美国国家公共电台 NPR Tracing 500 Years Of Pregnancy Portraits, From The Tudors To

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

In portrait art, every aspect - from the subject to the pose to the painter - is a deliberate choice. And it's no different when depicting¹ pregnant women. Up until the early 20th century, that choice was often to hide a pregnancy². Even hinting that a woman was sexually active was taboo³. A new exhibit at the Foundling Museum in London explores five centuries of pregnancy portraits and evolving attitudes about pregnant women. From the Tudors to Bohemians to Beyonce, it's called "Portraying⁴ Pregnancy: From Holbein To Social Media." Karen Hearn curated the exhibit. And she joins us now from London. Welcome.

KAREN HEARN: Thank you. Yes.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: How was the idea for this exhibit conceived?

HEARN: Well, that's very interesting choice of words, Lulu.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: (Laughter). It was deliberate.

HEARN: (Laughter). I thought so. I actually first started thinking about this subject more than 20 years ago. I was the curator of 16th and 17th century British art at the Tate gallery in London. And the opportunity arose to acquire - Elizabethan portrait of a woman, an unidentified woman, who was very visibly pregnant. And I was surprised to discover not only did the paperwork that refer to the painting not allude⁵ to this, which is the most obvious fact about the picture - but also that the subject had not been tackled - so really, on and off over the last 20 years. I've been working away on this as a subject.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: What, then, happens - what are the major cultural shifts that we see as time goes on?

HEARN: We start - as it were, the exhibition starts with these very visible depictions of pregnancy. As the 17th century wears on, we have portraits of women who perhaps are making symbolic⁶ gestures that perhaps, perhaps not indicate pregnancy - a hand on the stomach. By the time we get to the 18th century, pregnancy isn't being depicted⁷.

We have a very interesting example - a woman called Theresa Parker (ph), whose husband wanted a full-length portrait of her in a hurry. Now, she was pregnant. But she continued to go for her painting sessions. And in the resultant picture, she doesn't look pregnant. She has a kind of scarf, mantle⁸ around her body. But she certainly is not depicted as pregnant.

In the 19th century, I haven't found, really, any examples. It's at the beginning of the 20th century we start to see one or two male artists depicting their wives or partners as pregnant. But these are very private images. And they tend not to really be known about until later in the century.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Part of this, of course, is about the fact of who was painting the pictures, right? I mean, these were - painters were, by and large, men. And, you know, women's bodies and also just motherhood must have been a subject that might not have been as interesting to them.

HEARN: I think there is a fundamental change once - as we advance in the 20th century. We have enough women artists. We've developed enough careers, really. We see women painting themselves and their friends during pregnancy. And, of course, their viewpoint is completely different.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: You can't, of course, talk about portraits of pregnant women without mentioning the iconic photo of Demi Moore photographed by a woman, Annie Liebovitz, in 1991 for Vanity Fair. Your exhibit calls this moment a cultural shift. Can you explain why?

HEARN: At the time, the image of a naked, pregnant Demi Moore was enormously shocking. I know it was very controversial. But, in fact, what happened - it then really sets a template as the 1990s wore on. For just regular people taking images of their partners, it really becomes an approach which anybody might use. So I think that is undoubtedly⁹ a key moment in the portrayal¹⁰ of pregnancy.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And why is it important for us to understand it?

HEARN: Well, goodness me. I mean, this is something that is experienced by 50% of society. And the other 50% have created...

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Had something to do with it.

HEARN: Had a little something to do with it. And so it's definitely enormous importance. It's so interesting, really, to see all these grade-A masterpieces together, resonating. And with any exhibition, it's the act of bringing things physically¹¹ together that always makes more points than you actually had in your head. So I think nothing could be more important, really, than pregnancy portraits.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Karen Hearn is a curator of "Portraying Pregnancy: From Holbein To Social Media." It's showing at the Foundling Museum in London right now. Thank you very much.

HEARN: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONIDO TORRELAGUNA'S "YOU'RE HAVING MY BABY")

1 depicting   

描绘，描画( depict的现在分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• a painting depicting the Virgin and Child 一幅描绘童贞马利亚和圣子耶稣的画
• The movie depicting the battles and bloodshed is bound to strike home. 这部描写战斗和流血牺牲的影片一定会取得预期效果。

2 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

3 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

4 portraying   

v.画像( portray的现在分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The artist has succeeded in portraying my father to the life. 那位画家把我的父亲画得惟妙惟肖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ding Ling was good at portraying figures through careful and refined description of human psychology. 《莎菲女士的日记》是丁玲的成名作，曾引起强烈的社会反响。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

5 allude   

v.提及，暗指

参考例句：

• Many passages in Scripture allude to this concept.圣经中有许多经文间接地提到这样的概念。
• She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles.她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。

6 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

7 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

8 mantle   

n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红

参考例句：

• The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。
• The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。

9 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

10 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。

11 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。