欧美人文风情第55篇:大卫画作《马拉之死》

 Welcome to Art History in a Hurry. I'm your host, Monica Hon. 欢迎收看《速解艺术史》。我是你们的主持人，Monica Hon。

On July 13, 1793, Jean-Paul Marat—a radical¹ journalist and political leader of the French Revolution 在1793年七月十三日，马拉－－一名激进的记者兼法国大革命的政治领袖

—was working in his makeshift office. －－在他的临时办公室里上班。

He had an unfortunate skin disease he'd contracted while hiding from the Royal Police in the Paris sewers² before the revolution. 他患有不幸的皮肤病，那是他在革命前潜进巴黎下水道躲避皇家警察时染上的。

This disease required constant soaking in the bathtub to alleviate³ the uncomfortable symptoms. 此病需要持续浸泡在浴缸里来纾缓不适的症状。

He worked there with a board and sheets over the tub for a semblance⁴ of privacy, 他在那儿工作，用一块板子和床单盖过浴缸作为一种表面上的隐私，

and a rough wooden packing box he used as a desk. 还有一个他用来当做书桌的粗糙木箱。

On this day, an enemy of the revolution—Charlotte Corday—gained entrance to his office with a false letter of introduction. 在这一天，一名革命的敌人－－夏绿蒂科黛－－带着一封伪造的介绍信成功进入他的办公室。

She plunged⁵ the knife into his chest, and Marat bled to death. 她把刀插进他的胸口，马拉流血至死。

Jacques-Louis David—a prominent artist and a friend of Marat—was called in immediately to draw the corpse⁶ while it's still in the tub. 贾克路易大卫－－一名杰出的艺术家及马拉的朋友－－随即被叫去趁它还在浴缸里时画下尸体。

He later made this painting from his drawings. 他之后从他的素描作出这幅画。

David shows us the slain⁷ revolutionary bathed in light, already dead, but still holding Corday's letter. 大卫向我们展示这个遭杀害的革命份子沐浴在光线之下，已经死亡、但仍然握着柯黛的信。

The bloody⁸ knife lies on the floor, 那把血淋淋的刀躺在地板上，

but Marat still grasps his own powerful weapon in his right hand. 但马拉仍在他的右手握着他自己强大的武器。

Despite the graphic⁹ depiction¹⁰ of the dead body, the bloody water, and the bloodstained sheets, 不论那尸体、血水、以及染上血渍床单的逼真描绘，

the painting conveys a contrast in mood of calm with emphasis on horizontal lines and its cool, greenish pallor. 这幅画利用强调水平线条及其冷调、发绿的惨白，传达一种冷静情绪的对比。

More than half the painting is given over to the cold, dark space above the figure, 这幅画超过一半交付给人物上方的寒冷、黑暗的空间，

giving the painting a further chilling and claustrophobic feeling. 给了这幅画一个更加寒心及导致幽闭恐惧症的感觉。

At the same time, the painting has an iconic quality. 同时，这幅画有种肖像的特质。

The figure of Marat reminds the viewer of earlier depictions of the dead Christ such as Michelangelo's Pieta, 马拉的人像使观众回想起较早期死去耶稣的绘画，像是米开朗基罗的《圣殇》，

which David would have known from his visit to Rome. 这也许是大卫从他的罗马之旅中认识的。

In fact, Marat's wooden box, a bloody towel, and the bathtub itself were venerated¹¹ by those sympathetic with a revolutionary cause, 事实上，马拉的木箱、一条血淋淋的毛巾、以及浴缸本身都因为一种革命的动机被那些支持者所崇敬，

as though they were holy relics¹². 好似它们是圣迹。

David executed this painting with linear crisp brushwork that characterizes the late 18th and early 19th century Neoclassical style. 大卫利用描绘出18世纪晚期与19世纪早期的新古典主义的线性硬笔画法来做出这幅画。

Everywhere at the end of 18th century, the styles of ancient Rome were becoming popular. 18世纪时的各个地方，古罗马的风格变得流行。

Several important books had recently been published on ancient art, 好几本关于古艺术的重要书籍都在最近发行，

and it was at this time that the Roman cities—Pompeii and Herculaneum—were being excavated¹³. 也是在这时，罗马古城－－庞贝和赫库兰尼姆－－被挖掘出来。

A Roman craze followed before long in art and in popular culture. 一阵艺术和流行文化的罗马风潮不久后跟着出现。

David was influenced by all these, as well as by the art and architecture he saw himself while he studied in Rome. 大卫受所有这些、还有他在罗马求学时自己所见到的艺术及建筑所影响。

But the style of ancient art was important to David not only for its current popularity. 但古艺术的风格对大卫来说很重要，不仅是因为其当时的流行程度。

He painted in the style of Roman art also to emphasize his political affiliation¹⁴ with the French Revolution. 他以罗马艺术风格作画同样也强调了他在法国大革命的政治立场。

Through the sculptural quality of the figure and the linear approach in his work—a style similar to ancient Roman sculpture 透过那人物雕刻般的特质以及他作品中的线条手法－－一种与古罗马雕像相似的风格

—David evoked¹⁵ the very political ideals of the Roman Republic that the revolutionaries advocated. －－大卫唤起了革命份子所鼓吹的真正罗马共和的政治理念。

Thanks for joining me. This has been Art History in a Hurry. See you next time. 感谢收看。这是“速解艺术史”。我们下次见。

 

1 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

2 sewers   

n.阴沟，污水管，下水道( sewer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sewers discharge out at sea. 下水道的污水排入海里。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Another municipal waste problem is street runoff into storm sewers. 有关都市废水的另外一个问题是进入雨水沟的街道雨水。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

3 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

4 semblance   

n.外貌，外表

参考例句：

• Her semblance of anger frightened the children.她生气的样子使孩子们感到害怕。
• Those clouds have the semblance of a large head.那些云的形状像一个巨大的人头。

5 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

6 corpse   

n.尸体，死尸

参考例句：

• What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
• The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。

7 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

8 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

9 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

10 depiction   

n.描述

参考例句：

• Double rhythms, resounding through the lyric depiction and connecting with each other, indicate the thespian place of mankind and the cognition of the writer to this thespian place. 这双重旋律互为表里，表明了人类的某种悲剧性处境以及作家对这种悲剧性处境的感受和认识。
• A realistic depiction of scenes from everyday domestic life. 日常家居生活的写实画。

11 venerated   

敬重（某人或某事物），崇敬( venerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My father venerated General Eisenhower. 我父亲十分敬仰艾森豪威尔将军。
• He used the sacraments and venerated the saints. 他行使圣事，崇拜圣人。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史

12 relics   

[pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸

参考例句：

• The area is a treasure house of archaeological relics. 这个地区是古文物遗迹的宝库。
• Xi'an is an ancient city full of treasures and saintly relics. 西安是一个有很多宝藏和神圣的遗物的古老城市。

13 excavated   

v.挖掘( excavate的过去式和过去分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘

参考例句：

• The site has been excavated by archaeologists. 这个遗址已被考古学家发掘出来。
• The archaeologists excavated an ancient fortress. 考古学家们发掘出一个古堡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 affiliation   

n.联系，联合

参考例句：

• There is no affiliation between our organization and theirs,even though our names are similar.尽管两个组织的名称相似，但我们之间并没有关系。
• The kidnappers had no affiliation with any militant group.这些绑架者与任何军事组织都没有紧密联系。

15 evoked   

[医]诱发的

参考例句：

• The music evoked memories of her youth. 这乐曲勾起了她对青年时代的回忆。
• Her face, though sad, still evoked a feeling of serenity. 她的脸色虽然悲伤，但仍使人感觉安详。