為什麼《蒙娜麗莎》如此出名？ - 諾亞·查尼 (Noah Charney)：英語精讀講義

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

1911年8月21日，當巴黎的黎明破曉時，

Vincenzo Peruggia hoisted a painting off the wall 片語搭配

溫琴佐·佩魯賈從牆上取下了一幅畫，

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

並順著羅浮宮的後樓梯溜了下去。

He was close to freedom,

他離自由已經很近了，

the exit just before him

出口就在他面前，

when he encountered a two-pronged problem. 用詞

這時他遇到了一個雙重麻煩。

The door was locked and footsteps were approaching.

門被鎖上了，而且腳步聲正在逼近。

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

夾在佩魯賈腋下的，正是達文西的《蒙娜麗莎》。

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

它可說是當今世界上最著名的畫作，

but how did it achieve its status? 片語搭配

但它是如何獲得這種地位的呢？

Leonardo is thought to have started the portrait in 1503 文法

人們認為達文西在1503年開始創作這幅肖像畫，

at the request of a Florentine businessman 片語搭配

應一位佛羅倫斯商人的要求，

who wanted a portrait of his wife,

他想要一幅自己妻子的肖像畫，

Lisa Gherardini.

麗莎·蓋拉爾迪尼。

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

達文西在接下來的10多年裡繼續創作這幅畫，

but it was unfinished by the time he died. 文法

但直到他去世時仍未完成。

Over his lifetime,

在他的一生中，

Leonardo conducted groundbreaking studies on human optics,

達文西在人類光學方面進行了開創性的研究，

which led him to pioneer certain artistic techniques. 文法

這使他開創了某些藝術技法。

Some can be seen in the Mona Lisa.

其中一些可以在《蒙娜麗莎》中看到。

Using atmospheric perspective, 文化背景

透過使用大氣透視法，

he made images at greater distances hazier,

他讓距離較遠的圖像變得更加模糊，

producing the illusion of profound depth.

產生了深邃的深度錯覺。

And with sfumato, 文化背景

透過暈塗法，

he created subtle gradations between colors

他創造了顏色之間微妙的漸變，

that softened the edges of the forms he depicted.

柔和了他所描繪事物的邊緣。

All of this is striking, 表達脈絡

所有這些都很引人注目，

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

但這足以讓《蒙娜麗莎》成為世界上最著名的畫作嗎？

Many scholars consider it an outstanding Renaissance portrait,

許多學者認為它是一幅傑出的文藝復興肖像畫，

but one among plenty. 片語搭配

但也只是眾多傑作之一。

And history is full of great paintings.

歷史上也充滿了偉大的畫作。

Indeed,

事實上，

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

《蒙娜麗莎》能夠享譽全球，

depended largely on factors beyond the canvas. 慣用語

在很大程度上取決於畫布之外的因素。

King François I of France

法國國王法蘭索瓦一世

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

買下了這幅畫，並在達文西死後開始展出它。

Then in 1550,

然後在1550年，

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

義大利學者喬爾喬·瓦薩里出版了一本廣受歡迎的義大利文藝復興藝術家傳記，

Leonardo included.

其中包括了達文西。

The book was translated and distributed widely,

這本書被廣泛翻譯和發行，

and it contained a gushing description of the Mona Lisa 用詞

裡面包含了對《蒙娜麗莎》熱情洋溢的描述，

as a hypnotic imitation of life. 慣用語

稱其為對生命具有催眠般的模仿。

Over the years,

多年來，

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

《蒙娜麗莎》成了最令人艷羨的作品之一，

in the French royal collection.

收藏在法國皇室的收藏品中。

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

它曾掛在拿破崙的臥室裡，最終在羅浮宮向公眾展出。

There,

在那裡，

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

遊客們蜂擁而至，觀看被廢黜貴族曾經的私人珍寶。

During the 1800s,

在19世紀，

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

一批歐洲學者進一步炒作《蒙娜麗莎》，

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

極其引人注目地過度關注畫中人的魅力。

In 1854,

在1854年，

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

阿爾弗雷德·杜梅尼爾說蒙娜麗莎的微笑散發出一種危險的吸引力。

A year later,

一年後，

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

泰奧菲爾·戈蒂埃寫道，她嘲弄般的嘴唇和目光預示著未知的快樂。

And in 1869,

在1869年，

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

沃爾特·佩特將蒙娜麗莎描述為永恆女性美的化身。

By the 20th century,

到了20世紀，

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

這幅肖像已經成為世界上最著名博物館之一的標誌性作品。

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

但《蒙娜麗莎》當時還不是家喻戶曉的名字。

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

正是佩魯賈在1911年的盜竊案，讓它飆升至史無前例的名氣。

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

因為當時他受雇為羅浮宮製作保護罩，

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

所以佩魯賈被鎖在博物館裡並非完全不可思議。

And lucky for him,

幸運的是，

when a workman encountered him in the stairwell,

當一名工人在樓梯間遇到他時，

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

他竟然幫佩魯賈打開了門，讓他走進了清晨的陽光中。

The theft made international headlines. 片語搭配

這起盜竊案登上了國際頭條。

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

人們聚集在一起觀看《蒙娜麗莎》曾經掛過的空白牆面。

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

警察詢問了佩魯賈，因為他曾在羅浮宮工作過，

but they never considered him a suspect.

但他們從未把他當成嫌疑人。

Meanwhile,

與此同時，

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

他們審問了巴勃羅·畢卡索，因為他與之前的一起羅浮宮盜竊案有關，

but eventually let him go. 片語動詞

但最終釋放了他。

For two years,

兩年裡，

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

佩魯賈把畫藏在一個有假底的手提箱裡，

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

然後將《蒙娜麗莎》走私到義大利，並安排賣給一位佛羅倫斯的藝術品經銷商。

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

佩魯賈認為自己是一個歸還藝術大師作品的義大利愛國者。

But instead of being celebrated as such, 片語搭配

但他不僅沒有因此受到讚揚，

he was immediately arrested.

反而立刻被逮捕了。

With the mystery solved, 文法

隨著謎團解開，

the Mona Lisa went back on display to large crowds,

《蒙娜麗莎》回到了大批觀眾面前展出，

and newspapers took the story for a victory lap. 慣用語

而報紙也將這個故事當作一場勝利來報導。

In the following decades,

在接下來的幾十年裡，

conceptual artist Marcel Duchamp mocked it,

觀念藝術家馬塞爾·杜象嘲弄過它，

Nazi art thieves pursued it,

納粹藝術品竊賊追逐過它，

Nat King Cole sang about it,

納·京·高爾為它唱過歌，

and museum-goers wielding stones, 用詞

還有拿著石頭、

paint, acid, and teacups attacked it.

顏料、酸液和茶杯的參觀者襲擊過它。

More than 500 years after its creation,

在它創作的500多年後，

eyebrows and eyelashes long since faded, 片語搭配

眉毛和睫毛早已褪色，

the Mona Lisa is protected by a bulletproof, 用詞

現在的《蒙娜麗莎》被保護在一個防彈、

earthquake-safe case.

防震的保護罩裡。

Now,

現在，

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

它也許不再是一幅模範的文藝復興肖像畫，

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

而是我們如何創造和維持名氣的證明。

The Mona Lisa was stolen one fateful time,

《蒙娜麗莎》曾在某次命中注定的時刻被盜過一次，

but there's an artwork so coveted and influential 文法

但有一件藝術品備受覬覦且影響深遠，

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

以至於它被劫持了十幾次，

including once by Nazis.

其中包括被納粹劫持過一次。

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

透過這個影片，來了解它那充滿戲劇性、充滿謎團、跨越六個世紀的故事吧。