纪录片《文明》 第142期 艺术的胜利（19）

or of Philip VI and his queen?

还是腓力四世和他的皇后

Is that mirror showing a reflection of the royal couple

那面镜子中映出的 到底是委拉斯开兹

painted on Velazquez's canvas?

画布上的国王夫妇

Or the real king and queen who are actually present in the room?

还是当时就在现场的国王与皇后

Is the sudden attentiveness¹ the beginnings of a curtsy on the

宫娥正准备行屈膝礼

part of the maid because

那一瞬间的专注

the royal couple have come into the studio...

是因为国王夫妇刚刚驾临画室

or are just departing?

还是刚要离开

It's full of games that play with the mind,

画中充满了头脑游戏

it's full of complicated layers of meaning,

以及复杂的 多层次的意义

all of which build into a meditation² on which it is to paint.

这其中的深思熟虑 正是创作此画的基础

And they are so fiendishly ingenious that they have challenged

这些极其巧妙的构思挑战着

generation after generation of writers and commentators³

一代又一代的作家 评论家 艺术家们

and artists to nail its ultimate meaning. And do you know?

来揭露它的根本含义 实话说

I don't think anyone has yet quite got to the bottom of it.

我认为这个问题至今无人找到答案

But if presumptuously⁴ I were to tell you in a sentence

但如果让我冒昧地用一句话概括

what I think it's about,

我对其的理解

I think it's about who or what, in every sense,

我认为这是关于在各个意义层面上

controls the way we look.

能够决定我们外在形象的人或物

The look we put on when we know we're being watched,

我们发现有人在看自己时的面部表情

our body language when we suddenly have to defer⁵ to authority,

我们突然需要屈服于权威时的肢体语言

the concentrated look of the artist glancing from subject

艺术家们反复审视描绘对象和画作时

to picture and back again.

全神贯注的眼神

There's really only one sovereign of staring here

这里只有一束目光是至高无上的

and it's not the king.

它并非来自国王

He only exists in the picture courtesy of the painter.

国王只是出于画家的施舍才出现在画中

The royal ego⁶ is shrunk and contained inside that small frame

皇室的自尊被缩小并框在小画框中

at the back of the room.

挂在房间的后墙上

A reversal of roles that was provocative⁷ in the West

这种角色对调在西方是挑衅性的

and inconceivable in the East,

在东方则是让人难以置信的

where anything so cheeky would get you in the deepest trouble.

它是如此放肆 足以让任何人身陷囹圄

And taking liberties with conventions didn't stop

君主已从画中消失

when monarchs⁸ went missing from the picture.

但这种挑战传统的行为并未停止

The Dutch Republic fought Spain

荷兰共和国为了自由

to a standstill to secure its freedom.

和西班牙战斗到最后一刻

But independence often goes along with civic⁹ myths

但主权独立总是和民间传说如影相随

and in Holland, the rich burgers of Amsterdam like to portray¹⁰

在荷兰阿姆斯特丹 富有市民喜欢打扮成

themselves as vigilant¹¹ militia¹² companies,

时刻警戒的民兵队

ready at the drop of a hat to go off to war.

随时准备摘下帽子去打仗

Though, when they commissioned group portraits,

不过 当他们雇人画集体肖像的时候

what they actually wanted for their money

他们只是想花钱拿到

was just a bunch of likenesses.

一批相似的人物画像

1 attentiveness   

[医]注意

参考例句：

• They all helped one another with humourous attentiveness. 他们带着近于滑稽的殷勤互相周旋。 来自辞典例句
• Is not attentiveness the nature of, even the function of, Conscious? 专注不正是大我意识的本质甚或活动吗？ 来自互联网

2 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

3 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 presumptuously   

adv.自以为是地，专横地，冒失地

参考例句：

• He shall presumptuously contest an inch with me. 他敢和我分庭抗礼，真是胆大妄为。 来自辞典例句
• And all the people shall hear, and fear, and presumptuously. 13众百姓都要听见害怕，不再擅敢行事。 来自互联网

5 defer   

vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从

参考例句：

• We wish to defer our decision until next week.我们希望推迟到下星期再作出决定。
• We will defer to whatever the committee decides.我们遵从委员会作出的任何决定。

6 ego   

n.自我，自己，自尊

参考例句：

• He is absolute ego in all thing.在所有的事情上他都绝对自我。
• She has been on an ego trip since she sang on television.她上电视台唱过歌之后就一直自吹自擂。

7 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

8 monarchs   

君主，帝王( monarch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Monarchs ruled England for centuries. 世袭君主统治英格兰有许多世纪。
• Serving six monarchs of his native Great Britain, he has served all men's freedom and dignity. 他在大不列颠本国为六位君王服务，也为全人类的自由和尊严服务。 来自演讲部分

9 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

10 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

11 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

12 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。