When Dutch painter Rembrandt was invited into the court of Louis XIV, he was asked to paint a portrait of the king. The king was so impressed with Rembrandt’s work that he decided to commission him to paint one of his own. The king sent Rembrandt to work in the Netherlands. He arrived at a small town called Ghent, where he was welcomed with open arms. Shortly after he began to paint, the town was sacked by the British.
Rembrandts work as a portrait of the king was actually a very popular one when it was finally displayed in the Louvre. Because the king was so impressed by his work, he ordered that Rembrandt paint a portrait of him. This portrait lasted for about ten years.
This is actually pretty common. There are lots of ways we can be inspired to do something we wouldn’t normally do. Painting is one of those ways. So if your friend or family member wants to commission a painting, just email them instructions as to how to do it. We just call that “mailing them a painting,” but you have the option to send it as a CD-ROM.
So here’s another way you can tell if a person is really into art: If they will say, “I have a painting that I would like you to take down from my wall.” Even if you think they probably dont, it’s still kind of cool. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, you can help them in anyway you can. You can ask them for money, or for advice, or whatever.
We’ve all heard of the “beefsteak” test. It’s a simple but effective test that can give you an idea of someone’s tastes. The beefsteak or steak test asks you to tell the person “what they would prefer to eat.” This is a great way to tell if someone likes pizza or burgers or spaghetti and meatballs.
The second reason is because it is a way of telling a person that you are interested in what they are talking about. This is not uncommon in the Netherlands for a person to ask how something is, and the person is usually eager to talk about it. So you can say something like “What are you talking about?” and they might start talking right then.