经济学人115:调色板上那一抹晦暗 Paint a palette blue and grey

 　　Books and Arts; Book Review;Vincent van Gogh;Paint a palette blue and grey

　　文艺；书评；文森特·威廉·梵高; 调色板上那一抹晦暗;

　　Van Gogh: The Life. By Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith.

　　《梵高：生命》；史蒂芬奈菲与格里高利怀特联合著；

　　Vincent Van Gogh seemed made for a bittersweet Hollywood biopic. The dazzling colours and dashing brushstrokes of his sunflowers, cornfields and cypress¹ trees are among the most familiar and loved works in the history of art, fetching record-breaking sums in auction² rooms. The inevitable³ biopic was called “Lust⁴ for Life”. But as an enormous and engrossing⁵ new biography shows, van Gogh's lust for conflict was strongest of all.

　　梵高仿佛就是为一部五味杂陈的好莱坞传记影片而生。他画笔下的向日葵，麦田和柏树名垂艺术史，以其绚烂的色彩和有力的笔触被人们熟知与欣赏，并在拍卖会上连创拍卖纪录。显然，这部传记名字本应为“生活的渴望”，但随着一本关于梵高生命的引人入胜，鸿篇巨制自传的上市，原来梵高对矛盾的渴望才是最强烈的。

　　The book describes a lonely, bad- tempered alcoholic⁶, a syphilitic who liked to bite the hands that fed him. It in no way devalues the quality of the painting, of course, but this portrait by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, two prolific⁷ authors who seem to like writing about drunken artists (Jackson Pollock was an earlier subject) demolishes⁸ any romance that still attaches to the artist's life.

　　这本自传描述了一位寂寞，坏脾气的酗酒者，和一位喜欢啃咬那对养活自己双手的梅毒病患。如此的描述绝对没有使梵高的画作贬值，但是史蒂芬奈菲与格里高利怀特---这两位比较喜欢酗酒艺术家题材（他们曾以杰克逊·波洛克作为题材）的多产作家，已经将笼罩在梵高身上的艺术浪漫气息驱散殆尽。

　　The book is composed, like a pointillist painting, of thousands of factual details. Nothing is sacrificed to curtail⁹ its length; the only concession¹⁰ is to remove the footnotes from the text. (There are enough of these to fill 5,000 typewritten pages and they are all to be found on the book's website.) But the story has a momentum¹¹ that justifies¹² the time it takes to tell it, and the authors conclude by making a plausible¹³ case for van Gogh's accidental death rather than his suicide. No gun was found; the fatal bullet entered the body at the wrong angle and seemed to have been fired from too far away for the wound to have been self-inflicted. Strong circumstantial evidence suggests that van Gogh was the victim of schoolboy bullies¹⁴.

　　这本自传包含了数以千计零零散散的事实，并没有为了削减长度而牺牲任何的细节，其唯一的让步就是将稿件中的附注删除（事实上，这些附注足以填满5000张打印纸，并且它们都在这本书的官网上面）。就算是这样，书中的故事也值得让我们有动力花时间细细品味，加之本书的两位作者合理地解释了梵高的离世---死于一场意外而非自杀，首先事故现场没有找到枪支；并且那颗致命子弹以错误的角度进入了梵高的身体，因为从伤口来看，子弹是从非常远的地方所发射而不是以自杀的方式发射的。有力的间接证据显示梵高的死竟归咎于一群小混混。

　　Van Gogh's earliest job with an art dealer¹⁵ took him to The Hague, and then Paris and London, but his youthful passion was to be heard as a preacher. His first sermon was delivered, in heavily-accented English, by the River Thames in Petersham, but congregations did not respond to him. Only when he accepted that he would not become a minister, as his father had been, did he turn to art. Since he earned no money van Gogh simply assumed that he was entitled to a share of his brother Theo's salary, demanding 150 francs a month from him at a time when the wage of a French schoolteacher was 75 francs a month.

　　梵高在古皮尔艺术公司的第一份工作使他来到了海牙，并随后几经辗转，到过巴黎，伦敦工作。但他年轻时的激情主要用在了布道上面，当他第一次在泰晤士河旁的佩特香以带有浓重口音的英语向众人传道时，信众们纷纷不予理睬。当他决定不追随父亲的脚步成为一位牧师后，他才走上了艺术之路。因为没有稳定的收入，梵高竟认为自己有权分享弟弟提奥的工资，不加思考地要求他每月给自己150法郎，要知道他作为普通学校教师的弟弟月工资只有75法郎。

　　Van Gogh first concentrated on dark charcoal¹⁶ drawings of Dutch peasants. “When I draw I see clearly,” he said. Theo saw clearly that they did not sell, and suggested colourful landscapes instead. Van Gogh was eventually converted to the idea of colour by Rembrandt, and he started to paint bright orange and brown sunflowers in Paris in 1886, hoping they might impress a particularly voluptuous¹⁷ Italian model. His conversion¹⁸ to colour and landscape was not complete, however, until he went south to Arles in 1888.

　　梵高首先想到的是利用荷兰农民常用的黑木炭作画，“画画时我能看得更透彻”他曾这么说。提奥清楚地知道这些画是没有销路的，所以建议梵高画一些充满色彩的风景画。最终，在伦勃朗的影响下，梵高开始了在图画中使用彩色和变换创作主体（画风景）的转变，并在1886年于巴黎开始绘制亮橘和亮棕色的向日葵，希望这些画作能引起一些沉溺于酒色的意大利模特们的兴趣。这种绘画风格上的转变直到1888年梵高南下来到法国阿勒斯时才趋向成熟。

　　When he persuaded Paul Gauguin to join him in Arles, van Gogh believed that they would inspire each other's work. It was a tragic¹⁹ delusion²⁰. Gauguin, the more forceful personality, wanted to draw in the studio, van Gogh to paint in the open air. Van Gogh was quick, Gauguin was languid. Gauguin worked from the imagination and memory, van Gogh surrendered himself to nature. The Arlesiennes adored Gauguin and ignored van Gogh. The two painters quarrelled bitterly. When Gauguin announced he was leaving for Paris on December 23rd 1889, van Gogh reacted by slashing²¹ his own left ear, slicing through to the jaw²². Confined to asylums²³ as a psychotic, he did not stop painting, but he was dead of a bullet wound only 18 months later, not long after he sold his first painting. He was 37. Decades passed before it was widely appreciated he was a genius. It has taken even longer to fully²⁴ understand that his life was a disaster.

　　在阿勒斯时，梵高劝说保罗·高更加入他的创作队伍，他相信他们俩能激发彼此的灵感，有所裨益。但这却是个悲剧的幻想，高更，拥有更强势的性格，想在工作室作画，而梵高却倾向在室外工作；高更工作经常无精打采，拖拖拉拉。而梵高工作却雷厉风行；高更将灵感寄托于想象和回忆；而梵高将思想臣服于大自然。但阿勒斯人显然更中意高更而把梵高忽略了，随后两人大吵一架，当高更在1889年12月23日宣称自己将前往巴黎时，梵高将自己的左耳割下，伤口长至下颚，他像一个精神病患者一般将自己困在心灵的枷锁中，却没有停止作画。18个月之后，当梵高卖出了自己的第一幅画后不久，他就死于枪伤。当众人终于认识到他是一个天才时，几十年已经过去了，如果我们想完全看清他生命中悲剧的一面，或许还需要更长的时间。

1 cypress   

n.柏树

参考例句：

• The towering pine and cypress trees defy frost and snow.松柏参天傲霜雪。
• The pine and the cypress remain green all the year round.苍松翠柏，常绿不凋。

2 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

3 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

4 lust   

n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望

参考例句：

• He was filled with lust for power.他内心充满了对权力的渴望。
• Sensing the explorer's lust for gold, the chief wisely presented gold ornaments as gifts.酋长觉察出探险者们垂涎黄金的欲念，就聪明地把金饰品作为礼物赠送给他们。

5 engrossing   

adj.使人全神贯注的，引人入胜的v.使全神贯注( engross的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He told us an engrossing story. 他给我们讲了一个引人入胜的故事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It might soon have ripened into that engrossing feeling. 很快便会发展成那种压倒一切的感情的。 来自辞典例句

6 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

7 prolific   

adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的

参考例句：

• She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories.她是一位多产的作家，写了很多小说和短篇故事。
• The last few pages of the document are prolific of mistakes.这个文件的最后几页错误很多。

8 demolishes   

v.摧毁( demolish的第三人称单数 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• Huge surges cause severe flooding that demolishes buildings, washes out beaches and highways, and drowns people. 巨大的涌浪引起剧烈的泛滥，从而摧毁房屋，冲坏海滩与公路，使人们惨遭灭顶之灾。 来自辞典例句

9 curtail   

vt.截短，缩短；削减

参考例句：

• The government hopes to curtail public spending.政府希望缩减公共事业开支。
• The minister had to curtail his visit.部长不得不缩短访问日期。

10 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

11 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

12 justifies   

证明…有理( justify的第三人称单数 )； 为…辩护； 对…作出解释； 为…辩解（或辩护）

参考例句：

• Their frequency of use both justifies and requires the memorization. 频繁的使用需要记忆，也促进了记忆。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• In my judgement the present end justifies the means. 照我的意见，只要目的正当，手段是可以不计较的。

13 plausible   

adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的

参考例句：

• His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。
• Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。

14 bullies   

n.欺凌弱小者, 开球 vt.恐吓, 威胁, 欺负

参考例句：

• Standing up to bullies takes plenty of backbone. 勇敢地对付暴徒需有大无畏精神。
• Bullies can make your life hell. 恃强欺弱者能让你的日子像活地狱。

15 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

16 charcoal   

n.炭，木炭，生物炭

参考例句：

• We need to get some more charcoal for the barbecue.我们烧烤需要更多的碳。
• Charcoal is used to filter water.木炭是用来过滤水的。

17 voluptuous   

adj.肉欲的，骄奢淫逸的

参考例句：

• The nobility led voluptuous lives.贵族阶层过着骄奢淫逸的生活。
• The dancer's movements were slow and voluptuous.舞女的动作缓慢而富挑逗性。

18 conversion   

n.转化，转换，转变

参考例句：

• He underwent quite a conversion.他彻底变了。
• Waste conversion is a part of the production process.废物处理是生产过程的一个组成部分。

19 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

20 delusion   

n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑

参考例句：

• He is under the delusion that he is Napoleon.他患了妄想症，认为自己是拿破仑。
• I was under the delusion that he intended to marry me.我误认为他要娶我。

21 slashing   

adj.尖锐的；苛刻的；鲜明的；乱砍的v.挥砍( slash的现在分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Slashing is the first process in which liquid treatment is involved. 浆纱是液处理的第一过程。 来自辞典例句
• He stopped slashing his horse. 他住了手，不去鞭打他的马了。 来自辞典例句

22 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

23 asylums   

n.避难所( asylum的名词复数 )；庇护；政治避难；精神病院

参考例句：

• No wonder Mama says love drives people into asylums. 难怪南蛮妈妈说，爱情会让人变成疯子。 来自互联网

24 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。