The Mysterious Art Museum

Chapter 4 (1) - The Mysterious Art Museum

The woman in the painting, with a captivating gaze, looks off to the left.

Adorned with various jewels, she wears a crown and reveals her femininity through a lavish necklace and a medieval dress with voluminous shoulders.

The twelve zodiac signs refer to the twelve constellations.

This painting is named so because behind the woman, there's a large circle with twelve smaller circles, each depicting a constellation.

Below her, to the left are sunflowers, and to the right, poppies are painted.

The entire border of the painting is richly decorated with sinuous plant stems, and the womans long orange hair elegantly cascades down like vines, curling into round shapes.

The paintings outlines are bold and thick, giving it a modern design sketch or cartoon-like feel.

A characteristic of the Mucha style is the near absence of empty space in the painting.

Its splendor evokes an immediate exclamation of awe.

However, the use of warm pastel tones subtly reduces the excess, defining Alphonse Muchas style.

The remarkable aspect of Mucha's works is their non-obvious nature.

Every densely packed element in this opulent painting has a meaning.

Below the twelve zodiac signs are the sunflowers and poppies, and the twelve constellations themselves. Indeed, this painting is not just an artwork; it is a calendar. Specifically, it's a cover picture used by Mucha for a calendar commission.

The sunflowers and poppies below symbolize the sun and the moon.

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He believed that a person's life is like the rising and setting of the sun and the moon, the passing of months and years, accumulating over time to completion. Thus, each element in his flamboyant paintings holds its own meaning.

In the field of design, he was almost a century ahead of his time.

Even the creators of famous animations like Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura openly acknowledge their drawings as being inspired by the Mucha style, attesting to his significant impact in the modern world of design.

"Truly magnificent."

As mentioned earlier, this painting is actually the cover of a calendar, so it is not very large in reality.

Of course, it wasn't as small as a desk calendar, but it's not as overwhelmingly large as it appears now. The painting projected onto the walls and ceiling that I am currently observing seems to be about 15 meters in height.

I minutely observe the densely drawn paintings, noticing that the twelve constellations positioned behind the woman start to light up.

"Digital media art is truly amazing."

Lights turn on and off in each constellation, and finally, the light shines on Aries, at the bottom left. As the bright light of Aries dims, Taurus lights up, followed by Gemini.

One by one, the constellations light up.

After Pisces shines and flickers, all twelve lights turn on and off simultaneously.

And then, one constellation lights up.

"Its Leo. What does it mean?"

At that moment, I feel a bit dizzy and close my eyes for a while.

Is it because of the overwhelming size of the painting? Or because it's not a traditional painting but a media art exhibit? It's making me feel seasick.

I rub my eyes intensely as if washing my face.

I feel like Im going blind, even with my eyes closed, similar to symptoms of anemia. After the dizziness completely fades, I open my eyes.

What is this?

I rub my eyes again in disbelief at the incredible sight.

"Is this a dream?"

I was certainly sitting alone in the middle of the exhibition hall. I had just closed and reopened my eyes due to a brief spell of dizziness. But now, I find myself sitting alone in a completely different place.

A cold, cutting wind seems to bite into my flesh. It feels too real to be dismissed as a dream.

"Have I been too tired lately?"

Yeah, that's possible. I've been out painting portraits in Ikseon-dong for 15 days straight without a break, earning money for living expenses and to help out at home. It's no wonder I dozed off at the exhibition.

Thinking it's a dream makes it less scary. Wherever I am, whatever happens to me here, its just a dream, and I wont remember it once I wake up.

I slowly survey my surroundings.

Its just a street. Strange, right? But no, this is not South Korea.

The medieval-style buildings and unpaved roads, the night streets littered with trash and various debris, and not a single person in sight. It feels like I've been transported to Europe in the past.

I crane my neck to get a better view of the street. I can see a light on in a shop, and at a glance, I spot a Christmas tree inside.

Piecing together the visual clues, it seems like Im somewhere during the Christmas season.

Im assessing the situation when I suddenly freeze at the sight of something huge and black looming over the building roofs.

"The Eiffel Tower?"

A massive metallic structure.

It's late at night, and with the lights off, the dark body of the tower is only visible in the moonlight, towering over the rooftop.

Yes, I am in Paris, France, of an unknown era.