The many meanings of Michelangelo's Statue of David - James Earle

詹姆斯 伊尔力：米开朗基罗大卫雕像的诸多含义

翻译人员: Kai Cui 校对人员: Xiaoou Chen

When we think of classic works of art,

当我们想到经典的艺术作品

the most common setting we imagine them in is a museum.

我们想象中最常见的场景， 是它们被放置在博物馆里

But what we often forget is that much of this art

但我们往往忽略的事实是，大部分艺术作品

was not produced with a museum setting in mind.

在创作时，并未把博物馆设想成背景

What happens to an artwork

当一件艺术品

when it's taken out of its originally intended context?

从创作时的背景中被移走，会怎么样呢？

Take the example of Michelangelo's Statue of David,

让我们用米开朗基罗的大卫雕像来举例

depicting the boy hero who slew the giant philistine, Goliath,

大卫是手刃非利士族巨人的年轻英雄

armed with only his courage and his slingshot.

他的装备只有弹弓和他的勇气

When Michelangelo began carving a block of pure white marble

当米开朗基罗开始在一块纯白的大理石上动工

to communicate this famous Biblical story,

来表现这个著名的圣经故事时

the city of Florence intended to place the finished product

佛罗伦萨市打算把完工后的作品

atop their grand cathedral.

放在大教堂的顶端

Not only would the 17 foot tall statue

不仅仅是因为这座17英尺高的雕像

be easily visible at this height,

在这么高的地方可供清晰瞻仰

but its placement alongside 11 other statues

另外一个目的是把它和其它11座

of Old Testament heroes towering over onlookers

《旧约全书》中的英雄雕 像并排放置，俯视瞻仰者

would have a powerful religious significance,

在人们面前营造出一种强大的宗教气氛

forcing the viewer to stare in awe towards the heavens.

迫使人们怀着敬畏的心情仰视天堂

But by the time Michelangelo had finished the work, in 1504,

但是当米开朗基罗在1504年完成这个作品时

the plans for the other statues had fallen through,

其它雕像的计划纷纷流产

and the city realized that lifting such a large sculpture to the roof

另外，佛罗伦萨发现，把这 么大的一座雕像抬到房顶

would be more difficult than they had thought.

比他们原先设想的要难很多

Furthermore, the statue was so detailed and lifelike,

而且，雕像细致入微、栩栩如生

down to the bulging veins in David's arm

大卫手臂上鼓起的青筋

and the determination on his face,

和脸上坚毅的表情清晰可见

that it seemed a shame to hide it so far from the viewer.

让人们只能远距离观看似乎太可惜了

A council of politicians and artists

当地的政治家议会和艺术家们

convened to decide on a new location for the statue.

召开会议，讨论一个放置雕像的新地点

Ultimately voting to place it in front of the Palazzo della Signoria,

最终，经过投票，决 定把它放在领主宫前

the town hall and home of the new Republican government.

那是当时的市政厅和 新的共和党政府所在地

This new location transformed the statue's meaning.

这个新地点改变了雕像的含义

The Medici family, who for generations had ruled the city

梅第奇家族几代人通过控制银行体系

through their control of banking, had recently been exiled,

统治着这座城市，他们刚刚被流放

and Florence now saw itself as a free city,

佛罗伦萨认为自己是一个自由的城市

threatened on all sides by wealthy and powerful rivals.

在富有和强大的敌人环伺下四面楚歌

David, now the symbol of heroic resistance against overwhelming odds,

大卫，作为英勇抵抗强大异族的象征

was placed with his intense stare,

其炯炯的目光

now a look of stern warning, focused directly towards Rome,

是一种严肃的警告，直接针对罗马

the home of Cardinal Giovanni de Medici.

红衣主教乔凡尼德梅第奇的老家

Though the statue itself had not been altered,

雕像还是那座雕像

its placement changed nearly every aspect of it

位置的变化几乎改变了它的一切含义

from a religious to a political significance.

从宗教意义变为政治意义

Though a replica of David still appears at the Palazzo,

尽管领主宫前依然树立着 一座大卫雕像的复制品

the original statue was moved in 1873

但原作在1873年

to the Galleria dell'Accademia, where it remains today.

被搬到学院美术馆，一直到今天

In the orderly, quiet environment of the museum,

在博物馆安静、有秩序的环境中

alongside numerous half-finished Michelangelo sculptures,

加上那些米开朗基罗无 数最终未能完成的作品

overt religious and political interpretations fall away,

它的宗教和政治含义逐渐淡去

giving way to detached contemplation of Michelangelo's

浮现出来的是米开朗基罗对艺术和

artistic and technical skill.

雕刻技巧的超然关注

But even here, the astute viewer may notice

但即使在这里，机敏的观众或许会发现

that David's head and hand appear disproportionately large,

大卫的头和手不成比例地稍大

a reminder that they were made to be viewed from below.

这提醒人们，这座雕像原 本是供人从下向上瞻仰的.

So, not only does context change the meaning

所以，背景不但会改变

and interpretation of an artwork throughout its history,

一件艺术作品在历史中的含义和解释

sometimes it can make that history resurface

有时候它还会让历史

in the most unexpected ways.

以一种未曾预料的方式浮现出来