I think buying a painting from an art student is a good idea. 40x50 and a few hundred euros sounds appropriate and is rather cheap than expensive. The format seems small to me. Nevertheless, it also has advantages; you can hang it anywhere, which is not possible with large formats. Your relationship to visual art surprises me: after all, one person mentions collages instead of oil, everyone else remains in representational art. And often neither the statement nor the reference to the buyer, not even strength in expression is required, decoration will do as well. Whoever wants to have a painting and does not want to or cannot paint it themselves should reflect inwardly and consider what the statement should be. And then he/she should find someone who can empathetically lend a hand and visualize that. And in doing so, a fee should come out that – and this is almost communistically thought – can be compared to that of a master craftsman. Why deprive a painting of all its possibilities just because you do not want to think for yourself about what statement is important or would do you good. Whoever then hangs a portrait of themselves has at least made a choice, even though I would only recommend that on the inside door of a cupboard. Many greetings from Gabriele