艺术的力量（2006）

But look at him. He isn't painting at all, he's just staring
而是在瞪着他藏起来的什么东西
at something he's hidden from us.
这个秘密只有唯一的特征 画架边上的那道浓烈的金色光芒
A mystery whose only feature is that intense golden light at the edge of the picture frame.
毫无疑问从中我们可以看出来 伦勃朗已是灵光乍现了
No wonder, then, that with all this cleverness, Rembrandt was talent-spotted,
最终被康斯坦丁·惠根慧眼所识
singled out by Constantijn Huygens,
他是荷兰最具影响力的赞助人
the most influential patron in all of Holland,
伦勃朗大有前途 他就是块璞玉
as the coming man, a diamond in the rough.
而惠根眼中的伦勃朗
And what Huygens saw in Rembrandt
是个超级故事讲述者
was a superlative storyteller.
比如参孙和黛莉拉的故事
Take the story of Samson and Delilah.
众多艺术家笔下的参孙是个裸体 他正处于性♥交♥后的睡眠状
Most artists did Samson as a naked hulk, slumped in post-coital slumber.
让我们看看伦勃朗是怎么做的
This is what Rembrandt does.
参孙不再是裸♥露♥的 而是穿上了衣服
Instead of nude beefcake, he dresses him.
而且更令人惊讶的是 他笔下的参孙更为脆弱
And, amazingly, makes him seem more, not less, vulnerable.
而这是通过那个结表现出来的
All his paint wizardry is used on that knot,
它仿佛把参孙与他的爱人还有自己的命运绑在了一起
which seems to tie Samson to his lover and to his fate.
黛莉拉挽起一撮参孙的古铜色的头发正准备剪掉它
Delilah lifts a lock of Samson's copper hair, ready to be shorn away,
但是此时的黛莉拉的另一只手却在轻弹着那撮头发
but as she does so, her other hand idly strokes his tresses.
所以只一个姿态 伦勃朗就抓住了故事的精髓所在
So in one gesture, Rembrandt gets to the heart of the story,
残忍♥的背叛和多情的温柔是一种带有悲剧性质的不可分离性
the tragic inseparability of amorous tenderness and brutal betrayal.
伦勃朗是如此出色 但是Huygens认为他的保护人如果去意大利的话可能会更好
Good as he was, Huygens thought his protector? could be even better if he went to Italy.
但是伦勃朗可没打算去意大利做雕刻 他有个大想法
But Rembrandt wasn't going to put in time sketching statues, he had bigger fish to fry.
毕竟 赚钱更具吸引力
This was, after all, the republic of money,
而且阿姆斯特丹就好像在他耳边说 来吧 我这里有的是钱
and Amsterdam whispered to him, ''Come and get it.''
所以他就去了 而且非常成功
So here he was, doing very nicely, thank you,
他为那些惊奇的故事作画 为人们绘制肖像
turning out stunning story paintings and portraits to order.
而且他已经不仅仅是个画家了 他也算是个艺术商人了
And not just a painter either, but also a partner in the art business,
伦勃朗Uylenburgh 有限公♥司♥
Rembrandt Uylenburgh Inc.
他开始收徒弟 买♥♥卖♥♥复♥制♥品 接受订单
Pupils taken in for a fee, copies made, original paintings commissioned.
这是他的合伙人的侄女 年轻的Saskia van Uylenburgh
So what was it about his partner's niece, young Saskia van Uylenburgh,
胖胖的下巴 歪着脸在笑
with her butterball chinsand lopsided, crinkly grin?
一个不错的女孩儿 当然有人会认为这是一张“抓拍”
A nice girl, certainly, a catch, one would assume,
她是北部弗里斯兰市长的女儿 自幼就失去了父母
being the orphaned daughter of a burgomaster of northern Friesland.
21岁的时候遇上了伦勃朗 当时她还有份家产在身
She met Rembrandt when she was 21, blessed with a portion of her father's estate.
有人说伦勃朗给她写过诗 我想那大概真有其事
If Rembrandt could have written poems to Saskia, he would have.
但是伦勃朗却以这幅肖像作为二人的订婚礼
But, instead, he did this precious little drawing to mark their betrothal.
画中的她充满自然气息 稻草帽 手里拿着野花
She's a child of nature, the straw hat, the wildflowers.
也只有伦勃朗会认为那朵孤零零的花儿是完美的
Only Rembrandt could have done that dangling broken stalk and thought it was perfect.
只要有机会 他在为她作画时总会来朵花儿
Whenever he can, he paints her with flowers. She's his flower child.
要知道 他们北方的亲戚们可不怎么喜欢花儿
Mind you, the relatives up north don't like it very much.
他们听说伦勃朗和Saskia到处炫耀二人的珠宝
They hear stories of Rembrandt and Saskia showing off their jewels
皮草 还有华丽的家居用品
and fur and fancy outfits
这些亲戚们说道 告诉你们吧
and they nod their heads and say, ''Told you so.''
伦勃朗花的可是Saskia的钱 他们是寅吃卯粮
''Always knew he was after her money, and now they're spending it like there's no tomorrow.''
因为伦勃朗成为了一个购物狂
For Rembrandt has become a shopaholic.
不过他的品味倒是不差
Oh, a shopaholic in the best possible taste.
他从拍卖♥♥会上竞购大♥师♥级作品
He buys paintings by old masters at auctions,
但是偶尔他也会光顾Portobello Road（世界上最大的古董交易市场,位于伦敦诺丁山附近）
but every so often, he hits the Amsterdam equivalent of the Portobello Road,
看来他真是购物购上瘾了
and he just can't stop buying.
日本盔甲 印尼匕♥首♥
Japanese armour, Indonesian daggers,
罗马皇帝的石膏半身像
plaster busts of Roman emperors,
他对自己说这都是为了艺术
and he tells himself it's all for art.
促使他疯狂购物还有另外一个原因
Here's another impulse buy,
位于阿姆斯特丹著名街道上的一座四层楼豪♥宅♥
a pricey four-storey house in one of the more elegant streets in Amsterdam.
当时这可不是适合普通艺术家们的居所
Not your usual artist's modest residence, then.
但是 为什么伦勃朗会如此豪奢呢
But then, why shouldn't he be extravagant?
毕竟他是荷兰最成功的画家
Rembrandt is, after all, the most successful painter in Holland,
世界上许多权贵家中都悬挂着他的作品
and his paintings are hanging in the houses of the richest, most powerful men in the world.
十七世纪三十年代是伦勃朗的全盛时期
What makes Rembrandt's later falling-out with his patrons so surprising
但是令人惊讶的是他与合伙人发生了一次争吵
is that in his salad days in the 1630s,
没有人能打败伦勃朗
no one could beat him for grasping exactly what it was
因为他拥有阿姆斯特丹第一代富人阶层想要拥有的东西
the first generation of Amsterdam moneymen really wanted.
但是他们想要的东西却是互相矛盾的
What they wanted were two contradictory things.
一方面当然是肖像了 拥有一幅个人肖像证明你是富有的
On the one hand, the portraits of course had to say, ''We are rich. ''
另一方面 肖像也证明了
On the other hand, they had to say,
他们也是害怕上帝的 也是凡夫俗子 终归难逃一死
''But we are also God-fearing, plain, simple folk
谁都知道富不过三代 穷不过父子
who know that riches never last. ''
每个周日他们会到教堂里聆听牧师的教诲
Every Sunday in church they heard their preachers say to them,
不要忘记你的出身是多么的卑微
''Do not forget the humble place from which you have come.
不要忘记三十年河东
Do not forget that today's worldly pomp
三十年河西
will be tomorrow's dust and ashes.''
所以这些肖像在令他们感到脸上有光的同时却又令其脸上无光
So the paintings had to show them off without making them show-offs.
伦勃朗使得这条富有却谦恭的界限变得生硬起来
Rembrandt had this rich-but-modest line down stone-cold.
所以 那些富人当然会排起队来邀请他了
So, of course, they're lining up for him.
不仅仅是商人们跃跃欲试，而且还有crene de la crene
Not just merchants on the make but the crene de la crene,
例如 Trip家族
the family Trip, for example.
这个家族可是世界上的顶级大富豪
You don't get much richer than the Trips,
他们的铁铜及枪♥支♥产业遍及全球
who had a global empire of iron, copper and guns
而且制♥作♥精良 这在与西班牙作战的时候用处可不小
and were doing very nicely, thank you, in the endless wars against Spain.
但是这个家族的首领伊莱亚斯Trip
But Elias Trip, head of the dynasty,
自认为是新教社会的中流砥柱
thought of himself as a pillar of Protestant society.
他是个守旧的 冷静的 常去教堂的军♥火♥商
Your old-fashioned, sober-sided, church-going arms trader.
所以当伦勃朗被雇来为其富有的家族
So when Rembrandt was hired to paint his hugely rich
和待字闺中的女儿玛丽亚Trip作画时
and marriageable daughter, Maria Trip,
伦勃朗意识到露富要露的有讲究
he knew that the display of wealth had to be crushingly subtle.
要小处见大
The money, then, was in the detail.
在白♥嫩♥的脸蛋儿上是个毫无美感的笑容
Below that milky pud face, with its artless little smile,
再下来是挂精巧的蕾丝披肩
is a waterfall of stunning lace.
这是Trip家族万贯家财的一个暗示
Just a hint of the Trip millions.
如今画家与被画者之间的关系十分的微妙
Now, the relationship between the painter and the painted is a devilishly subtle business.
但是伦勃朗却好像与富有阶层之间有着良好的互动
But Rembrandt seemed to be in perfect sync with the money classes,
他好像是他们肚里的蛔虫 那是因为他也想成为富人
understanding precisely what they wanted, because he wanted it, too.
但是他怎么样才能做到呢
And how he wanted it.
当时是16♥4♥0年 伦勃朗34岁
Here he is in 16♥4♥0, 34 years old,
穿着上装成熟 把自己穿的像是个以前的伟大艺术家
dressed to the nines, as if he's one with the greatest past masters.
他看过提香为意大利诗人Ariosto创作的肖像
He's seen Titian's portrait of the Italian poet, Ariosto,
于是他把自己按照同样的姿势摆了进去
and he's gone and put himself in the same pose.
宽大的丝织衣服 络腮胡 袖子放在贵族常用的石架上
The oversize, silky, mutton-chop sleeve on the aristocratic stone ledge,
活脱脱一幅自我庆功像
a picture which would be creamy with self-congratulation,
脸上的表情应该不是在做白日梦
were it not for a trace of wistfulness about his face,
倒有点儿像是对自己的成功有些难以置信
as if he can't quite believe all this success.
不管你对伦勃朗有什么看法 你都得承认他很胆大
Whatever you think about Rembrandt, you've got to admit, he's got nerve.
我的意思是 看看他吧
I mean, just look at him,
从一个农村的无名小卒成为艺术史上最厚颜无♥耻♥的画家
from provincial nobody to the cheekiest painter in the history of art.
这个聪明的荷兰人经常剑走偏锋（注 clog为木底鞋 指的是荷兰）
Always on the edge, Mr Clever Clogs.
但是在阿姆斯特丹 如果就会为单个人画肖像
But you couldn't rightly call yourself a success in Amsterdam
那么不管被画者多么富有 你都不能算是个成功的画家
if you just did single-person portraits, no matter how rich the sitters.
阿姆斯特丹是一个带有“公♥司♥”性质的地方
Amsterdam was a corporate town,
那里的资本家比比皆是 发号♥施令的是董事会而非皇室
a beehive of capitalism, ruled not from palaces but from boardrooms.
所以那些老总们会想要些什么呢
So what did the corporate sitters want?
他们想要的第一件东西就是一幅惟妙惟肖的集体像
Well, first of all, of course, a good likeness of themselves,
艺术家们还得把他们之间微妙的次序表现出来
and then they wanted the artist to get their complicated pecking order just right.
所以前者得要求每个人都得被包括进来
The former has to get everyone in,
大家挤来挤去 你推我让
squeeze, squeeze,jostle, nudge.
最终的选择会是什么呢
What are the choices?
要么是画布足够大 每个人都能包进来
Well, either elasticate the rectangle until everyone's in
要么是把人分成高低两排
or double up the rows so one lot is on top of the other.
结果就像是橄榄球比赛出场的十五个人（即排成一列）
Result, the rugby first 1 5.
你可以像伦勃朗最聪敏的学生塞缪尔·范·侯克斯特拉♥登♥那样
You could, as Rembrandt's most astute pupil Samuel van Hoogstraten put it,
把老总们的头部排成一列画下来
behead them all with a single blow.
但是伦勃朗对剥去社会面具有着永不知足的本能
Now, with his insatiable instinct for stripping off social masks,
他可不想那样做
Rembrandt wasn't going to settle for that.
所以 他说道 我们可不打算排成一列
So, he says, ''Okay let's throw away the boardroom line-up.
让那些陈规见鬼去吧
''Let's just forget about the stale formula.''
我打算把你们带进一个真实事件中去
and turn cardboard cutouts into real events,
一场真实的社交戏剧
''social dramas.''
于是 作品“夜巡”横空出世了
And here's the result, The Night Watch.
这幅作品是16♥4♥2年应一家布料公♥司♥的商人们所求而作 他们还是兼♥职♥民兵
It was commissioned in 16♥4♥2 by a company of cloth merchants and part-time militia men.
同时期伦勃朗作画不少 但是这幅绝对算得上是极品
And as with so many of his paintings at this time, Rembrandt had done the impossible,
它在物欲横流的商业时代中表现出了些许英雄气息
made something heroic out of the world of merchants and money.
当然人么都知道里面的人并不是真正的战士