Why is this painting so captivating? - James Earle and Christina Bozsik

譯者: Hsun Ying Tsai 審譯者: Max Chern

On first glance, this painting might not seem terribly special,

第一眼看到這幅畫時 你可能不覺得它有多特別

but it's actually one of the most analyzed paintings in the history of art.

但這卻是藝術史上 最常拿來分析的畫作之一

It's called "Las Meninas," or "The Maids of Honor,"

這幅畫叫做 Las Meninas 或 The Maids of Honor (仕女圖)

painted by Diego Velázquez in 1656,

由迪亞哥·委拉斯奎茲 於 1656 年繪製

and it depicts a scene in the life of the Spanish Royal Court.

這幅畫描繪西班牙王室生活的場景

A well-dressed child princess refuses a glass of water from a handmaid,

穿戴整齊的小公主拒絕仕女端上的水

while a dwarf teases a dog.

同時有位弄臣侏儒在逗狗

A second dwarf stands next to them,

另一位弄臣侏儒站在一旁

while the artist himself pauses at his canvas.

畫家本人站在畫布前

Two more people whisper in the background,

另外有兩個人在後面竊竊私語

while a third appears to be exiting the room,

第三個人好像是要走出這個房間

and why wouldn't he when there seems to be so little going on?

當然他要離開啦 畢竟房間裡真的沒什麼大事發生

Even the dog looks bored.

就連狗都覺得無聊

But look more closely.

當我們湊近點看

The two people reflected in the blurry mirror at the back,

在後方模糊鏡子中反射出的兩個人影

easily missed at first glance,

第一眼可能不會注意到

are none other than King Philip IV and Queen Mariana,

他們正是 菲利普四世國王和瑪麗安娜皇后

seemingly changing the scene from a simple depiction of court life

讓此畫從原本 只是簡單的宮廷生活描繪

to that of a royal portrait.

變成王室肖像的繪畫

And with this piece of information,

從這一點訊息中

we can begin to understand far more about the painting

我們對這幅畫懂得更多

and why it has captivated viewers for centuries.

也知道數個世紀以來 為什麼大家對這幅畫如此著迷

First, there's the historical context.

首先，歷史背景來說

When "Las Meninas" was painted at the end of Philip's reign,

仕女圖繪製的時間在菲利普王朝末期

the Spanish Empire was in a period of decline,

那時的西班牙帝國正處於衰退期

having suffered defeat in The Thirty Years War,

承受「三十年戰爭」戰敗帶來的損傷

as well as economic and political difficulties.

也遇到經濟和政治上的困境

The King himself had also suffered misfortune,

國王自己也遭逢變故

losing both his first wife and his only heir to the throne before remarrying.

再婚前 失去他第一任妻子及唯一的王位繼承人

But the painting obscures their struggle to provide food for their household.

但是，這幅畫掩飾了王室生活的窘境

Even the monarch's advanced age is concealed

就連國王年邁的歲數

through the blurring of the mirror.

都透過模糊的鏡子掩飾起來

What we do see in the geometric center of the canvas,

我們看到畫布中心點

brightly illuminated by the light from the window,

光線從旁邊窗戶照進來打亮中心點

in the Infanta Margarita Teresa,

那位是瑪格麗特．德雷莎公主

the King's only living legitimate child at the time.

是國王當時唯一在世的合法繼承人

Her glowing and healthy appearance

她散發光芒且身體強壯

is an idealized view of the struggling empire's future.

是王室未來處境艱困的理想化寫照

However, the Infanta is not the only center of the painting.

不過公主並非是此畫唯一的中心

Through the clever use of perspective,

透過巧妙透視畫法

as well as painting the work life-sized, on a 10.5 x 9 foot canvas,

以及在 10.5 x 9 呎的畫布上 繪與實物大小一樣的畫

Velázquez blurs the boundary between art and reality,

委拉斯奎茲 模糊掉 藝術品和現實世界的界線

creating the sense of a three-dimensional picture that we can walk into.

打造出 讓我們可以走進去的 3D 立體場景

The line between the ceiling and the wall converges to the open door,

天花板和牆壁的延伸線 匯集在那道打開的門

further creating the perception of the painting as a physical space

從觀眾的角度來看 整幅畫呈現出真實空間的感覺

seen from the viewer's perspective.

In this sense, the audience and the real world are the focus,

這樣的視角下 觀眾以及真實的世界才是畫作中心

underlined by the three figures looking straight at the viewer.

由這三位畫中人物直視觀眾 凸顯出這樣的感受

But there is still another focal point.

其實還有另一個焦點

The line formed by the light fixtures leads to the center of the back wall

燈具形成的線 延伸到後牆的中心點

to the mirror reflecting the royal couple.

聚集在呈現皇室夫婦影像的鏡子上

And its positioning relative to the viewer

鏡子的位置與觀眾的關係

has led to radically different interpretations of the entire work.

導致了觀眾對畫作有完全不同的解讀

The mirror could be reflecting the King and Queen posing for their portrait,

鏡子反射出的 可能是國王和皇后擺姿勢給畫家畫

or is it reflecting the canvas?

或者反射出的是畫布畫作呢？

And what do we make of the fact

對於「委拉斯奎茲沒畫過皇室夫婦這張肖像」 我們要怎麼想？

that Velázquez never painted the royal portrait implied here?

Could the painting actually be depicting its own creation instead?

他是不是在畫布上描繪 自己正在作畫的過程？

With the incorporation of the mirror into his work,

運用鏡子置入於畫中的技巧

Velázquez elevated the art of painting

委拉斯奎茲將繪畫藝術

from its perception as a simple craft

從原本簡單的工藝作品

to an intellectual endeavor.

提升為智慧的結晶

With its three competing center points,

這三個同時存在的中心點

"Las Meninas" captures the contrast between the ideal,

讓「仕女圖」得以捕捉了理想、 真實和反射的世界之對比

the real,

and the reflected worlds,

maintaining an unresolved tension between them to tell a more complex story

卻又能保持著這三者間 懸而未決的情勢

than any mirror can provide.

比起任何鏡子 都能夠敘述更為複雜的故事

翻譯：Hsun Ying Tsai