he actually completed the creation of the Slavic epic in 1928 and donated it to the city of Prague, he did not receive an enthusiastic response.

Because at this time, the trend of Art Nouveau had passed, and supporters of the popular modern art denounced the so-called "19th century" style.

In the changing tastes of the art world, Mucha became a "laggard" of the times. Although Mucha's works are still very popular among the public, because his art is not "new" enough, art critics do not pay much attention to his painstaking works.

When the Germans invaded Czechoslovakia in 1938, Mucha was one of the first people arrested by the Germans. Although he was allowed to return home after interrogation, his health was already damaged. He died of pneumonia in Prague on July 14, 1939.

Although it has been many years since this great artist and patriot passed away, the artistic style he created has been widely popular in an era due to its popularity and popularity.

Especially in Japan, mucha was associated with women's literature from the beginning when it was introduced to Japan through the recommendation of the female poet Yosano Akiko.

This style was referenced again in the shojo comics that emerged in the 1970s after the war, and deeply influenced the visual expression of female images in Japanese comics.

For example, "Fire!" ", "Emperor of the Sunrise", Akemi Matsuae ("Hot Girl Teacher", "Aryanagi Hall Dream Talk"), "Sailor Moon", "Card Captor Sakura", "Rhodes Island Wars", "Final Fantasy" series All of them vaguely have the artistic style of Mucha.

Considering that the other party had been arrested by the Germans, it was understandable that such a piece of jewelry would appear in the Gestapo office. However, the strange thing was that the locket did not give Liang En a card.

There is only one possibility for this to happen. That is, Liang En did not understand the story behind the locket, so he immediately used an [Appraisal (N)] on the locket.

[As a great painter and a staunch patriot, Mucha was aware of the tense situation when the Sudetenland was occupied and hid many important things about himself.

And this locket is a clue that Mucha left behind just in case, to help those who will be favored by the gods in his eyes in the future find these things he left behind. 】

After reading the information that the card got from the locket ring, Liang En immediately understood that the locket was actually a mystery that could lead people to find something hidden by Mucha.

To be honest, this approach does seem like what Mucha would do, because he has always been a very devout Catholic, so at this time he would believe more in fate and the guidance of the gods.

After learning that the locket was a key, Liang En immediately checked the locket and found that there was no additional text on the locket except Mucha's name, which also showed that the secrets were through the locket. delivered by itself.

This is a gold locket inlaid with gems. The back of the locket is inlaid with fine gems, while the surface of the locket is inlaid with large gems, pieced together to form a locket with a keyhole. Heart style.

As for the hanging box, it is empty inside, but judging from the structure, it should have been a small portrait or photo.

According to a simple identification, the ring of gemstones inlaid on the front of the locket, arranged clockwise from 12 o'clock, are red zircon, emerald, turquoise, amethyst, diamond, opal, ruby, and emerald.

There are 12 kinds of gems on the back, namely jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, ruby ​​peridot, beryl, topaz, chrysoprase, red zircon and amethyst.

The overall quality of these gems does not seem to be top-notch, and the prices are also very different. However, all the gems have been exquisitely polished, and the intentions of the makers can be seen.

"What a clever puzzle -" After carefully studying the arrangement and combination of the gems on the ring for a few minutes, Liang En understood the meaning of the locket.

In the 19th century, it was popular to use various jewelry to convey simple messages. For example, a locket shaped like a heart with a keyhole means that you have the key to my heart.

As for the gem inlay above, it can also convey information. According to tradition, the first letters of the old French names of each gemstone are connected together in the order in which the gemstones are arranged.

For example, when put together, the initials of the gemstones on the front of this locket are JE T’ADORE, which means I love you.

As for the pendant and the gems on the back, although they cannot spell out words, these 12 kinds of gems are the cornerstones of the heavenly city mentioned in the Christian Book of Revelation, and naturally have religious connotations.

Putting these together, we can know that this thing should be related to Mucha's wife and certain religious places, and this can also provide a more reliable direction for the next step of action.