2019年经济学人 艺术史:达·芬奇和我们(3)

 

Paradoxically, the most direct applications of da Vinci's researches outside art are to be found within his art. His understanding of physics, botany and geology vastly enhanced his painting. His study of light enabled him to develop sfumato, the technique that gives the outlines of his subjects their naturally undefined quality. “And if he hadn't studied anatomy¹, he wouldn't have been able to paint the most enigmatic smile in the history of painting,” says Fiorenzo Galli, the director-general of the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci in Milan.

矛盾的是，达·芬奇在艺术之外的研究最直接的应用是在他的艺术中发现的。他对物理学、植物学和地质学的理解大大提高了他的绘画水平。基于对光的研究他发展了渲染层次，这一技术赋予其画作自然而又与众不同的品质。“如果他没学过解剖学，他就他不可能画出绘画史上最神秘的微笑，”米兰达·芬奇科技博物馆馆长菲奥伦佐·加利表示。

The “Mona Lisa” has become the world's best-known painting. Da Vinci's “Vitruvian Man” is the world's best-known drawing. Does that make him the greatest artist in the Western tradition? Even Professor Kemp, who has spent a lifetime studying da Vinci's achievements, hesitates to go that far, stressing instead the Tuscan master's huge influence on other painters.“If you were looking for someone who did as much to divert the stream of art, then you would have to keep searching until you came to Picasso,” he says. Da Vinci revolutionised Madonna and Child compositions, and altered the portrayal² of narrative³ subjects and the way portraits were composed. Jonathan Nelson, who teaches art history at Syracuse University in Florence, notes that he was also the first artist to give women realistic bodies “with anatomically identifiable musculatures, but looking soft and feminine”.

《蒙娜丽莎》已成为世界上最著名的画作。达·芬奇作品《维特鲁威人》是世界上最著名的素描。这是否使他成为西方历史上最伟大的艺术家？即使是他花了一生的时间研究达·芬奇成就的坎普教授，也不愿说得太满，反而强调这位托斯卡纳大师对其他画家的巨大影响。“如果你要找的是一个同样能改变艺术潮流的人，那么你就得继续寻找直到找到毕加索，”坎普教授如此表示。达·芬奇彻底改变了《圣母子》的构图，改变了叙事题材的刻画和肖像的构图方式。在佛罗伦萨雪城大学教授艺术史的乔纳森?纳尔逊指出，他也是第一个赋予女性逼真身体的艺术家，“具有解剖学上可辨认的肌肉特征，但看上去柔软而女性化”。

The notion that da Vinci stands alongside Michelangelo and Raphael at the very pinnacle⁴ of artistic⁵ achievement is nonetheless relatively⁶ modern. Until well into the 19th century, he was seen as a genius, but on a level below the others. As Donald Sassoon, a British historian, has recounted in his book, “Becoming Mona Lisa”, published in 2001, it was anti-clerical French historians who initiated⁷ the “cult of Leonardo”, seeing in him an ally in the fight against religious obscurantism: “He was not afraid to dissect⁸ corpses⁹; he did not paint halos on his religious figures…Unlike Raphael and Michelangelo, he was never the servant of popes. He put Man at the centre of creation.”

尽管如此，“达·芬奇与米开朗基罗和拉斐尔一样站在艺术成就之巅”这种观点还是相对现代的。19世纪之前，他一直被认为是天才，但水平在米开朗基罗和拉斐尔之下。正如英国历史学家唐纳德?沙逊在2001年出版的《成为蒙娜丽莎》一书中所述，正是反宗教的法国历史学家发起了“达·芬奇崇拜”，认为他是反对宗教蒙昧主义的盟友：“他不畏惧解剖尸体；他没有为宗教人物画光环……与拉斐尔和米开朗基罗不同，他从来不是教皇的仆人。他把人放在创造的中心。”

Those and other factors have endeared him to a wider, contemporary public. Da Vinci abhorred¹⁰ the slaughter¹¹ of animals and was probably a vegetarian¹². He satisfies the modern requirement for artists to be outsiders with an eccentric streak¹³. And his creative record chimes perfectly¹⁴ with the spirit of an age that tolerates, even venerates¹⁵, unfinished work—all the more so if it is cryptic¹⁶. Surveying the events this year to celebrate da Vinci's genius, Professor Nelson says “I think these shows tell us more about us than about him.”

上述等因素使达·芬奇受到更广泛的当代公众的喜爱。达·芬奇憎恶屠杀动物，他可能是一个素食主义者。他以一种古怪的气质满足了现代艺术家作为局外人的要求。他的创作记录与这个时代的精神完美契合。这个时代容忍，甚至崇敬未完成的作品，如果作品是神秘的，那就更是如此。纳尔逊教授在调查了今年为庆祝达·芬奇的天才而举办的活动后表示：“我认为这些展览向我们展示的更多的是我们自己，而不是达·芬奇本人。”

1 anatomy   

n.解剖学，解剖；功能，结构，组织

参考例句：

• He found out a great deal about the anatomy of animals.在动物解剖学方面，他有过许多发现。
• The hurricane's anatomy was powerful and complex.对飓风的剖析是一项庞大而复杂的工作。

2 portrayal   

n.饰演；描画

参考例句：

• His novel is a vivid portrayal of life in a mining community.他的小说生动地描绘了矿区的生活。
• The portrayal of the characters in the novel is lifelike.该书中的人物写得有血有肉。

3 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

4 pinnacle   

n.尖塔，尖顶，山峰；(喻)顶峰

参考例句：

• Now he is at the very pinnacle of his career.现在他正值事业中的顶峰时期。
• It represents the pinnacle of intellectual capability.它代表了智能的顶峰。

5 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

6 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

7 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

8 dissect   

v.分割；解剖

参考例句：

• In biology class we had to dissect a frog.上生物课时我们得解剖青蛙。
• Not everyone can dissect and digest the public information they receive.不是每个人都可以解析和消化他们得到的公共信息的。

9 corpses   

n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The living soldiers put corpses together and burned them. 活着的战士把尸体放在一起烧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Overhead, grayish-white clouds covered the sky, piling up heavily like decaying corpses. 天上罩满了灰白的薄云，同腐烂的尸体似的沉沉的盖在那里。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

10 abhorred   

v.憎恶( abhor的过去式和过去分词 )；（厌恶地）回避；拒绝；淘汰

参考例句：

• He abhorred the thoughts of stripping me and making me miserable. 他憎恶把我掠夺干净，使我受苦的那个念头。 来自辞典例句
• Each of these oracles hated a particular phrase. Liu the Sage abhorred "Not right for sowing". 二诸葛忌讳“不宜栽种”，三仙姑忌讳“米烂了”。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

11 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

12 vegetarian   

n.素食者；adj.素食的

参考例句：

• She got used gradually to the vegetarian diet.她逐渐习惯吃素食。
• I didn't realize you were a vegetarian.我不知道你是个素食者。

13 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

14 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

15 venerates   

敬重（某人或某事物），崇敬( venerate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• As for Yu Qiuyu's artistic theory work, also prepares the academic circles is taken and venerates. 至于余秋雨的艺术理论著作，亦备受学术界重视和尊崇。

16 cryptic   

adj.秘密的，神秘的，含义模糊的

参考例句：

• She made a cryptic comment about how the film mirrored her life.她隐晦地表示说这部电影是她人生的写照。
• The new insurance policy is written without cryptic or mysterious terms.新的保险单在编写时没有隐秘条款或秘密条款。