Why is Vermeer's "Girl with the Pearl Earring" considered a masterpiece? - James Earle

翻译人员: G Ko 校对人员: Cissy Yun

Is she turning towards you or away from you?

她是向你靠近还是离你远去？

No one can agree.

没人能给出结论

She's the mysterious subject of Dutch master Johannes Vermeer's

她就是荷兰艺术大师约翰内斯·维米尔的一件神秘作品

"Girl with the Pearl Earring,"

《戴珍珠耳环的少女》

a painting often referred to as the 'Mona Lisa of the North.'

这幅画常被认为是“荷兰的蒙娜丽莎”

Belonging to a Dutch style of idealized, sometimes overly expressive paintings

它属于荷兰式理想主义的、有时过度表达的画派

known as tronies,

叫做“tronies”，（真人肖像畫）

the "Girl with the Pearl Earring" has the allure

《戴珍珠耳环的少女》有着

and subtlety characteristic of Vermeer's work.

维米尔式的魅力和微妙

But this painting stands apart from the quiet narrative scenes

但是这幅画和维米尔其他远观角度的

that we observe from afar in many of Vermeer's paintings.

静态叙事场景不同

A girl reading a letter.

《窗前读信的女人》

A piano lesson.

《钢琴课》

A portrait artist at work.

《工作中的肖像画家》

These paintings give us a sense of intimacy while retaining their distance,

这些画的人物在保持距离的同时又给人一种亲切之感，

a drawn curtain often emphasizes the separation.

通常用窗帘来表示隔离

We can witness a milkmaid serenely pouring a bowl of milk,

我们看到一个女仆往罐子里倒牛奶

but that milk isn't for us.

但是知道牛奶不是倒给我们

We're only onlookers.

我们只是旁观者

The studied composition in Vermeer's paintings

画中精密的构图

invokes a balanced harmony.

制造出一种平衡的和谐

With the checkered floor in many of his works,

他的画中经常出现方格地板

Vermeer demonstrates his command of perspective and foreshortening.

画家强调了自己对视角、透视法和缩短法的掌控

That's a technique that uses distortion

这是一种利用扭曲

to give the illusion of an object receding into the distance.

制造出一个物体缓缓退到远方的幻象

Other elements, like sight lines, mirrors, and light sources

其他元素，比如视线、镜子和光源

describe the moment through space and position.

描述了当时的空间和位置

The woman reading a letter by an open window

一个女人在打开的窗前读着信

is precisely placed so the window can reflect her image back to the viewer.

描绘地如此精确， 窗户上可以看到她的倒影

Vermeer would even hide the leg of an easel for the sake of composition.

维米尔甚至会藏起画架的一条腿只为达到构图目的

The absence of these very elements brings the "Girl with the Pearl Earring" to life.

《戴珍珠耳环的少女》弃用了上述元素 反而显得亲近生动

Vermeer's treatment of light and shadow, or chiaroscuro,

维米尔对光影和明暗对比的运用，

uses a dark, flat background to further spotlight her three-dimensionality.

深色平面的背景突出了人物的立体

Instead of being like a set piece in a theatrical narrative scene,

她并没有置身于戏剧性的叙事场景，

she becomes a psychological subject.

而是变成一个心理主体

Her eye contact and slightly parted lips, as if she is about to say something,

她的眼神和轻启的双唇，好像有话要说，

draw us into her gaze.

让我们注意到她的凝视

Traditional subjects of portraiture were often nobility or religious figures.

肖像画的传统主体通常是贵族或宗教人物

So why was Vermeer painting an anonymous girl?

维米尔为什么会画一位无名女性呢？

In the 17th century, the city of Delft, like the Netherlands in general,

17世纪的德尔福特市以及整个荷兰，

had turned against ruling aristocracy and the Catholic church.

都反对贵族和天主教的统治

After eight decades of rebellion against Spanish power,

经过80多年对西班牙力量的反对，

the Dutch came to favor the idea of self-rule and a political republic.

荷兰希望能实现自治并建立政治共和国

Cities like Delft were unsupervised by kings or bishops,

德尔福特这类城市并没有国王或主教管理

so many artists like Vermeer were left without traditional patrons.

许多像维米尔这样的艺术家并没有赞助人

Fortunately, business innovation

幸运的是，荷兰东印度公司

spearheaded by the Dutch East India Company

引领了商业创新

transformed the economic landscape in the Netherlands.

转变了荷兰的经济版图

It created a merchant class and new type of patron.

它创办了一个商业学习班并培养新式赞助人

Wishing to be represented in the paintings they financed,

赞助人希望能在自己自助的画中出现，

these merchants preferred middle class subjects

这些商人喜欢中产阶级主题

depicted in spaces that looked like their own homes

喜欢描绘自家空间

surrounded by familiar objects.

里那些熟悉的物体

The maps that appear in Vermeer's paintings, for example,

比如维米尔画中出现的那些地图，

were considered fashionable and worldly

就被商人阶级当做时尚和世俗化

by the merchant class of what is known as the Dutch Golden Age.

这就是众所周知的荷兰黄金时代

The oriental turban worn by the "Girl with the Pearl Earring"

《带珍珠耳环的少女》戴着东方式头巾，

also emphasizes the worldliness of the merchant class,

也强调了商人阶级的世俗化，

and the pearl itself, a symbol of wealth, is actually an exaggeration.

珍珠象征着财富，其实是一种夸张表现

Vermeer couldn't have afforded a real pearl of its size.

维米尔负担不起这种大小的珍珠

It was likely just a glass or tin drop varnished to look like a pearl.

可能把涂抹过的玻璃或锡珠当成珍珠

This mirage of wealth is mirrored in the painting itself.

这幅画本身就是财富的化身

In greater context, the pearl appears round and heavy,

从远处看，珍珠又圆又重，

but a detailed view shows that it's just a floating smudge of paint.

但是细看它只是一个浮动的色团

Upon close inspection, we are reminded of Vermeer's power as an illusion maker.

仔细观察后，我们想起维米尔是一个幻像制造大师

While we may never know the real identity of the "Girl with the Pearl Earring,"

但我们可能永远无法知道 《戴珍珠耳环的少女》的真实身份

we can engage with her portrait in a way that is unforgettable.

这幅画像可以说是难以忘怀

As she hangs in her permanent home in the Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague,

它永远地悬挂于海牙的莫瑞泰斯皇家美术馆，

her presence is simultaneously penetrating and subtle.

她的风姿摄人心魄又柔和微妙

In her enigmatic way, she represents the birth of a modern perspective

她用一种神秘的方式表现了现代视角下的

on economics, politics, and love.

经济、政治和爱