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A prominent French politician and astronomer, and Chair of the Academy of Sciences.
（弗朗索瓦·阿拉戈）是法国著名的政治家、天文学家，也是法国科学院的院长。
He was also a supporter of Daguerre's,
他还是达盖尔“银版照相法”的支持者，
and after being shown successful Daguerreotypes in late 1838,
1838年末，在目睹了成功的银版照相实验之后，
he set out to arrange a deal with the French government to purchase the rights to the invention.
他便开始着手与法国政府的协议，要让政府购买这项发明。
He wanted photography to be France’s gift to the world,
他想让摄影成为法国献给世界的礼物，
and Daguerre was going to be the man to deliver it.
而达盖尔就是提供这份礼物的人。
So when Bayard showed Arago his successful prints,
所以，当巴亚德向阿拉戈展示他成功的摄影作品时，
the politician persuaded him to hold off on announcing the details of his method until the Daguerre deal was finished.
这位政治家说服了他，让他在达盖尔的交易完成之前不公布这一方法的细节。
And on August 19th, 1839,
1839年8月19日，
standing before the Academy of Sciences with Daguerre seated right next to him,
弗朗索瓦·阿拉戈站到了法国科学院列位院士面前，他的旁边就是达盖尔，
Francois Arago revealed the exact process for creating a Daguerreotype.
揭开了银版照相的确切过程。
That moment is considered the birth of photography.
那一刻被认为是摄影诞生的一刻。
And once the French government made the details of the process public,
法国政府一公开整个过程的细节，
Daguerreotyping spread like wildfire, becoming the first practical, widespread method of making pictures.
银版照相法就像野火一样蔓延开来，成为了第一个实用并被广泛使用的照相方法。
Daguerre was awarded a lifetime government pension, and the principle credit for inventing photography —
达盖尔则荣获终身政府养老金和发明摄影技术的主要荣誉——
sealing his place in the history books.
继而在历史书中稳占了一席之地。
A couple months later, Bayard finally got his chance with the Academy and demonstrated his own process.
几个月后，巴亚德终于也得到了和法国科学院面对面并展示自己的摄影过程的机会。
But it was too late.
但已经太迟了。
Daguerreotyping was already established, and the Academy wasn’t interested in pursuing his alternative technique.
达盖尔照相术已经确立下来，学院对他的替代技术已经不感兴趣了。
And as a response, Bayard killed himself.
于是，巴亚德自杀了。
Well, metaphorically.
嗯，我是说隐喻意义上。
The tongue-in-cheek caption he wrote on the back of this self-portrait reads:
他在这幅自画像的背面半开玩笑地写道：
“The corpse which you see here is that of Monsieur Bayard,
“你在这张照片中看到的尸体是巴亚德，
inventor of the process that has just been shown to you.”
正向你们展示的这个摄影过程就是他发明的。”
“The government which has been only too generous to Monsieur Daguerre,
“对达盖尔先生无限慷慨的政府，
has said it can do nothing for Monsieur Bayard, and the poor wretch has drowned himself.”
对巴亚德先生却说半点忙也帮不上他，这可怜的家伙就投河自尽了。”
The image itself is rich with symbols that Bayard included to hint at his perceived injustice.
这幅照片本身就充满了象征符号，因为贝亚德想通过照片表达他所感知的不公。
First, he posed nude, partially covered in a shroud,
首先，照片中的他赤裸着身体，局部裹了裹尸布，
a symbol people would have recognized from iconic paintings depicting martyrs.
描绘殉道者的标志性画作中也有这一象征符号。
Another important detail that would have resonated with 19th century Parisians is in the caption:
另一个引起19世纪的巴黎人共鸣的重要细节在照片背后的说明文字里：
“He has been at the morgue for several days, and no-one has recognized or claimed him.”
“他在太平间放了好几天，没有人认出他，也没有人去认领他。”
The Paris Morgue at this time was open every day to the public,
这时候的巴黎太平间每天都是对外开放的，
in hopes that people would claim unidentified bodies — many of them anonymous suicides.
因为他们希望有人能认领那些身份不明的尸体，那些尸体大部分都是匿名自杀的。
Bayard’s protest is all about recognition – or lack thereof – so the morgue is a fitting metaphor.
巴亚德的抗议完全是为了获得认可 ——也可以说是因为缺乏认可——所以，太平间这个比喻用得很贴切。
Just like morgue victims, he’s on display –
就像太平间里的受害者一样，他也在被展览——
propped up and surrounded by personal effects that might give a clue to the corpse’s identity.
底下或旁边是一些或许能透露死者身份的私人物品。
In Bayard’s case, a broad-brimmed straw hat
巴亚德照片中对应的是一顶宽檐草帽，
and, as a second attempt at the photo shows more clearly, a floral vase and a statue.
对这张照片的二次曝光清晰地显示，照片中还有一个花瓶和一座雕像。
Objects that, along with the inventor himself, were recurring visual themes in his work
这些物品，连同发明者本人，都是在他的作品中反复出现的视觉主题，
and would have been strong indicators of the identity of the drowned man,
也能很好地表明溺水者的身份，
should anyone recognize them, or him, at all.
如果有人认出了他们，或者认出了他的话。
Bayard went on experimenting with photography in the years following his “suicide”
“自杀”后的几年里巴亚德继续在做各种摄影实验，
and even became a founding member of the French Society of Photography.
甚至还成了法国摄影学会的一名创始成员。
But of the many photographs taken over his long career,
但在他漫长的职业生涯中拍摄的许多照片中，
it’s this one that is the most talked about and analyzed.
最常被谈论和分析的还是要数这一张。
And that’s because this isn’t just the first staged photo –
因为这不仅仅是第一张摆拍照片，
it’s an early example of photography showing something non-literal and symbolic.
也是一个早期的例子，表明摄影拥有一些非文字和象征性的内涵。
Laying the groundwork for exploring the medium’s potential for creative expression
从而为探索摄影这种媒介的创造性表达潜力奠定了基础，
and establishing from the very beginning that a photograph doesn’t always show the truth.
并从一开始就确立了照片上看到的并不一定就是真相这一点。
