tales art: the tale of the poor artist who set out to sell the most expensive painting in the world (by helmut friedrich, 2017)
once upon a time there was a poor artist who painted a picture every single day. but although his paintings were beautiful beyond all measure, he had never managed to sell a single one. at the nearby market, where the jesters, good-for-nothings and gamblers gathered, all manner of artworks exchanged hands at exorbitant prices, and wheeler-dealers lined their pockets with gold from the sale of a single painting.
the artist, poor though he may have been, was no fool. one day, he took the most beautiful of his paintings to the market and cried: “come buy, come buy the most expensive painting in the world. the most expensive painting!” but nobody so much as looked at the poor artist, especially as his painting was hidden under a plain linen cloth.
the next day, the artist went to the market once again and cried: “come buy, come buy the most expensive painting in the world. the most expensive painting!” a young man dressed in finery approached him and said: “i want to see the painting. i want to buy it!” but the artist answered: “only he who owns the most expensive painting in the world may look upon it.” with these words, he left the young man standing there and went home.
the next day, the artist went to the market for a third time and found the young man waiting for him with his entourage: “i am prince arthur von sauerkraut and i will buy the painting for any price you name.” the price was agreed at the amount of gold the artist could carry. a sack was filled with gold, piece by piece, until it was almost too heavy for the artist to lift. he heaved the sack onto his back, gave a cheerful wave and returned home where he lived happily until the end of his days.
and as for the prince, he soon found himself a king who was willing to buy the most expensive painting in the world for two sacks full of gold pieces.
to this day, very few people have ever been allowed to cast eyes on the painting.
you may be asking yourselves what there is to see on the canvas.
nobody knows for sure, but the cynics claim: “nothing!”