Art History in a Hurry:Death of Marat
大卫:《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 radical journalist and political leader of the French Revolution—was working in his makeshift office.
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--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 sewers before the revolution. This disease required constant soaking in the bathtub to alleviate the uncomfortable symptoms. He worked there with a board and sheets over the tub for a semblance of privacy, and a rough wooden packing box he used as a desk.
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。此病需要持续浸泡在浴缸里来纾缓不适的症状。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,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. She plunged the knife into his chest, and Marat bled to death.
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。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 corpse while it's still in the tub. He later made this painting from his drawings.
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。他之后从他的素描作出这幅画。
David shows us the slain revolutionary bathed in light, already dead, but still holding Corday's letter. The bloody knife lies on the floor, but Marat still grasps his own powerful weapon in his right hand.
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。那把血淋淋的刀躺在地板上,但马拉仍在他的右手握着他自己强大的武器。
Despite the graphic depiction of the dead body, the bloody water, and the bloodstained sheets, the painting conveys a contrast in mood of calm with emphasis on horizontal lines and its cool, greenish pallor. More than half the painting is given over to the cold, dark space above the figure, giving the painting a further chilling and claustrophobic feeling.
不论那尸体、血水、以及染上血渍床单的逼真描绘,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。这幅画超过一半交付给人物上方的寒冷、黑暗的空间,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. The figure of Marat reminds the viewer of earlier depictions of the dead Christ such as Michelangelo's Pieta, which David would have known from his visit to Rome.
同时,这幅画有种肖像的特质。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》, 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 venerated by those sympathetic with a revolutionary cause, as though they were holy relics.
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,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. Everywhere at the end of 18th century, the styles of ancient Rome were becoming popular. Several important books had recently been published on ancient art, and it was at this time that the Roman cities—Pompeii and Herculaneum—were being excavated. A Roman craze followed before long in art and in popular culture.
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。18世纪时的各个地方,古罗马的风格变得流行。好几本关于古艺术的重要书籍都在最近发行,也是在这时,罗马古城--庞贝和赫库兰尼姆--被挖掘出来。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. But the style of ancient art was important to David not only for its current popularity. He painted in the style of Roman art also to emphasize his political affiliation with the French Revolution.
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。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。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—David evoked the very political ideals of the Roman Republic that the revolutionaries advocated.
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--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。