为什么《蒙娜丽莎》如此出名？ - 诺亚·查尼 (Noah Charney)：英语精读讲义

As dawn broke over Paris on August 21st, 1911, 表達脈絡

1911年8月21日，当巴黎的黎明破晓时，

Vincenzo Peruggia hoisted a painting off the wall 短語搭配

温琴佐·佩鲁贾从墙上取下了一幅画，

and slipped down the back stairs of the Louvre. 短語搭配

并顺着卢浮宫的后楼梯溜了下去。

He was close to freedom,

他离自由已经很近了，

the exit just before him

出口就在他面前，

when he encountered a two-pronged problem. 用詞

这时他遇到了一个双重麻烦。

The door was locked and footsteps were approaching.

门被锁上了，而且脚步声正在逼近。

Tucked under Peruggia's arm was Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. 語法

夹在佩鲁贾腋下的，正是达·芬奇的《蒙娜丽莎》。

It's arguably the world's most famous painting today, 語氣意圖

它可以说是当今世界上最著名的画作，

but how did it achieve its status? 短語搭配

但它是如何获得这种地位的呢？

Leonardo is thought to have started the portrait in 1503 語法

人们认为达·芬奇在1503年开始创作这幅肖像画，

at the request of a Florentine businessman 短語搭配

应一位佛罗伦萨商人的要求，

who wanted a portrait of his wife,

他想要一幅自己妻子的肖像画，

Lisa Gherardini.

丽莎·盖拉尔迪尼。

Leonardo continued working on the painting for more than 10 years,

达·芬奇在接下来的10多年里继续创作这幅画，

but it was unfinished by the time he died. 語法

但直到他去世时仍未完成。

Over his lifetime,

在他的一生中，

Leonardo conducted groundbreaking studies on human optics,

达·芬奇在人类光学方面进行了开创性的研究，

which led him to pioneer certain artistic techniques. 語法

这使他开创了某些艺术技法。

Some can be seen in the Mona Lisa.

其中一些可以在《蒙娜丽莎》中看到。

Using atmospheric perspective, 文化背景

通过使用大气透视法，

he made images at greater distances hazier,

他让距离较远的图像变得更加模糊，

producing the illusion of profound depth.

产生了深邃的深度错觉。

And with sfumato, 文化背景

通过晕涂法，

he created subtle gradations between colors

他创造了颜色之间微妙的渐变，

that softened the edges of the forms he depicted.

柔和了他所描绘事物的边缘。

All of this is striking, 表達脈絡

所有这些都很引人注目，

but is it enough to make the Mona Lisa the world's most famous painting?

但这足以让《蒙娜丽莎》成为世界上最著名的画作吗？

Many scholars consider it an outstanding Renaissance portrait,

许多学者认为它是一幅杰出的文艺复兴肖像画，

but one among plenty. 短語搭配

但也只是众多杰作之一。

And history is full of great paintings.

历史上也充满了伟大的画作。

Indeed,

事实上，

the Mona Lisa's rise to worldwide fame 短語搭配

《蒙娜丽莎》能够享誉全球，

depended largely on factors beyond the canvas. 習語

在很大程度上取决于画布之外的因素。

King François I of France

法国国王弗朗索瓦一世

purchased the painting and began displaying it after Leonardo's death.

买下了这幅画，并在达·芬奇死后开始展出它。

Then in 1550,

然后在1550年，

Italian scholar Giorgio Vasari published a popular biography of Italian Renaissance artists,

意大利学者乔尔乔·瓦萨里出版了一本广受欢迎的意大利文艺复兴艺术家传记，

Leonardo included.

其中包括了达·芬奇。

The book was translated and distributed widely,

这本书被广泛翻译和发行，

and it contained a gushing description of the Mona Lisa 用詞

里面包含了对《蒙娜丽莎》热情洋溢的描述，

as a hypnotic imitation of life. 習語

称其为对生命具有催眠般的模仿。

Over the years,

多年来，

the Mona Lisa became one of the most enviable pieces 短語搭配

《蒙娜丽莎》成了最令人艳羡的作品之一，

in the French royal collection.

收藏在法国皇室的收藏品中。

It hung in Napoleon's bedroom and eventually went on public display in the Louvre Museum. 短語搭配

它曾挂在拿破仑的卧室里，最终在卢浮宫向公众展出。

There,

在那里，

visitors flocked to see the once private treasures of the deposed aristocracy. 講解

游客们蜂拥而至，观看被废黜贵族曾经的私人珍宝。

During the 1800s,

在19世纪，

a series of European scholars further hyped the Mona Lisa up, 短語動詞

一批欧洲学者进一步炒作《蒙娜丽莎》，

fixating to a conspicuous degree on the subject's allure. 用詞

极其引人注目地过度关注画中人的魅力。

In 1854,

在1854年，

Alfred Dumesnil said that Mona Lisa's smile imparted a treacherous attraction. 用詞

阿尔弗雷德·杜梅尼尔说蒙娜丽莎的微笑散发出一种危险的吸引力。

A year later,

一年后，

Théophile Gautier wrote of her mocking lips and gaze promising unknown pleasures.

泰奥菲尔·戈蒂埃写道，她嘲弄般的嘴唇和目光预示着未知的快乐。

And in 1869,

在1869年，

Walter Pater described Mona Lisa as the embodiment of timeless feminine beauty. 短語搭配

沃尔特·佩特将蒙娜丽莎描述为永恒女性美的化身。

By the 20th century,

到了20世纪，

the portrait was an iconic piece in one of the world's most famous museums.

这幅肖像已经成为世界上最著名博物馆之一的标志性作品。

But the Mona Lisa wasn't yet a household name. 習語

但《蒙娜丽莎》当时还不是家喻户晓的名字。

It was Peruggia's 1911 heist that helped it skyrocket to unprecedented fame. 講解

正是佩鲁贾在1911年的盗窃案，让它飙升至史无前例的名气。

Having been contracted to make protective cases for the Louvre, 語法

因为当时他受雇为卢浮宫制作保护罩，

it wasn't totally inconceivable for Peruggia to be locked inside the museum. 語氣意圖

所以佩鲁贾被锁在博物馆里并非完全不可思议。

And lucky for him,

幸运的是，

when a workman encountered him in the stairwell,

当一名工人在楼梯间遇到他时，

he simply helped Peruggia open the door and let him walk out into the morning. 語法

他竟然帮佩鲁贾打开了门，让他走进了清晨的阳光中。

The theft made international headlines. 短語搭配

这起盗窃案登上了国际头条。

People gathered to see the blank space where the Mona Lisa once hung.

人们聚集在一起观看《蒙娜丽莎》曾经挂过的空白墙面。

The police interviewed Peruggia because he had worked at the Louvre,

警察询问了佩鲁贾，因为他曾在卢浮宫工作过，

but they never considered him a suspect.

但他们从未把他当成嫌疑人。

Meanwhile,

与此同时，

they interrogated Pablo Picasso because of his connection to a previous Louvre theft,

他们审问了巴勃罗·毕加索，因为他与之前的一起卢浮宫盗窃案有关，

but eventually let him go. 短語動詞

但最终释放了他。

For two years,

两年里，

Peruggia kept the painting in a false-bottomed suitcase, 用詞

佩鲁贾把画藏在一个有假底的手提箱里，

then smuggled the Mona Lisa to Italy and arranged to sell it to a Florentine art dealer.

然后将《蒙娜丽莎》走私到意大利，并安排卖给一位佛罗伦萨的艺术品经销商。

Peruggia saw himself as an Italian patriot returning an old master's work. 講解

佩鲁贾认为自己是一个归还艺术大师作品的意大利爱国者。

But instead of being celebrated as such, 短語搭配

但他不仅没有因此受到赞扬，

he was immediately arrested.

反而立刻被逮捕了。

With the mystery solved, 語法

随着谜团解开，

the Mona Lisa went back on display to large crowds,

《蒙娜丽莎》回到了大批观众面前展出，

and newspapers took the story for a victory lap. 習語

而报纸也将这个故事当作一场胜利来报道。

In the following decades,

在接下来的几十年里，

conceptual artist Marcel Duchamp mocked it,

观念艺术家马塞尔·杜尚嘲弄过它，

Nazi art thieves pursued it,

纳粹艺术品窃贼追逐过它，

Nat King Cole sang about it,

纳特·金·科尔为它唱过歌，

and museum-goers wielding stones, 用詞

还有拿着石头、

paint, acid, and teacups attacked it.

颜料、酸液和茶杯的参观者袭击过它。

More than 500 years after its creation,

在它创作的500多年后，

eyebrows and eyelashes long since faded, 短語搭配

眉毛和睫毛早已褪色，

the Mona Lisa is protected by a bulletproof, 用詞

现在的《蒙娜丽莎》被保护在一个防弹、

earthquake-safe case.

防震的保护罩里。

Now,

现在，

it stands perhaps less as an exemplary Renaissance portrait 表達脈絡

它也许不再是一幅模范的文艺复兴肖像画，

and more as a testament to how we create and maintain celebrity.

而是我们如何创造和维持名气的证明。

The Mona Lisa was stolen one fateful time,

《蒙娜丽莎》曾在某次命中注定的时刻被盗过一次，

but there's an artwork so coveted and influential 語法

但有一件艺术品备受觊觎且影响深远，

that it's been hijacked over a dozen times, 用詞

以至于它被劫持了十几次，

including once by Nazis.

其中包括被纳粹劫持过一次。

Get to know its high-drama, mystery-packed, six-century-spanning story with this video. 用詞

通过这个视频，来了解它那充满戏剧性、充满谜团、跨越六个世纪的故事吧。