The towering pitched-roof brick houses with narrow windows, packed tightly along a narrow lane with a bakery and barber’s shop (indicated by a striped post and golden bowls for bloodletting) show Vrel as a pioneer of the new genre of the townscape, which emerged around 1650. His pictures appear peculiar, his figures quirky, and his street scenes stage-like. For a long time, his works were confused with those of Johannes Vermeer. His paintings are represented among the world’s most famous museum collections, and they are coveted rarities among collectors. But to date the painter Jacobus Vrel appears to be a phantom.
高耸的斜屋顶砖房和狭窄的窗户紧紧地挤满了狭窄的小巷，沿着小巷有面包店和理发店（用条纹柱子和放血的金碗暗示）表明弗瑞尔是在1650年左右逐渐成为新兴城市景观类型作品的先驱。他的画看起来很奇特，人物古怪，街景仿佛是舞台布景。很长一段时间，人们把他的作品与约翰内斯-维米尔（Johannes Vermeer）的作品相混淆。他的画作是世界上最著名的博物馆藏品之一，也是收藏家梦寐以求的稀世珍品。但到目前为止，画家雅各布斯-弗瑞尔(Jacobus Vrel)像一个幽灵般神秘。
This painting is of particular importance within his small oeuvre of mainly cityscapes and interiors. It is one of Vrel’s earliest works and yet also his most complex architectural composition. This seemingly typical example of Dutch Baroque painting differs from all other architectural representations of the time and thus occupies a prominent position within the collection. Typical of Jacobus Vrel's street scenes are the unusually narrow, steeply rising and closely spaced brick houses with red-brownish brickwork. These buildings have three to five floors and peaked gable roofs covered with Dutch tiles. The façades are articulated by several different architectural elements. The most striking are the narrow, often whitewashed windows.
这幅画在画家以城市景观和室内设计为主的小作品系列中尤为重要。这是弗瑞尔最早期画作之一，也是他最复杂的建筑构图作品。这幅看似典型的荷兰巴洛克绘画作品不同于当时的所有其他建筑绘画，因此在该系列中占有突出地位。弗瑞尔典型的街景通常是异常狭窄、陡峭且间隔紧密的红褐色砖砌建筑。这些建筑有三到五层，最上方的山墙屋顶覆盖着荷兰瓦。外墙由几个不同的建筑元素连接。最引人注目的是狭窄的、经常被刷成白色的窗户。
Do you see the characters on the street? The lady on the left is talking to another woman carrying a shopping basket on her arm in front of the bakery. The three women are easily recognizable by their white bonnets and shawls, while the men are wearing a hat and dark clothes. The man on the right leans on a long stick as he talks. In the foreground the figures are larger, towards the back they become smaller and smaller—in this way the painter creates a depth in the room.
你看到街上的人物了吗？左边的女士正在面包店前与另一位手挎着购物篮的女士交谈。这三个女人戴着白色的帽子和披肩，很容易辨认，而男人们则戴着帽子穿着深色衣服。右边的男人靠在一根长棍子上说话。前景中的人物更大，而后面的人变得越来越小——这样画家就在画面中创造了景深。
We present today's masterpiecethanks to Alte Pinakothek. :)
感谢慕尼黑老绘画陈列馆与我们分享今天的杰作。:)
