( life in lumiĆØre never ceases to be without its charm, but the quaint simplicity quickly disappeared from gustave's understanding of the world the older he got. his parents instilled in him and his younger sister the value of hard work, and how most everything can be achieved through toiling after one's dreams and passions. for gustave, it is in the way the world works: how geometric systems affect physics, and therein give way to the birth of new days of flight, space travel, and improving upon their current technologies. he is a visionary that sees beyond the present time, but living within the boundaries of these still inexistent technologies, forever his aim to develop that.
and to be a lifelong student, so to speak, a researcher in university is very expensive.
which is why his sister recommended he finds himself a patron ('what am i, a painter?') that would pay for his studies and research, all for some service in return. her connections in the government provided him a shortlist of potential patrons, of potential jobs he could undertake, but they were all far too stiflingāasking that he deflect his research into something more selfish and grounded, for the benefit of said benefactor's business or lifestyle. it was a stroke of luck, one would say, his meeting with renoir dessendre in one of his sister's many hosted galas in city hall, and being introduced as a potential tutor for the youngest dessendre daughter.
a teacher, me? you must be out of your mind, emma.
give it some thought. it is the offer of a lifetime.
and she wasn't wrong. the reputation that precedes the dessendres as caretakers of many a prestigious art galleries in the nation, their fortune spanning centuries of history, and their dismissiveness toward anything that does not encapsulate painting, seems to have softened in more recent years. perhaps, one could say, because of the younger generation that wishes to go beyond their family's legacy of painting and the arts. renoir explained to him that in order for art to evolve, they must, too, see that the sciences do so in parallelāsurprised gustave, even, by having mentioned some of his published research as points of interest.
so, after a few days of thought, gustave packed his suitcase, ended his lease, and moved into the dessendre home in the capital of lumiĆØre.
teaching maelle is a full-time job, turns out, but not one without merit. the young girl is lonely, but in her young age she shows a lot of enthusiasm under gustave's tutelage. she abhors maths, but loves to learn simpler aspects of science of the world around them, and he's generally engaged with finding ways to teach her the subjects she detests most by connecting them with things she cherishes. after five months with maelle as his ward, he has seen great improvement, and finds that his room in the left wing of the home becomes more and more decorated with her small pieces of art. it would be worrisome to think that the girl is attached to him, but seeing the dynamic of the family? he understands, though it is not for him to comment upon. aline, the matriarch, spends most of her time in her art galleries, alongside clea, the eldest. renoir comes and goes, checks up constantly on maelle, and those nights when he is in, gustave is spared a nightly visitor wanting company until she falls asleep, even if he is scribbling away in his journal. the brother maelle mentions constantly remains a mystery to gustave, though all he knows is a name, verso, and that he is studying music in some conservatory or another, the details hazy to the young girl, but gustave has picked up that this is not entirely something aline approves of.
in any case, he is allowed his free time in the evenings and weekends to work on his research, and maelle spends plenty of hours in the day with her governess, though he joins them once in a while in trips to museums and art galleries. it is an idyllic kind of life, especially when he wishes more than anything to be a recluse while he works on his research.
now and then, he sits in the gardens, much like today. it is not the coldest day in winter, which is why he had thought a short sitdown in the gardens would help his mind unclutter the myriad of thoughts regarding a particularly pesky equation he can't seem to solve. the winter sun, alongside the cold breeze, and the company of both monoco and noco removes him from this for a moment. that is, until both dogs bolt back inside, tails wagging far too excitedly.
he hears voices from the open garden door and peers up, that of a man. not renoir, certainly. the mysterious brother, then? maelle will be happy beyond words, if only she weren't in one of those obligatory art gallery trips with her mother and sister.
thinking perhaps he should make himself present, all things considered, gustave makes his way back inside, a soft movement of adjustment for his scarf, unawares of the snowflakes that decorates his hair and jacket. he closes the door behind him, hearing excited barks down the hall. )
no subject
and to be a lifelong student, so to speak, a researcher in university is very expensive.
which is why his sister recommended he finds himself a patron ('what am i, a painter?') that would pay for his studies and research, all for some service in return. her connections in the government provided him a shortlist of potential patrons, of potential jobs he could undertake, but they were all far too stiflingāasking that he deflect his research into something more selfish and grounded, for the benefit of said benefactor's business or lifestyle. it was a stroke of luck, one would say, his meeting with renoir dessendre in one of his sister's many hosted galas in city hall, and being introduced as a potential tutor for the youngest dessendre daughter.
a teacher, me? you must be out of your mind, emma.
give it some thought. it is the offer of a lifetime.
and she wasn't wrong. the reputation that precedes the dessendres as caretakers of many a prestigious art galleries in the nation, their fortune spanning centuries of history, and their dismissiveness toward anything that does not encapsulate painting, seems to have softened in more recent years. perhaps, one could say, because of the younger generation that wishes to go beyond their family's legacy of painting and the arts. renoir explained to him that in order for art to evolve, they must, too, see that the sciences do so in parallelāsurprised gustave, even, by having mentioned some of his published research as points of interest.
so, after a few days of thought, gustave packed his suitcase, ended his lease, and moved into the dessendre home in the capital of lumiĆØre.
teaching maelle is a full-time job, turns out, but not one without merit. the young girl is lonely, but in her young age she shows a lot of enthusiasm under gustave's tutelage. she abhors maths, but loves to learn simpler aspects of science of the world around them, and he's generally engaged with finding ways to teach her the subjects she detests most by connecting them with things she cherishes. after five months with maelle as his ward, he has seen great improvement, and finds that his room in the left wing of the home becomes more and more decorated with her small pieces of art. it would be worrisome to think that the girl is attached to him, but seeing the dynamic of the family? he understands, though it is not for him to comment upon. aline, the matriarch, spends most of her time in her art galleries, alongside clea, the eldest. renoir comes and goes, checks up constantly on maelle, and those nights when he is in, gustave is spared a nightly visitor wanting company until she falls asleep, even if he is scribbling away in his journal. the brother maelle mentions constantly remains a mystery to gustave, though all he knows is a name, verso, and that he is studying music in some conservatory or another, the details hazy to the young girl, but gustave has picked up that this is not entirely something aline approves of.
in any case, he is allowed his free time in the evenings and weekends to work on his research, and maelle spends plenty of hours in the day with her governess, though he joins them once in a while in trips to museums and art galleries. it is an idyllic kind of life, especially when he wishes more than anything to be a recluse while he works on his research.
now and then, he sits in the gardens, much like today. it is not the coldest day in winter, which is why he had thought a short sitdown in the gardens would help his mind unclutter the myriad of thoughts regarding a particularly pesky equation he can't seem to solve. the winter sun, alongside the cold breeze, and the company of both monoco and noco removes him from this for a moment. that is, until both dogs bolt back inside, tails wagging far too excitedly.
he hears voices from the open garden door and peers up, that of a man. not renoir, certainly. the mysterious brother, then? maelle will be happy beyond words, if only she weren't in one of those obligatory art gallery trips with her mother and sister.
thinking perhaps he should make himself present, all things considered, gustave makes his way back inside, a soft movement of adjustment for his scarf, unawares of the snowflakes that decorates his hair and jacket. he closes the door behind him, hearing excited barks down the hall. )