A grey man, part of the architecture, from a grey city

My greatest work was the portrait of the mayor. It was a commission, at long last, but they gave it to me to ruin me. So that I would become respectable, a mere painter rather than an artist, a copier not a creator. Thay wanted to take me into the establishment and churn me out, as it had churned out them. So i took their commission and gave them truth.

There are a million colours between white and black without ever leaving grey. Thay said that the painting was just lines, drab lines of grey and black but of course they could not see. I gave the mayor his portrait as he was - an unimportant man , from an unimportant city. He wanted to be bold, in proud colours, like Caesar come again or some civic saint, but the man was nothing. He was grey man, part of the architecture, from a grey city, and was too pompous to see that there was something grand and beautiful in obscurity. I made him an archetype but he only wanted to be a cliche.

Of course he didn't like it. The city refused to pay for it, and it was a long time before I received another commission again