Ronnie, the curator of a lesser‑known art gallery in the city, was unusually curious today. He was about to purchase a few remarkable artworks for his gallery. Finally, the moment arrived. He was offered a total of five paintings. One of them, in his view, was an ugly‑looking piece.

He examined it closely. There was nothing remarkable in his view. In the painting three was a red background and three human‑like figures in suits staring at the viewer. Their faces were not painted perfectly; instead, they looked as if a child had ruined someone else’s artwork. So, he rejected the painting.

The owner of the painting, Lupega, laughed at him. “You must be a new in this business,” he said.

Ronnie bristled. He insisted his decision had nothing to do with inexperience. Lupega then explained that the artwork was called Vegas Copa. He pointed out so that Ronnie could see the name of the artwork and the artist written on the painting itself. It was the work of Herman Brood - a famous Dutch musician, actor, poet, and of course, painter, and he died in 2001. He added that the painting was worth thousands of dollars, yet Ronnie was rejecting it.

Ronnie quickly took out his smartphone and searched for information online. Everything Lupega had said was true. His eyes filled with tears. The painting he had dismissed so casually was a treasure in the eyes of the world.

He paid the price and returned to his gallery.

Then he wondered, “Did I buy this painting because it was truly great or just because it was created by a famous person? We ignore the great artworks of ordinary people because we don’t receive confirmation from the elites. But we start praising someone the moment they are accepted by so‑called experts. Is everything biased? Do we really know whether an artwork is great or not? What should be the true value of an artwork?”

He looked at the painting which was now hung on the wall. It seemed to him that the three faces were laughing at him while he was going out of the gallery.