Theo,what am I in the eyes of most people?
提奥,在别人眼中我是个什么样的人呢?
Just for once,everything was going right for Vincent van Gogh.
仅此一次,文森特·梵高顺风顺水。
He'd just sold his first painting and he'd been hailed by the critics as the genius of the future.
他刚刚卖出自己的第一幅画,然后就被评论家们誉为绘画界未来的天才人物。
He was painting like a demon,a picture a day.
他是个工作狂,产量一天一幅。
One of them,this one,Wheat field with Crows,was a revolutionary masterpiece.
它们中的一幅,就是这幅,《麦田群鸦》可谓是幅革命性的伟大作品。
It's the painting which begins modern art.
这幅作品是现代艺术流派的先锋之作。
Yet,within a few weeks,the man who had achieved it had killed himself.
然而,还不到几个星期,这个达到自己绘画生涯顶峰的人却自杀了。
Now,why would he want to do that?
现在想来,他为什么要那么做呢?
All his life,Vincent had this childlike faith that his art revolution would be seen by everyone.
在文森特的一生中,他一直有着孩童般的信念,他的艺术革命会被人们所知晓。
So,was The Wheat field a cry of anguished frustration that he would never realise his vision in painting,or was it a shout of triumph that finally he'd done it?
那么,这幅《麦田群鸦》难道是遭受挫折后绝望的呐喊吗,他将永远不会认识到自己绘画的洞察力,抑或是最终修成正果后一声的胜利的呐喊?
And this kind of painting,turbulent,raw,overwhelmingly emotional,was the new art for the people?
像这幅作品,它狂暴,生硬,有不可抗拒的感情因素,它会是给人们带来的新的艺术形式吗?
Ask anyone,who's your idea of the tortured artist,the mad genius?
问问看吧,在你心中谁是一个饱受折磨的艺术家,疯狂的天才?
Chances are you'll get one answer,and just one answer,Vincent van Gogh.
你可能会得到一个答案,实际上也只有这么一个答案,文森特·梵高。
Sliced his ear off,didn't he? Well,no,actually,he didn't.
把自己的耳朵割了下来,难道不是吗?其实,实际上他并没有这么做。
What he did do was cut off a fleshy chunk of earlobe.
他只是从耳垂上割下来了一小块儿肉。
Oh,I know,I know,that's enough to suggest he is barmy,isn't it?
噢,我知道,但是那也足以说明他精神是有点不正常,不是吗?
And when he eventually did shoot himself,there was bound to be a chorus of,"Well,yes,he would,wouldn't he?"
而且当他最终开枪自杀时,人们肯定会异口同声的说:“嗯,是的,他会自杀的,不是吗?”
Soft pink. Soft pink and blood red. Soft pink and blood red,soft Louis XV greens and harsh blue-greens.
温柔的粉红色,以及血红色温柔的粉色和血红色,路易十五的柔绿色和粗糙的兰绿色。
An infernal furnace.
如同地狱中的熔炉。
How would a man like that make art as stunning as this?
一个那样的人怎么能够创作出如此令人眩晕的艺术作品呢?
What others diagnosed as mental sickness,Vincent thought was illumination,a new vision of what art could be. A revelation of heaven,here on earth.
那种别人被诊断出来的所谓的精神疾病在文森特看来倒像是一种启发,一种对何为艺术的全新审视方法。一个在我们的世界里对天堂存在的启示。
He thought of himself as a prophet,then. But also,as a thinker.
于是他把自己当作了一个先知。同时也是个思想家。
本课生词总结
hailed:vt. 致敬;招呼;向...欢呼;猛发;使象下雹样落下(过去式hailed,过去分词hailed,现在分词hailing,第三人称单数hails)
demon:n. 恶魔;魔鬼;精力充沛的人;邪恶的事物
Wheat field with Crows:《麦田群鸦》
anguished:adj. 极度痛苦的
triumph :n. 胜利,凯旋;欢欣
shout:n. 呼喊;呼叫 vi. 呼喊;喊叫;大声说
turbulent:adj. 动荡的;湍流的;与紊流有关的
raw:adj. 生的;未加工的;阴冷的;刺痛的;擦掉皮的;无经验的;(在艺术等方面)不成熟的
overwhelmingly:adv. 压倒性地;不可抵抗地
tortured :adj. 遭受重创的
fleshy :adj. 肉的;肉质的;丰满的
chunk:n. 大块;矮胖的人或物
earlobe:n. 耳垂
barmy:adj. 傻乎乎的;痴呆的,愚蠢透顶的;精神失常的;古怪的
chorus:n. 合唱队;齐声;歌舞队
infernal:adj. 地狱的;恶魔的;可憎的
furnace: n. 火炉,熔炉
stunning:adj. 极好的;使人晕倒的;震耳欲聋的
revelation :n. 启示;揭露;出乎意料的事;被揭露的真相
heaven:n. 天堂;天空;极乐
prophet:n. 先知;预言者;提倡者