Chapter 88

88

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Seven pigments extracted from minerals.

Today, we speculate that Michelangelo mixed water with seven pigments extracted from minerals to paint the ceiling.

That he painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling with just seven pigments is truly astonishing.

— Excerpt from an interview with Professor Park Ji-yeop of the Department of Visual Arts at Hankyang University of Arts and Journalist Lee Ji-hye —

* * * *

“...Pant, pant.”

Jin Yumi took a labored breath and looked around.

The outside, which had been blue and white, was now past the time of the reddish dusk and was turning black.

Jin Yumi, glancing at the neon signs on the street that had just started to light up, took a deep breath and looked straight ahead.

The smell of the sea tickled her nose.

Gang Seok was walking to the hastily set up workbench, holding a large piece of glass.

Jin Yumi, who had been watching Gang Seok's back, gripped her knees with her palms and straightened her back.

‘If the artist doesn't rest, how can I catch my breath, pant.’

While panting, Jin Yumi pulled out a notebook from her pocket and flipped through the pages.

The list, filled with tightly written notes, had lines drawn through them.

Jin Yumi, pointing at the lines with a pen, began to scan the surroundings.

“Indigofera tinctoria. Linseed oil. Blue-green shells, living snails, water hyacinth, ash, kaolin, soda, coal residue, charcoal, silicon dioxide, yellow, and madder leaves...”

What she was doing was inspection.

Checking if the materials ordered by Gang Seok had been correctly obtained. Each time she confirmed a material, Jin Yumi's head nodded in satisfaction.

She found it impressive that she had managed to gather all these materials in less than a day.

“Chrysocolla (chalcosiderite). Cobaltite. Tin oxide. Chromium, and lapis lazuli... They're all here.”

Jin Yumi's shoulders slumped.

She wiped her sweat-drenched forehead with her hand.

Her gaze was fixed on the minerals on the workbench. Her eyes, filled with certainty, looked at the minerals with a doubtful expression.

At first, Jin Yumi wondered why he wanted her to bring these things.

But from the moment he mentioned chrysocolla, she began to suspect... and when he mentioned lapis lazuli, she was certain.

‘These are all materials for making natural pigments.’

Jin Yumi was also a curator and had prepared a portfolio to enter the prestigious Bloom Art Museum in South Korea, even to the point of nosebleeds.

With a master's degree and two years of practical experience, she had obtained the 3rd-grade certified art curator qualification, making her a young talent in the field.

‘He plans to make the pigment powder himself.’

Her gaze shifted.

The glass, hammer, cloth to prevent particles from escaping, mortar, and glass muller... everything made sense now.

There was no way she couldn't understand with such clear hints.

‘But now that I think about it, if he's going to do this, he'll need linseed oil (the most commonly used material in oil painting)... wait a moment.’

She realized that Gang Seok had never once requested any oil when ordering these materials.

Jin Yumi's head snapped around.

None? None, there isn't any!

There was no canvas or brush in sight in the studio. Not even a simple easel.

None of the materials ordered by Gang Seok included such supplies. So, it seemed he hadn't decided what to do with these pigments yet.

Depending on how they are used, pigments can become watercolor paint, oil paint, or water-soluble oil paint... sometimes... sometimes... Jin Yumi tried to recall.

A memory flashed through her mind.

‘Has Mr. Gang ever painted watercolors or oil paintings before...?’

It seemed he hadn't.

She didn't know if he had done so in school or privately, but one thing was clear.

Among the works of Mr. Gang that are currently the talk of the town, there are no watercolors or oil paintings.

At that moment, the name of a popular photo spot frequently tagged on Instagram came to mind.

Sistine.

On the 8th floor of the Renaissance Mall, the Sistine Cafe... that was the only officially painted work by Gang Seok.

Fresco.

...Could it be... As Jin Yumi looked at Gang Seok in surprise.

Gang Seok, who had been checking the quality of the delivered materials on the workbench, turned around.

He quickly thanked Jin Yumi for quickly obtaining the materials and added in the most gentle tone possible.

“...This isn't urgent, but could you possibly get some lime and volcanic ash (brown volcanic ash)? I would also appreciate it if you could get a large rubber or stainless steel container, and the tools used to apply the plaster to the wall...”

His words clearly indicated that Gang Seok planned to create a fresco.

Here, in Miami Beach, Florida, USA...!

Jin Yumi's eyes sparkled.

Fresco. Fresco is a painting technique that uses the properties of limestone changing under heat, water, and carbon dioxide.

Before the lime wall dries, the pigments are mixed with water and painted on the wall, seeping into the plaster as it dries, making the pigments and plaster become one with the wall, thus completing the fresco.

This means that if Gang Seok paints a fresco on a building in Miami Beach, it will become part of the building and cannot be moved.

Just like the one he painted in the Renaissance Mall.

Why Miami Beach?

He had no particular connection to Miami Beach and was here for the Art Basel in Miami Beach with the Bloom Art Museum.

There was no associated art gallery or museum in Miami Beach, and he hadn't had time to talk to Arthur, whom he had met earlier.

So, this is an opportunity. Jin Yumi asked with an awkward smile.

“By when do you need them?”

“Four days? I would be grateful if you could get them in about four days... Is that possible?”

Jin Yumi nodded.

Four days.

Four days would be enough time to prepare and hold a strategy meeting.

A fresco by Gang Seok in Miami Beach.

If the building belongs to the Bloom Art Museum, this would be a huge deal.

Jin Yumi turned around quickly and shouted to Gang Seok.

“Then, Mr. Gang, I'll go and get the best plaster materials in the world...!”

“Huh?”

The best plaster materials?

Gang Seok, watching Jin Yumi run off like an athlete in running shoes, scratched his nose, feeling awkward and embarrassed.

It was a habit he had developed in this life, unlike his previous one, due to his high nose.

The moon was rising behind him.

It was already night.

* * * *

In the studio where Jin Yumi had left,

Gang Seok slowly sat down in a chair.

Surrounded by minerals, shells, and plants, the studio smelled like a pharmacy... it felt as if he were sitting between a forest, a field, and the sea.

It was strange.

In his hand, he held a large piece of lapis lazuli.

Lapis lazuli, the mineral from which ultramarine, a pigment meaning "beyond the sea" in Latin, is derived.

This blue stone, which has been supplied exclusively from Afghanistan for 6,000 years, produces a very beautiful pigment.

Cennino Cennini described it as "the most splendid, beautiful, and perfect color, surpassing all others."

Gang Seok also loved this color in his previous life.

Not just him.

The blue pigment extracted from lapis lazuli was elegant and noble, loved by all Renaissance painters.

The ancient method of obtaining blue lapis lazuli by removing yellow iron pyrite and white feldspar, passed down from 9th-century Arab alchemy, gifted poverty to Renaissance painters instead of high-quality ultramarine.

The noble blue.

Before the creation of synthetic ultramarine, known as French ultramarine, only 4 grams of pigment could be extracted from 100 grams of lapis lazuli, requiring alchemists to hammer, grind, and crush the lapis lazuli with a mortar and pestle.

Gang Seok, rolling the lapis lazuli, which had been processed into a ball, in his hand, looked around.

The desk was filled with lapis lazuli.

Wow.

Impressive.

To think I would become someone who uses lapis lazuli (ultramarine) so freely... recalling the frugal Michelangelo, Gang Seok smiled.

However, this time, he had to use lapis lazuli.

There was no other natural blue pigment that could last as long as the ultramarine from lapis lazuli.

He could use the cheaper azurite (malachite), but he had experienced firsthand that the green inside the azurite could turn brown over thousands of years, no matter how careful he was.

He couldn't use Prussian blue, which was used as a substitute for azurite in later generations.

Chemical pigments don't last as long as natural pigments. Prussian blue, a type of chemical pigment, is sensitive to alkali, despite being easy and inexpensive to produce.

He couldn't use Prussian blue, which would turn brown in reaction to the salt in the air near the sea.

Even if he had the money to buy lapis lazuli, he was concerned about the colors changing thousands of years later, purely from a cost-benefit perspective.

Fresco, when completed properly, can last for thousands of years, maintaining its color as part of the wall.

This is why ancient Roman frescoes have survived for 2,000 years, despite not being in the best condition.

Of course, they have undergone restoration, but... Gang Seok, rolling the lapis lazuli, thought.

This time, I will leave a perfect fresco that doesn't need restoration. He rolled the lapis lazuli, making a vow.

Now it was time to start working.

Gang Seok went to the workbench and picked up a heavy hammer. There were no assistants, and he had always been hesitant to use them, but it was clear that he had to do everything from start to finish alone.

Gang Seok swung the heavy hammer in the air a few times, then went to the workbench, where nothing was placed, and struck the lapis lazuli.

Crack. Feeling the crack from the immense power, Gang Seok struck it again with the hammer. The sound echoed endlessly, like a blacksmith hammering metal.

Sweat gradually soaked his back, facing the dark night window. It seemed as if he had just returned from a 14-hour flight without resting. He swung the hammer so hard that it felt like rain was pouring down his back.

It was as if a god had descended behind him.

.

.

.

Gang Seok swung the hammer as if he would never stop, but he couldn't keep swinging it forever.

The next day, as the sun rose and the streets became safer, Gang Seok walked down the street. His pocket contained a phone and a wallet.

Since he had a body that didn't produce sweat, he wore the same short-sleeved shirt from the previous day and walked down the street.

He followed the seaside path.

As he walked, he looked at the buildings.

Then,

“(I can't take it anymore!)”

“(Yeah, go! Get out!)”

Gang Seok's head tilted slightly toward the source of the sound.

Familiar Italian voices were coming from a white building, filled with excitement.

Gang Seok, who was about to enter the white building, stopped and looked up at it. He tapped the building with his fist, admiring its beautiful color, which looked like crushed mother-of-pearl, and looked around for a moment.

This is a good one.

Gang Seok's lips curled up.

At that moment, a voice came from inside again.

“(You probably think this building will be sold someday... but it won't! No one will sell it at the price you offer. You've raised the price so many times, talking about your mother! Starve to death while holding onto that building for the rest of your life! I brought people here thinking of you as a hometown friend!)”

“(If you won't sell at my price, get out!)”

It seems the building price negotiation didn't go well.

Gang Seok slowly walked over.

It looked like a temple.

The building was spread out like arms on both sides, and the inside was a round, sunken shape.

Inside the building,

People with typical Italian features were arguing, their faces red. Or rather, the argument was just ending.

One person was walking away, looking like they couldn't stop the fight, while another with dark brown hair was sitting on the ground, running their hands through their hair.

Gang Seok slowly approached the person.

He hesitated for a moment, then spoke.

“(Hello.)”

A rather old-fashioned but more sophisticated Italian accent flowed from Gang Seok's lips.

Like the Roman noblewoman who described Michelangelo as "sometimes becoming an elegantly charming gentleman when he felt like it, a grace rarely seen in Europe."

His voice was incredibly refined.

It was surprising that a single greeting could give such an impression.

The person sitting on the ground, who had been lost in thought, lifted their head, drawn by the voice.

With the sun at his back, Gang Seok's face was half in shadow and half in sunlight. The person, finding it difficult to look at Gang Seok, let their gaze fall to his high nose and soft lips.

At that moment,

Gang Seok, looking into the dark brown eyes, spoke with an authoritative voice.

“(How about selling it to me?)”

Even without knowing the conditions, the person sitting on the ground thought it was a rather attractive offer.

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89. Simone Casani