2019年经济学人 艺术史:达·芬奇和我们(1)

 

Books and Arts

《图书与艺术》版块

Art history

艺术史

Leonardo and us

达·芬奇和我们

Contemporary reverence¹ for da Vinci is more about our age than his oeuvre

当代对于达芬奇的崇敬，我们时代的因素更甚于其作品

In the northern Italian city of Treviso, a Polish pianist, Slawomir Zubrzycki, sits down at an instrument that resembles a harpsichord² and starts pumping a pedal with his right foot. As his hands float over the keyboard, the sound reaching his audience is as singular as it is beautiful: simultaneously³ reminiscent of the harpsichord, organ and a string quartet. The instrument is based on sketches⁴ Leonardo da Vinci made in his notebooks of a “viola organista” with the dream of simulating a viola ensemble⁵ that could be played from a keyboard. Hitting one or more keys brings the same number of strings⁶ inside the casing into contact with one of four bow-wheels spun⁷ by the pedal.

在意大利北部城市特雷维索，波兰钢琴家斯洛沃梅尔·扎布奇克坐在一个类似于大键琴的乐器前，开始用右脚踩踏板。他的手指在键盘上舞蹈，独特悦耳的声音传到听众那里，同时让人想起大键琴、羽管键琴、管风琴以及弦乐四重奏的声音。该乐器是根据列奥纳多·达·芬奇在笔记本上画的素描《中提琴风琴》改编而成的，达芬奇本想模拟一种可以用键盘演奏的中提琴合奏。踩着踏板带动四个轮子中的一个转动，按一个或多个琴键就能让套管内相同数量的琴弦同时奏响。

Mr Zubrzycki’s concert, sponsored by the Benetton Foundation, was among the more unusual commemorations of the 500th anniversary of da Vinci’s death, which falls on May 2nd. It was also a reminder⁸ that, even in an age of polymaths, the breadth of the Tuscan master’s interests was exceptional. It encompassed⁹ not only painting, architecture, mathematics, engineering and numerous branches of science, but music too. “How many specialists would we need today to attempt Leonardo’s researches?” asks Martin Kemp, emeritus¹⁰ professor of the history of art at Oxford¹¹ University. “At least 13. Maybe more.”

5月2日达芬奇逝世500周年纪念活动中，由贝纳通基金会赞助的扎布奇克先生的音乐会是最与众不同的活动之一。这也提醒人们，即使在一个博学多才的时代，这位意大利托斯卡纳区的大师的兴趣之广也超乎常人。他的兴趣不仅包括绘画、建筑、数学、工程和许多科学分支，还包括音乐。“今天我们需要多少位专家来尝试达·芬奇的研究？”牛津大学艺术史荣誉退休教授马丁?坎普问道。“至少需要13位，或者更多。”

In the Antico Setificio Fiorentino, Italy’s oldest working silk mill, Beatrice Fazzini turns by hand a vertical¹² warper¹³: a cylindrical¹⁴ machine that prepares yarn¹⁵ for weaving. It was constructed in 1786 and is based on a design by da Vinci that Stefano Ricci, the fashion house which owns the mill, says has been used in Florence since da Vinci was alive. If that is indeed so, it was one of his very few inventions that had a practical application.

在意大利最古老的古丝绸铺Antico Setificio Fiorentino，比阿特丽斯·法兹尼用手转动整经机，这是一种为织造准备纱线的圆柱机。拥有这家丝绸铺的时装公司Stefano Ricci成立于1786年，以达芬奇的一项设计为基础，据说自达芬奇在世时，Stefano Ricci就在佛罗伦萨投入运营。如果真是这样的话，那也是他为数不多的几项具有实际应用价值的发明之一。

1 reverence   

n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统，但不被传统所束缚。

2 harpsichord   

n.键琴（钢琴前身）

参考例句：

• I can tune the harpsichord as well as play it.我会弹奏大键琴，同样地，我也会给大键琴调音。
• Harpsichord music is readily playable.古钢琴音乐可以随时演奏。

3 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

4 sketches   

n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概

参考例句：

• The artist is making sketches for his next painting. 画家正为他的下一幅作品画素描。
• You have to admit that these sketches are true to life. 你得承认这些素描很逼真。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 ensemble   

n.合奏(唱)组；全套服装；整体，总效果

参考例句：

• We should consider the buildings as an ensemble.我们应把那些建筑物视作一个整体。
• It is ensemble music for up to about ten players,with one player to a part.它是最多十人演奏的合奏音乐，每人担任一部分。

6 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

7 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

8 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

9 encompassed   

v.围绕( encompass的过去式和过去分词 )；包围；包含；包括

参考例句：

• The enemy encompassed the city. 敌人包围了城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I have encompassed him with every protection. 我已经把他保护得严严实实。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

10 emeritus   

adj.名誉退休的

参考例句：

• "Perhaps I can introduce Mr.Lake Kirby,an emeritus professor from Washington University?"请允许我介绍华盛顿大学名誉教授莱克柯尔比先生。
• He will continue as chairman emeritus.他将会继续担任荣誉主席。

11 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

12 vertical   

adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The northern side of the mountain is almost vertical.这座山的北坡几乎是垂直的。
• Vertical air motions are not measured by this system.垂直气流的运动不用这种系统来测量。

13 warper   

n.整经机，整经工

参考例句：

• This paper emphatically introduced the reformation scheme of cone angle setting mechanism on warper. 重点介绍了整经机上圆锥角调节机构的改进方案。 来自互联网
• The section warper and batch warper have 15 poctent technical and core technical. 公司具有40多年的机械制造经验，属省高新技术企业，产品通过国家级鉴定验收。 来自互联网

14 cylindrical   

adj.圆筒形的

参考例句：

• huge cylindrical gas tanks 巨大的圆柱形贮气罐
• Beer cans are cylindrical. 啤酒罐子是圆筒形的。

15 yarn   

n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事

参考例句：

• I stopped to have a yarn with him.我停下来跟他聊天。
• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。