And I think perhaps you could persuade well-known patrons to buy paintings from me, or to commission me to paint their portraits. I would be happy to paint you as a sample. I would like to paint you free of charge if you assure me that you will then secure commissions for me. However, you mustn't tell people that they will like my paintings . Instead, you must make them understand that they must like my paintings because they have been praised by experts in the field. above all, it is surely far more interesting to be painted or own a painting by a musician of my renown than by some craftsman whose name no one will remember in 20 years, while mine is already part of music history. I charge for a portrait Life-size, 2 to 6 sessions and 200 to 400 crowns. That's very cheap, isn't it? Considering that these pictures will fetch ten times the price in 20 years and a hundred times the price in 40 years, you're probably aware of this yourself, and I hope you won't make any bad jokes about such a serious matter, but rather take it as seriously as it is.
So, as I said, I am ready to paint your portrait
I'd be happy to paint a sample picture free of charge if you assure me that I'll receive commissions as a result . However, I will not agree to a situation where the purchase of a painting depends on whether the client likes it. The client knows who paints; they must also understand that they have no artistic skill, but that the painting has artistic value or at least historical value. I would be very grateful if you would help me in this regard, and I believe you would not only be doing me a great service if you thought about it not in a Viennese way , but generously: in a cosmopolitan way . Please order the Gurre music paper immediately. Despite my remark, which you maliciously interpreted as a "dangerous threat," I have already begun preliminary work..
Best regards, Arnold Schönberg
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