Tracy Chevalier: Finding the story inside the painting

Translator: Thu-Huong Ha Reviewer: Youna Jung

Translator: carme cloquells Reviewer: Llorenç Pons

I'm going to tell you about an affliction I suffer from.

Els hi explicaré una aflicció que patesc.

And I have a funny feeling that quite a few of you

I tinc un estrany sentiment que molts de vostés

suffer from it as well.

també pateixen.

When I'm walking around an art gallery,

Quan estic caminant al voltant d'una galeria d'art,

rooms and rooms full of paintings,

sales i sales plenes de pintures,

after about 15 or 20 minutes,

després d'uns 15 o 20 minuts,

I realize I'm not thinking about the paintings.

M'adono que no estic pensant en les pintures.

I'm not connecting to them.

No estic amb connexió amb elles.

Instead, I'm thinking about that cup of coffee

En canvi, estic pensant en aquella tassa de cafè

I desperately need to wake me up.

que desesperadament necessito per despertar-me.

I'm suffering from gallery fatigue.

Estic patint de fatiga de la galeria.

How many of you out there suffer from --

Com molts de vostès pateixen estant allà --

yes. Ha ha, ha ha!

Sí. Ha ha, ha ha!

Now, sometimes you might last longer

Ara, de vegades vostè pot estar més estona

than 20 minutes, or even shorter,

que 20 minuts, o fins i tot menys,

but I think we all suffer from it. And do you have

però crec que tots la patim. I sent que

the accompanying guilt?

la culpa l'acompanya?

For me, I look at the paintings on the wall

Per a mi, miro les pintures de la paret

and I think, somebody has decided to put them there,

i penso, algú ha decidit posar-los allà,

thinks they're good enough to be on that wall,

pensa que són prou bons com estar en aquella paret,

but I don't always see it.

però no sempre ho veig.

In fact, most of the time I don't see it.

De fet, la majoria de les vegades no ho veig.

And I leave feeling actually unhappy.

I em sento realment infeliç.

I feel guilty and unhappy with myself,

Em sento culpable i infeliç amb mi mateixa,

rather than thinking there's something wrong with the painting,

en lloc de pensar que hi ha alguna cosa equivocada amb la pintura,

I think there's something wrong with me.

penso que hi ha alguna cosa equivocada en mi.

And that's not a good experience, to leave a gallery like that.

I això no és una bona experiència, deixar una galeria d'aquesta manera.

(Laughter)

(Rialles)

The thing is, I think we should give ourselves a break.

La cosa és, crec que hem de donar-nos un descans.

If you think about going into a restaurant,

Si penses en anar a un restaurant,

when you look at the menu, are you expected to order

Quan ens fixem en el menú, s'espera que encomanarà

every single thing on the menu?

cada una de les coses en el menú?

No! You select.

No! Vosté selecciona.

If you go into a department store to buy a shirt,

Si entra a uns grans magatzems per comprar una camisa,

are you going to try on every single shirt

anira a provar-se totes i cada una de les samarretes

and want every single shirt?

i vol totes i cada una de les samarretes?

Of course not, you can be selective. It's expected.

Per descomptat que no, vostè pot ser selectiu. És el que s'espera.

How come, then, it's not so expected

Per què, llavors, no s'espera

to be selective when we go to an art gallery?

ser selectiu quan anem a una galeria d'art?

Why are we supposed to have a connection with every single painting?

Per què se suposa que hem de tenir una connexió amb totes i cada una de les pintures?

Well I'm trying to take a different approach.

Bé estic intentant prendre un enfocament diferent.

And there's two things I do:

I hi ha dues coses que faig:

When I go into a gallery, first of all, I go quite fast,

Quan entro a una galeria, primer de tot, vaig bastant ràpid,

and I look at everything, and I pinpoint the ones

i miro tot, i vaig concretant els

that make me slow down for some reason or other.

que em fan frenar per algun motiu o altre.

I don't even know why they make me slow down, but something

No sé ni per què em fan frenar, però alguna cosa

pulls me like a magnet

em tira com un imant

and then I ignore all the others, and I just go to that painting.

i llavors ignoro totes les altres, i vaig cap a aquesta pintura.

So it's the first thing I do is, I do my own curation.

Per tant, és la primera cosa que faig, faig la meva pròpia elecció.

I choose a painting. It might just be one painting in 50.

Trio una pintura. Només podria ser una pintura entre 50.

And then the second thing I do is I stand in front of that painting,

I llavors la segona cosa que faig és estar davant d'aquesta pintura,

and I tell myself a story about it.

i contar-me a mi mateixa una història sobre ella.

Why a story? Well, I think that we are wired,

Per què una història? Bé, crec que estem connectats,

our DNA tells us to tell stories.

el nostre ADN ens diu que hem d'explicar històries.

We tell stories all the time about everything,

Expliquem històries tot el temps sobre tot,

and I think we do it because the world is kind of a crazy, chaotic place,

i crec que ho fem perquè el món és una mena de locura, de lloc caòtic,

and sometimes stories, we're trying to make sense of the world a little bit,

i de vegades les històries, estem intentant de donar al món una mica de sentit,

trying to bring some order to it.

intentant posar algo d'ordre a això.

Why not apply that to our looking at paintings?

Per què no aplicar-ho a la nostra mirada a les pintures?

So I now have this sort of restaurant menu

Així que ara tenc aquesta mena de carta de restaurant

visiting of art galleries.

visitant les galeries d'art.

There are three paintings I'm going to show you now

Hi ha tres obres que ara els hi mostraré

that are paintings that made me stop in my tracks

que són pintures que m'han fet aturar en les meves rutes

and want to tell stories about them.

i vull explicar històries sobre elles.

The first one needs little introduction --

La primera necessita poca introducció--

"Girl with a Pearl Earring" by Johannes Vermeer,

"La noia de la perla" de Johannes Vermeer,

17th-century Dutch painter.

pintor neerlandès del segle XVII.

This is the most glorious painting.

Aquesta és la pintura més gloriosa.

I first saw it when I was 19,

La vaig veure per primera vegada quan tenia 19,

and I immediately went out and got a poster of it,

i immediatament vaig sortir i aconseguí un poster d'ella,

and in fact I still have that poster. 30 years later it's hanging in my house.

i de fet encara tinc aquest cartell. 30 anys després està penjat a casa meva.

It's accompanied me everywhere I've gone,

M'ha acompanyat per tot arreu on he anat,

I never tire of looking at her.

Mai em canso de mirar-la.

What made me stop in my tracks about her to begin with

El que em fa parar en les meves pistes sobre ella per començar

was just the gorgeous colors he uses

va ser només els magnífics colors que utilitza

and the light falling on her face.

i la llum que cau sobre la cara.

But I think what's kept me still coming back

Però crec que el que encara m'ha fet tornar

year after year is another thing, and that is

any rere any és una altra cosa, i és

the look on her face, the conflicted look on her face.

la mirada del seu rostre, la conflictiva mirada en la seva cara.

I can't tell if she's happy or sad,

No puc dir si ella és feliç o trista,

and I change my mind all the time.

i canvio d'opinió tot el temps.

So that keeps me coming back.

D'aquesta manera em fa que hi torni.

One day, 16 years after I had this poster on my wall,

Un dia, 16 anys després de tenir aquest cartell en la meva paret,

I lay in bed and looked at her,

estava al llit i la vaig mirar,

and I suddenly thought, I wonder what

i de sobte vaig pensar, em pregunto què

the painter did to her to make her look like that.

li va fer el pintor per a donar-li aquell aspecte.

And it was the first time I'd ever thought that

I va ser la primera vegada que vaig pensar que

the expression on her face is actually reflecting

l'expressió de la seva cara està reflectint en realitat

how she feels about him.

com se sent sobre ell.

Always before I'd thought of it as a portrait of a girl.

Abans sempre havia pensat en ell com un retrat d'una nena.

Now I began to think of it as a portrait of a relationship.

Després vaig començar a pensar en ell com un retrat d'una relació.

And I thought, well, what is that relationship?

I vaig pensar, bé, quina és aquesta relació?

So I went to find out. I did some research and discovered,

Així que vaig anar a esbrinar-ho. Vaig fer algunes investigacions i vaig descobrir,

we have no idea who she is.

que no tenim ni idea de qui és ella.

In fact, we don't know who any of the models

De fet, no sabem qui son cap dels models

in any of Vermeer's paintings are,

en cap dels quadres de Vermeer,,

and we know very little about Vermeer himself.

i sabem molt poc sobre Vermeer mateix.

Which made me go, "Yippee!"

El que em va sortir, "Yippee!"

I can do whatever I want, I can come up with whatever story I want to.

Puc fer qualsevol cosa que vulgui, puc fer-me amb qualsevol història que vulgui.

So here's how I came up with the story.

Per tant així és com amb vaig fer amb la història.

First of all, I thought,

En primer lloc, vaig pensar,

I've got to get her into the house.

Tinc que portar-la a la casa.

How does Vermeer know her?

Com la coneix Vermeer?

Well, there've been suggestions that

Bé, hi ha hagut suggeriments com que

she is his 12-year-old daughter.

ella és la seva filla de 12 anys.

The daughter at the time was 12 when he painted the painting.

La filla en aquella època tenia 12 quan va pintar el quadre.

And I thought, no, it's a very intimate look,

I vaig pensar, no, és una mirada molt íntima,

but it's not a look a daughter gives her father.

però no és la mirada que una filla li dóna al seu pare.

For one thing, in Dutch painting of the time,

D'una banda, en la pintura holandesa d'aquell temps,

if a woman's mouth was open, it was indicating sexual availability.

si la boca d'una dona estava oberta, indicava la disponibilitat sexual.

It would have been inappropriate for Vermeer

No hauria estat apropiat per a Vermeer

to paint his daughter like that.

pintar la seva filla d'aquella manera.

So it's not his daughter, but it's somebody

Així que no és la seva filla, però és algú

close to him, physically close to him.

proper a ell, físicament proper a ell.

Well, who else would be in the house?

Bé, qui més hi hauria a la casa?

A servant, a lovely servant.

Una criada, una criada encantadora.

So, she's in the house.

Així, ella és a la casa.

How do we get her into the studio?

Com podem aconseguir-la dins l'estudi?

We don't know very much about Vermeer,

No sabem molt sobre Vermeer,

but the little bits that we do know, one thing we know

però dels pocs bits que sabem, una cosa que sabem

is that he married a Catholic woman, they lived with her mother

és que es va casar amb una dona catòlica, va viure amb la seva mare

in a house where he had his own room

en una casa on tenia la seva pròpia habitació

where he -- his studio. He also had 11 children.

on ell - el seu estudi. També va tenir onze fills.

It would have been a chaotic, noisy household.

Hauria estat una llar caòtica, sorollosa.

And if you've seen Vermeer's paintings before,

I si vostè ha vist els quadres de Vermeer, abans,

you know that they're incredibly calm and quiet.

vostè sap que són increïblement tranquils i silenciosos.

How does a painter paint such calm, quiet paintings with 11 kids around?

Com un pintor pot pintar aquestes pintures tranquil·les, amb 11 nens al seu voltant?

Well, he compartmentalizes his life.

Bé, ell va compartimentar la seva vida.

He gets to his studio, and he says, "Nobody comes in here.

Es posa al seu estudi, i diu, "ningú no ve aquí.

Not the wife, not the kids. Okay, the maid can come in and clean."

Ni l'esposa, ni els nens. Bé, la criada pot entrar i netejar."

She's in the studio. He's got her in the studio, they're together.

Ella està en l'estudi. Ell la té en l'estudi, estan junts.

And he decides to paint her.

I decideix pintar-la.

He has her wear very plain clothes.

Ell fa que ella dugui roba molt senzilla.

Now, all of the women, or most of the women in Vermeer's other paintings

Totes les dones, o la majoria de les dones en les altres pintures de Vermeer

wore velvet, silk, fur, very sumptuous materials.

porten vellut, seda, pell, materials molt sumptuosos.

This is very plain; the only thing that isn't plain

Això és molt senzill; l'única cosa que no és senzilla

is her pearl earring.

és la seva perla.

Now, if she's a servant, there is no way she could afford

Així que, si ella és una criada, no hi ha manera que pogués permetre's el luxe

a pair of pearl earrings.

d'un parell d'arracades de perles.

So those are not her pearl earrings. Whose are they?

Així que aquestes no són les seus arrecades de perles. De quí són?

We happen to know, there's a list of Catharina, the wife's clothes.

Podem arribar a saber, hi ha una llista de Catharina, la roba de l'esposa.

Amongst them a yellow coat with white fur,

Entre elles un abric groc amb pell blanca,

a yellow and black bodice,

una brusa groga i negra,

and you see these clothes on lots of other paintings,

i pot veure aquesta roba en un munt d'altres pintures,

different women in the paintings, Vermeer's paintings.

diferents dones en les pintures, quadres de Vermeer.

So clearly, her clothes were lent to various different women.

Clarament, la seva roba es va prestar a diverses dones.

It's not such a leap of faith to take

No és com un acte de fe pensar

that that pearl earring actually belongs to his wife.

que aquesta perla pertany en realitat a la seva dona.

So we've got all the elements for our story.

Així que tenim tots els elements per a la nostra història.

She's in the studio with him for a long time.

Ella està en l'estudi amb ell durant molt de temps.

These paintings took a long time to make.

Aquests quadres van trigar molt temps per fer.

They would have spent the time alone, all that time.

Haurien passat el temps sols, tot aquest temps.

She's wearing his wife's pearl earring.

Ella duu l'arrecada de perla de la seva dona.

She's gorgeous. She obviously loves him. She's conflicted.

Ella és meravellosa. Òbviament, ella l'estima. Ella té un conflicte.

And does the wife know? Maybe not.

I la dona ho sap? Potser no.

And if she doesn't, well --

I si no ho sap, bé...

that's the story.

Aquesta és la història.

(Laughter)

(Rialles)

The next painting I'm going to talk about

El quadre següent del qual parlaré

is called "Boy Building a House of Cards" by Chardin.

s'anomena "Noi construint un castell de cartes" per Chardin.

He's an 18th-century French painter best known for his still lifes,

És un pintor francès del segle XVIII conegut per les seves naturaleses mortes,

but he did occasionally paint people.

però de tant en tant va pintar persones.

And in fact, he painted four versions of this painting,

I de fet, va pintar quatre versions d'aquesta obra,

different boys building houses of cards, all concentrated.

diferents nois construint castells de cartes, tots concentrats.

I like this version the best, because some of the boys

Aquesta és la versió que m'agrada més, perquè alguns dels nois

are older and some are younger, and to me, this one,

són més grans i alguns són més joves i per a mi, aquest,

like Goldilocks's porridge, is just right.

com les farinetes de rínxols d'or, és la correcta.

He's not quite a child, and he's not quite a man.

Ja no és un noi, i tampoc és un home.

He's absolutely balanced between innocence and experience,

Ell està absolutament equilibrat entre la innocència i l'experiència,

and that made me stop in my tracks in front of this painting.

i això em fa parar en les meves rutes davant d'aquesta obra.

And I looked at his face. It's like a Vermeer painting a bit.

Vaig mirar a la cara. És una mica com un quadre de Vermeer.

The light comes in from the left, his face is bathed

La llum prové de l'esquerra, el seu rostre està banyat

in this glowing light. It's right in the center of the painting,

per aquesta llum que brilla. És just al centre de la pintura,

and you look at it, and I found that when I was looking at it,

i el mires, i he trobat que quan estava mirant-lo,

I was standing there going,

estava de peu allà diguent,

"Look at me. Please look at me."

"Mira'm. Si us plau, mira'm."

And he didn't look at me. He was still looking at his cards,

I ell no em va mirar a mi. Ell encara estava mirant les seves cartes,

and that's one of the seductive elements of this painting is,

i això és un dels elements seductors d'aquesta obra,

he's so focused on what he's doing that he doesn't look at us.

ell està tan concentrat en el que està fent que no ens mira a nosaltres.

And that is, to me, the sign of a masterpiece,

És a dir, per a mi, aquest és el signe d'una obra mestra,

of a painting when there's a lack of resolution.

d'una pintura quan hi ha una manca de resolució.

He's never going to look at me.

Ell mai em mirarà.

So I was thinking of a story where,

Així que jo estava pensant en una història quan,

if I'm in this position, who could be there looking at him?

si estic en aquesta posició, qui podria ser allà mirant-lo?

Not the painter, I don't want to think about the painter.

El pintor no, no vull pensar en el pintor.

I'm thinking of an older version of himself.

Estic pensant en una versió més vella de si mateix.

He's a man, a servant, an older servant looking at this younger servant,

Ell és un home, un criat, un servent més gran mirant a n'aquest jove servent,

saying, "Look at me. I want to warn you about

dient: "mira'm. Vull advertir-lo sobre

what you're about to go through. Please look at me."

el que està punt de passar-li. Si us plau, mira'm."

And he never does.

I mai no ho fa.

And that lack of resolution, the lack of resolution in "Girl with a Pearl Earring" --

I aquella manca de resolució, la manca de resolució en "La noia de la Perla"-

we don't know if she's happy or sad.

no sabem si ella està feliç o trista.

I've written an entire novel about her,

He escrit una novel·la sencera sobre ella,

and I still don't know if she's happy or sad.

i encara no sé si ella està feliç o trista.

Again and again, back to the painting,

Tornar una i altra vegada, a la pintura,

looking for the answer, looking for the story to fill in that gap.

buscant la resposta, buscant la història per omplir aquest buit.

And we may make a story, and it satisfies us momentarily,

I podem fer una història, i ens satisfà momentàniament,

but not really, and we come back again and again.

però no del tot, i tornem una vegada i una altra vegada.

The last painting I'm going to talk about

El darrer quadre del que parlaré

is called "Anonymous" by anonymous. (Laughter)

s'anomena "Anònim" per anònim. (Rialles)

This is a Tudor portrait bought by the National Portrait Gallery.

Aquest és un retrat Tudor adquirit per la National Portrait Gallery.

They thought it was a man named Sir Thomas Overbury,

Pensaven que era un home anomenat Sir Thomas Overbury,

and then they discovered that it wasn't him,

i després van descobrir que no era ell,

and they have no idea who it is.

i no tenen ni idea de qui és.

Now, in the National Portrait Gallery,

Ara, a la National Portrait Gallery,

if you don't know the biography of the painting,

Si no sap la biografia de la pintura,

it's kind of useless to you.

és algo inútil per vostè.

They can't hang it on the wall, because they don't know who he is.

No es pot penjar a la paret, perquè no saben qui és.

So unfortunately, this orphan spends most of his time in storage,

Així que per desgràcia, aquest orfe passa la major part del seu temps emmagatzemat,

along with quite a number of other orphans,

amb un bon nombre de altres orfes,

some of them some beautiful paintings.

alguns d'ells són pintures precioses.

This painting made me stop in my tracks for three reasons:

Aquesta obra va fer aturar en les meves pistes per tres raons:

One is the disconnection between his mouth

Una és la desconnexió entre la boca

that's smiling and his eyes that are wistful.

que està somrient i els seus ulls que són nostàlgics.

He's not happy, and why isn't he happy?

Ell no és feliç, i per què no és feliç?

The second thing that really attracted me

La segona cosa que realment em va atreure

were his bright red cheeks.

eren les seves brillants galtes vermelles.

He is blushing. He's blushing for his portrait being made!

Ell està ruboritzat. Ell està ruboritzat per al seu retrat que s'està fent!

This must be a guy who blushes all the time.

Deu ser un tipus que es ruboritza tot el temps.

What is he thinking about that's making him blush?

Què pensa ell sobre el que està fent-li posar vermell?

The third thing that made me stop in my tracks

La tercera cosa que em va fer aturar en sec

is his absolutely gorgeous doublet.

és el seu gipó absolutament magnífic.

Silk, gray, those beautiful buttons.

Seda, gris, els preciosos botons.

And you know what it makes me think of,

I saps amb el que em fa pensar,

is it's sort of snug and puffy; it's like a duvet spread over a bed.

en una mena de còmode i esponjós; És com un edredó estès sobre un llit.

I kept thinking of beds and red cheeks,

Continuava pensant en llits i amb galtes vermelles,

and of course I kept thinking of sex when I looked at him,

i per descomptat continuava pensant amb sexe quan el mirava,

and I thought, is that what he's thinking about?

i vaig pensar, és aixó el que ell està pensant?

And I thought, if I'm going to make a story,

I vaig pensar, si fes una història,

what's the last thing I'm going to put in there?

Què és l'última cosa que posaria allà?

Well, what would a Tudor gentleman be preoccupied with?

Bé, sobre què estaria preocupat un cavaller Tudor?

And I thought, well, Henry VIII, okay.

I vaig pensar, bé, Enric VIII, d'acord.

He'd be preoccupied with his inheritance, with his heir.

Ell estaria preocupat per la seva herència, pel seu hereu.

Who is going to inherit his name and his fortune?

Qui heretarà el seu nom i la seva fortuna?

You put all those together, and you've got your story

Posi totes aquestes coses juntes, i tindrà la seva història

to fill in that gap that makes you keep coming back.

per omplir aquest buit que el fa retornar.

Now, here's the story.

Ara, aquí tenim la història.

It's short.

És breu.

"Rosy"

"Rosy"

I am still wearing the white brocade doublet Caroline gave me.

Encara estic emprant el gipó de brocat blanc que Caroline em va donar.

It has a plain high collar, detachable sleeves

Té un coll alt llis, mànigues desmuntables

and intricate buttons of twisted silk thread,

i complexes botons de fil de seda trenat,

set close together so that the fit is snug.

posats junts de manera que li quedi bé.

The doublet makes me think of a coverlet on the vast bed.

El gipó em fa pensar en un tapall sobre un llit gran.

Perhaps that was the intention.

Potser aquesta era la intenció.

I first wore it at an elaborate dinner her parents held in our honor.

Primer el vaig dur en un elaborat sopar que els seus pares celebraren en el nostre honor.

I knew even before I stood up to speak

Sabia fins i tot abans que m'aixequés per parlar

that my cheeks were inflamed.

que les meves galtes estarien inflamades.

I have always flushed easily, from physical exertion,

Sempre m'he ruboritzat fàcilment, per l'esforç físic,

from wine, from high emotion.

pel vi, per emocions fortes.

As a boy, I was teased by my sisters and by schoolboys,

Quan era un nen, les meves germanes i companys d'escola es burlaven de mi,

but not by George.

però en George no.

Only George could call me Rosy.

Només George podia anomenar-me Rosy.

I would not allow anyone else.

No li permetria a ningú més.

He managed to make the word tender.

Se les va arreglar per fer la paraula tendra.

When I made the announcement, George did not

Quan ho vaig anunciar, George no

turn rosy, but went pale as my doublet.

es va posar color de Rosa, sinó que es va tornar pàl·lid com el meu gipó.

He should not have been surprised.

Ell no s'hauria d'haver sorprès.

It has been a common assumption

Ha estat una suposició

that I would one day marry his cousin.

que un dia em casaria amb el seu cosí.

But it is difficult to hear the words aloud.

Però és difícil d'escoltar les paraules en veu alta.

I know, I could barely utter them.

Ho sé, que amb prou feines podria pronunciar-les.

Afterwards, I found George on the terrace overlooking the kitchen garden.

Posteriorment, vaig trobar a George a la terrassa mirant cap a l'hort.

Despite drinking steadily all afternoon, he was still pale.

Malgrat haver begut constantment tota la tarda, ell encara estava pàl·lid.

We stood together and watched the maids cut lettuces.

Estaven junts i miravem les criades tallant enciams.

"What do you think of my doublet?" I asked.

"Què pensa vostè del meu gipó?" Li vaig preguntar.

He glanced at me. "That collar looks to be strangling you."

Em va mirar. "Aquell coll sembla que està estrangulant-lo."

"We will still see each other," I insisted.

"Encara ens veurem," vaig insistir.

"We can still hunt and play cards and attend court.

"Encara podem caçar i jugar a cartes i assistir a cort.

Nothing need change."

No necessita canviar res".

George did not speak.

George no parlava.

"I am 23 years old. It is time for me to marry

"Tinc 23 anys. És el moment de casar-me

and produce an heir. It is expected of me."

i produir un hereu. És el que s'espera de mi."

George drained another glass of claret and turned to me.

George va apurar una altra copa de claret i es va girar cap a mi.

"Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials, James.

" Felicitacions pel seu futur casament, James.

I'm sure you'll be content together."

Estic segur que estaran contents junts".

He never used my nickname again.

Ell no va utilitzar mai més el meu sobrenom.

Thank you.

Gràcies.

(Applause)

(Aplaudiments)

Thank you.

Gràcies.

(Applause)

(Aplaudiments)