The unheard story behind the Sistine Chapel | Elizabeth Lev

翻译人员: Gu Yu 校对人员: Amy Lu

Imagine you're in Rome,

想象你在罗马，

and you've made your way to the Vatican Museums.

你来到了梵蒂冈博物馆

And you've been shuffling down long corridors,

你走过无数的长廊，

past statues, frescoes, lots and lots of stuff.

经过雕塑，壁画， 和好多好多艺术品

You're heading towards the Sistine Chapel.

你正在前往西斯廷教堂。

At last -- a long corridor, a stair and a door.

终于，一条长廊， 一段阶梯，和一扇门。

You're at the threshold of the Sistine Chapel.

你在西斯廷教堂的入口。

So what are you expecting?

你觉得你会看见什么？

Soaring domes? Choirs of angels?

高耸的圆顶？欢歌的天使？

We don't really have any of that there.

这些在西斯廷教堂都不存在。

Instead, you may ask yourself, what do we have?

反之，你可能会问，我们有什么？

Well, curtains up on the Sistine Chapel.

当西斯廷教堂的幕布拉开。

And I mean literally, you're surrounded by painted curtains,

我的意思是， 你真的是被着色的幕布环绕，

the original decoration of this chapel.

这是这座教堂最初的装饰。

Churches used tapestries not just to keep out cold during long masses,

教堂用壁毯不仅仅 是为了在长时间聚会时防寒,

but as a way to represent the great theater of life.

它们也象征着我们的戏剧人生。

The human drama in which each one of us plays a part is a great story,

我们每个人都参与的人类的戏剧 是一个宏大的故事

a story that encompasses the whole world

一个包罗万象的故事。

and that came to unfold in the three stages

而这个故事在 绘画西斯廷教堂的三个阶段

of the painting in the Sistine Chapel.

都有所呈现。

Now, this building started out as a space for a small group

最开始，这个建筑只被一小群

of wealthy, educated Christian priests.

富有并且受过教育的基督教牧师使用。

They prayed there. They elected their pope there.

他们在那里祷告， 在那里选举教皇。

Five hundred years ago,

五百年前，

it was the ultimate ecclesiastical man cave.

它是神职人员的首要洞庭。

So, you may ask, how can it be that today it attracts and delights

那么，你也许会问，它如今怎么能

five million people a year,

一年就吸引五百万

from all different backgrounds?

来自世界各地的人呢？

Because in that compressed space, there was a creative explosion,

因为那狭小空间里创意被

ignited by the electric excitement of new geopolitical frontiers,

新地理政治前沿瞬间的激情所点燃，

which set on fire the ancient missionary tradition of the Church

教堂古老的传教传统 熊熊燃烧创意的火焰，

and produced one of the greatest works of art in history.

创造出历史上 最伟大的艺术作品之一。

Now, this development took place as a great evolution,

这是一个巨大的变革，

moving from the beginning of a few elite,

从最开始的少数精英参与，

and eventually able to speak to audiences of people

到最后能够与世界各地的观众

that come from all over the world.

进行交流。

This evolution took place in three stages,

这样的变革经历了三个阶段

each one linked to a historical circumstance.

每个阶段都和不同的历史环境有关。

The first one was rather limited in scope.

第一阶段的改变受到事业的局限

It reflected the rather parochial perspective.

它反映的更多是地方的观点。

The second one took place after worldviews were dramatically altered

第二阶段发生在人们的世界观 被显著地改变之后，

after Columbus's historical voyage;

在哥伦布著名的航行之后。

and the third,

第三阶段，

when the Age of Discovery was well under way

是在探索发现时代早已开始后，

and the Church rose to the challenge

在教堂开始应对

of going global.

面向全球的挑战时。

The original decoration of this church reflected a smaller world.

这个教堂最开始的装饰 反映的是一个小世界

There were busy scenes

到处都是繁忙的景象

that told the stories of the lives of Jesus and Moses,

处处讲述着耶稣和摩西的故事

reflecting the development of the Jewish and Christian people.

展现犹太教和基督教的发展。

The man who commissioned this, Pope Sixtus IV,

花钱定制这画的人 是教皇席斯特六世，

assembled a dream team of Florentine art,

他组建了一个 弗洛伦萨艺术的梦之队，

including men like Sandro Botticelli

包括桑德罗·波提且利，

and the man who would become Michelangelo's future painting teacher,

和后来成为 米开朗基罗绘画老师的人，

Ghirlandaio.

基尔兰达约。

These men, they blanketed the walls with a frieze of pure color,

这些人，他们在雕带上先覆盖纯色

and in these stories you'll notice familiar landscapes,

之所以这些故事中 你能看见熟悉的风景

the artists using Roman monuments or a Tuscan landscape

是因为艺术家们用了罗马的纪念碑， 或是托斯卡纳的风光

to render a faraway story, something much more familiar.

用熟悉的背景让 一个遥远的故事更为大家所接受。

With the addition of images of the Pope's friends and family,

再加上教皇朋友和家人的头像，

this was a perfect decoration for a small court

这样的装饰对于一个 欧洲大陆里的一个小庭院来说

limited to the European continent.

堪称完美。

But in 1492, the New World was discovered,

但是在1492年， 新大陆被发现了，

horizons were expanding,

地平线在扩张，

and this little 133 by 46-foot microcosm had to expand as well.

这个小小的133×46英尺的 小宇宙也必须要扩张。

And it did,

它成功了。

thanks to a creative genius,

这要感谢一个有创意的天才，

a visionary and an awesome story.

一个幻想家和一个棒极的故事。

Now, the creative genius was Michelangelo Buonarroti,

这个创意天才是 米开朗基罗·波纳罗蒂，

33 years old when he was tapped to decorate 12,000 square feet of ceiling,

被要求装饰12000尺的屋顶时， 米开朗基罗已经33岁了

and the deck was stacked against him --

而且面临着重重困难

he had trained in painting but had left to pursue sculpture.

他为了雕刻离开了学习多年的绘画，

There were angry patrons in Florence because he had left a stack

还留了一系列未完成的作品，

of incomplete commissions,

这在佛罗伦萨惹怒了许多顾客,

lured to Rome by the prospect of a great sculptural project,

他被一个宏大的 雕塑工程吸引到罗马，

and that project had fallen through.

可那工程却失败了。

And he had been left with a commission to paint 12 apostles

剩下给他的项目 是为西斯廷教堂屋顶的

against a decorative background in the Sistine Chapel ceiling,

装饰背景画上十二信徒，

which would look like every other ceiling in Italy.

这样的屋顶装饰在意大利遍地都是。

But genius rose to the challenge.

不过天才接受了挑战。

In an age when a man dared to sail across the Atlantic Ocean,

在有人敢于横跨大西洋的时代，

Michelangelo dared to chart new artistic waters.

米开朗基罗勇敢地 开辟了艺术新海域。

He, too, would tell a story --

他描述了一个没有信徒故事

no Apostles -- but a story of great beginnings,

这是一个讲述伟大的开始的故事，

the story of Genesis.

创世纪的故事。

Not really an easy sell, stories on a ceiling.

在天花板上画故事， 这听起来并不是一个好主意

How would you be able to read a busy scene from 62 feet below?

你怎么能读一个 62尺高屋顶上的故事呢？

The painting technique that had been handed on for 200 years

在弗罗伦萨手手相传了 200年绘画技术

in Florentine studios was not equipped for this kind of a narrative.

并不足够完成这样的描绘。

But Michelangelo wasn't really a painter,

不过米开朗基罗并不算一个画家，

and so he played to his strengths.

他展现了他的独到的能力。

Instead of being accustomed to filling space with busyness,

他用了锤子和凿子来雕刻一块大理石

he took a hammer and chisel and hacked away at a piece of marble

在大理石内部创造人物，

to reveal the figure within.

而不是习惯性的把空间填满。

Michelangelo was an essentialist;

米开朗基罗是一个本质主义；

he would tell his story in massive, dynamic bodies.

他要用大量的，动态的身体 来讲他的故事。

This plan was embraced by the larger-than-life Pope Julius II,

这个计划 被与众不同的教皇儒略二世支持，

a man who was unafraid of Michelangelo's brazen genius.

他是一个可以理解米开朗基罗 惊世骇俗的才能的人。

He was nephew to Pope Sixtus IV,

他是教皇西克斯图斯四世的侄子，

and he had been steeped in art for 30 years and he knew its power.

在艺术中浸泡了30年的他 知道艺术的力量。

And history has handed down the moniker of the Warrior Pope,

历史上的他被人称作"战士教皇"，

but this man's legacy to the Vatican -- it wasn't fortresses and artillery,

不过他在梵蒂冈留下的 不是堡垒和大炮，

it was art.

而是艺术。

He left us the Raphael Rooms, the Sistine Chapel.

他给我们留下了 拉斐尔厅，西斯廷教堂,

He left St. Peter's Basilica

他留下了圣彼得大教堂,

as well as an extraordinary collection of Greco-Roman sculptures --

还有非凡的希腊罗马雕塑收藏

decidedly un-Christian works that would become the seedbed

这些非基督教作品后来成为了

of the world's first modern museum, the Vatican Museums.

世界上第一个现代博物馆， 梵蒂冈博物馆的发源。

Julius was a man

在教皇儒略

who envisioned a Vatican that would be eternally relevant

设想的蓝图中， 梵蒂冈永不过时

through grandeur and through beauty,

它的庄严和美丽永远吸引着众人

and he was right.

他是对的。

The encounter between these two giants, Michelangelo and Julius II,

米开朗基罗和教皇儒略二世， 这两个伟人的相遇

that's what gave us the Sistine Chapel.

成就了我们如今的西斯廷教堂。

Michelangelo was so committed to this project,

米开朗基罗对这个工程的热忱

that he succeeded in getting the job done in three and a half years,

让他成功地在三年半内 完成了这个工程。

using a skeleton crew and spending most of the time, hours on end,

只有最少的工具， 他花费大部分时间，

reaching up above his head to paint the stories on the ceiling.

连续数小时，伸手在他头上的屋顶作画。

So let's look at this ceiling

我们来看看这个屋顶，

and see storytelling gone global.

看看这个传遍世界的故事。

No more familiar artistic references to the world around you.

没有平常世界中熟悉的艺术原型

There's just space and structure and energy;

剩下的只有空间，结构与活力;

a monumental painted framework which opens onto nine panels,

一个史诗级的画作结构 分别通往九个板块 ，

more driven by sculptural form than painterly color.

它们由雕刻的形态而不是色彩进行区分。

And we stand in the far end by the entrance,

当我们站在入口的一角，

far from the altar and from the gated enclosure intended for the clergy

这里远离圣餐台 和被围住的只供牧师使用的区域。

and we peer into the distance, looking for a beginning.

我们向远处眺望，寻找着一个开始。

And whether in scientific inquiry or in biblical tradition,

不管是在科学探索中 还是在圣经传统里，

we think in terms of a primal spark.

我们都已经习惯于从头开始思考。

Michelangelo gave us an initial energy

当他为我们区分光明与黑暗时，

when he gave us the separation of light and dark,

米开朗基罗给了我们最初的力量。

a churning figure blurry in the distance,

一个在远处模糊的，翻腾的身影

compressed into a tight space.

被压缩进了一片狭小的空间。

The next figure looms larger,

下一个人物显得更大，

and you see a figure hurtling from one side to the next.

你还能看见一个身影 从一边疾驰到另一边。

He leaves in his wake the sun, the moon, vegetation.

在他之后出现了太阳，月亮和植物。

Michelangelo didn't focus on the stuff that was being created,

不像其他艺术家 米开朗基罗并没有

unlike all the other artists.

关注那些被创造的事物，

He focused on the act of creation.

他着重于创造这行为本身。

And then the movement stops, like a caesura in poetry

接着动作都戛然而止， 像诗歌中的停顿，

and the creator hovers.

只有创造者在徘徊。

So what's he doing?

所以他在做什么？

Is he creating land? Is he creating sea?

他在创造陆地？还是海洋？

Or is he looking back over his handiwork, the universe and his treasures,

或是在欣赏他的作品， 欣赏这个宇宙和他的宝藏，

just like Michelangelo must have,

就如当时的米开朗基罗一样，

looking back over his work in the ceiling

回顾这他在屋顶的画作

and proclaiming, "It is good."

并大喊，"这不错。“

So now the scene is set,

现在背景都做好了，

and you get to the culmination of creation, which is man.

创造也达到了高潮，人类。

Adam leaps to the eye, a light figure against a dark background.

亚当出现在眼前， 阴暗的背景中闪过光亮的身影。

But looking closer,

不过近看，

that leg is pretty languid on the ground,

他的腿软绵地耷拉在地上，

the arm is heavy on the knee.

膝盖也有些无法承受手臂的重负。

Adam lacks that interior spark

亚当缺少那份内在的魂魄，

that will impel him to greatness.

能引领他走向伟大的魂魄。

That spark is about to be conferred by the creator in that finger,

当创造者 与亚当手指相接处的那一刻，

which is one millimeter from the hand of Adam.

这魂魄将要被创造者传递给亚当。

It puts us at the edge of our seats,

这让我们欣喜若狂，

because we're one moment from that contact,

因为我们马上就要见证这一时刻，

through which that man will discover his purpose,

亚当在这一刻会领悟造物主的意图，

leap up and take his place at the pinnacle of creation.

站起身并在创造的顶端 找到属于他的位置。

And then Michelangelo threw a curveball.

就在这时，米开朗基罗扔出了 一个划出曲线的球。

Who is in that other arm?

另外一只臂膀里的是谁？

Eve, first woman.

夏娃，第一个女人。

No, she's not an afterthought. She's part of the plan.

不，她并不是后来被添上的， 她是这计划的一部分。

She's always been in his mind.

她一直都在造物主的脑海中。

Look at her, so intimate with God that her hand curls around his arm.

快看她，与上帝如此亲密， 她的手环绕着他的手臂。

And for me, an American art historian from the 21st century,

对于作为一名二十一世纪的 美国艺术历史学家的我来说，

this was the moment that the painting spoke to me.

这就是这幅画作感动我的时刻。

Because I realized that this representation of the human drama

因为我发现，人类戏剧的表达，

was always about men and women --

一直以来都是关于男人和女人的

so much so, that the dead center, the heart of the ceiling,

而且这屋顶最重要的，最核心的位置

is the creation of woman, not Adam.

都是关于如何创造女人， 而不是亚当。

And the fact is, that when you see them together in the Garden of Eden,

事实上，当你看见他们在伊甸园时，

they fall together

他们一起堕落，

and together their proud posture turns into folded shame.

他们骄傲的身姿一齐变为羞愧。

You are at critical juncture now in the ceiling.

现在你头上的天花板 正是最关键的节点，

You are exactly at the point where you and I can go

你所在的位置是我们在教堂里

no further into the church.

能够走到的最远处。

The gated enclosure keeps us out of the inner sanctum,

围栏把我们阻挡在了密室之外，

and we are cast out much like Adam and Eve.

我们就如 亚当与夏娃一般被挡在外面。

The remaining scenes in the ceiling,

天花板上剩下的场景，

they mirror the crowded chaos of the world around us.

反应了我们所在世界的嘈杂混乱。

You have Noah and his Ark and the flood.

有诺亚和他的方舟和大洪水。

You have Noah. He's making a sacrifice and a covenant with God.

你看诺亚， 他正在献祭，与上帝订立盟约。

Maybe he's the savior.

也许他就是救世主。

Oh, but no, Noah is the one who grew grapes, invented wine,

哦不，诺亚只是一个种植葡萄 发明了葡萄酒

got drunk and passed out naked in his barn.

在自己的谷仓赤裸着身体 喝醉并晕倒了的人。

It is a curious way to design the ceiling,

以造物主创造生命为开始

now starting out with God creating life,

却以醉汉醉卧谷仓而结束

ending up with some guy blind drunk in a barn.

这样设计穹顶是很不寻常的。

And so, compared with Adam,

与亚当相比

you might think Michelangelo is making fun of us.

你可能会觉得 米开朗基罗在取笑我们。

But he's about to dispel the gloom

但是他马上就要在诺亚的下方

by using those bright colors right underneath Noah:

用光亮的颜色驱散黑暗：

emerald, topaz, scarlet on the prophet Zechariah.

这是身着翡翠，黄玉，猩红 色彩的先知撒迦利亚。

Zechariah foresees a light coming from the east,

撒迦利亚预见了 从东方而来的圣光

and we are turned at this juncture to a new destination,

我们在命运的十字路口 转向了新的目的地

with sibyls and prophets who will lead us on a parade.

预言家和先知将带领我们前行，

You have the heroes and heroines who make safe the way,

男女英雄为我们保驾护航，

and we follow the mothers and fathers.

我们只要跟随圣母和神父的脚步。

They are the motors of this great human engine, driving it forward.

他们是带领 我们人类前行的动力源泉。

And now we're at the keystone of the ceiling,

我们现在来到了穹顶的拱心石

the culmination of the whole thing,

这里穹顶的最高点

with a figure that looks like he's about to fall out of his space

上面画的人物似乎要从他的空间

into our space,

掉到我们的空间里，

encroaching our space.

似乎在慢慢侵占我们的空间。

This is the most important juncture.

这是一个重要的时间节点。

Past meets present.

过去与现在的交叉点。

This figure, Jonah, who spent three days in the belly of the whale,

这个人叫约拿 他在鲸的胃里呆了三天

for the Christians, is the symbol of the renewal of humanity

对于基督徒来说他是人类 通过耶稣牺牲

through Jesus' sacrifice,

获得重生的象征。

but for the multitudes of visitors to that museum

但是对于每天怀着不同信仰来参观

from all faiths who visit there every day,

这座伟大博物馆的人来说

he is the moment the distant past encounters and meets immediate reality.

他就是遥远的过去 与当下的现实的相遇与碰撞

All of this brings us to the yawning archway of the altar wall,

所有的这些把我们 带到了神坛墙壁上的拱廊

where we see Michelangelo's Last Judgment,

我们看到了 米开朗基罗《最后的审判》

painted in 1534 after the world had changed again.

这幅画画于1934年 世界已经发生了重大的变革。

The Reformation had splintered the Church,

宗教改革削弱了教会势力

the Ottoman Empire had made Islam a household word

因为奥斯曼帝国 伊斯兰教已经家喻户晓

and Magellan had found a route into the Pacific Ocean.

麦哲伦也发现了太平洋的新航线。

How is a 59-year-old artist who has never been any further than Venice

这位59岁的艺术家最远 也就只到过威尼斯

going to speak to this new world?

如何与这个世界沟通呢？

Michelangelo chose to paint destiny,

米开朗基罗选择了绘画命运。

that universal desire,

这是宇宙的意愿

common to all of us,

这是我们都熟识的意愿

to leave a legacy of excellence.

来留下卓越的传奇。

Told in terms of the Christian vision of the Last Judgment,

从基督徒角度诠释的《最后的审判》

the end of the world,

是世界的末日

Michelangelo gave you a series of figures

米开朗基罗设计了一系列

who are wearing these strikingly beautiful bodies.

拥有极美肉体的人物

They have no more covers, no more portraits

除了一对情侣， 他们大多没有遮盖

except for a couple.

也没有肖像

It's a composition only out of bodies,

这是一系列的躯体

391, no two alike,

391副身躯，各不相同

unique like each and every one of us.

就像我们 每一位都独一无二。

They start in the lower corner, breaking away from the ground,

他们从左下角开始 纷纷脱离地面

struggling and trying to rise.

挣扎着想要站起来。

Those who have risen reach back to help others,

那些已经成功站起来的 会回去帮其他人

and in one amazing vignette,

在一个奇妙的小图里

you have a black man and a white man pulled up together

你可以看到白人与黑人相互搀扶

in an incredible vision of human unity

在这个新世界里人类难以置信地

in this new world.

团结在一起。

The lion's share of the space goes to the winner's circle.

伟人分享自己的空间 形成胜利者的圈子

There you find men and women completely nude like athletes.

在那里你可以看到那些 强壮的男人女人赤身裸体

They are the ones who have overcome adversity,

他们是战胜逆境的人

and Michelangelo's vision of people who combat adversity,

在米开朗基罗的视角下 那些战胜逆境

overcome obstacles --

克服困难的人

they're just like athletes.

正如强壮的人一样。

So you have men and women flexing and posing

在这聚光灯下男人和女人

in this extraordinary spotlight.

或曲体或伸展

Presiding over this assembly is Jesus,

主持这个集会的是耶稣

first a suffering man on the cross,

他是最初十字架上的受难者

now a glorious ruler in Heaven.

也是现在天堂荣耀的统治者。

And as Michelangelo proved in his painting,

正如同米开朗基罗 在他的画作中表现的

hardship, setbacks and obstacles,

苦难，挫折和阻碍

they don't limit excellence, they forge it.

并没有禁锢卓越 反而历练了卓越。

Now, this does lead us to one odd thing.

作为一座教皇的私人教堂

This is the Pope's private chapel,

你可以看到这么多裸体

and the best way you can describe that is indeed a stew of nudes.

是一件非常奇怪的事。

But Michelangelo was trying to use only the best artistic language,

但是米开朗基罗 只是想用最好的艺术语言

the most universal artistic language he could think of:

用他可以想到的 最通用的艺术语言来进行创作

that of the human body.

那就是人体。

And so instead of the way of showing virtue such as fortitude or self-mastery,

所以他没有用例如坚毅或者自主 来表达美德

he borrowed from Julius II's wonderful collection of sculptures

他从尤里乌斯二世那里 借来绝佳的雕塑收藏

in order to show inner strength as external power.

内外俱佳地进行艺术呈现。

Now, one contemporary did write

当代的评论曾说

that the chapel was too beautiful to not cause controversy.

这样的教堂太过于漂亮 必然会引起争议

And so it did.

事实也是如此。

Michelangelo soon found that thanks to the printing press,

米开朗基罗马上发现 因为印刷技术的出现

complaints about the nudity spread all over the place,

关于裸体的投诉日嚣尘上

and soon his masterpiece of human drama was labeled pornography,

他关于人类戏剧的伟大作品 被打上了色情的标签。

at which point he added two more portraits,

也是这个时候他决定加上 两个画像，

one of the man who criticized him, a papal courtier,

一个是抨击他的教皇助手

and the other one of himself as a dried up husk, no athlete,

另一个则是他自己 一点都不强壮却干得像个皮囊

in the hands of a long-suffering martyr.

被一位 饱经辛酸的殉道者握在手里。

The year he died he saw several of these figures covered over,

他去世那年他目睹 他画作的一些部分被遮盖，

a triumph for trivial distractions over his great exhortation to glory.

但是瑕不掩瑜 这也难掩他对于荣光的伟大训告。

And so now we stand

我们就站在这里

in the here and now.

此时此地。

We are caught in that space

从开始到结束

between beginnings and endings,

我们一直被这个空间所吸引

in the great, huge totality of the human experience.

目睹包罗万象的 无与伦比的人生阅历。

The Sistine Chapel forces us to look around as if it were a mirror.

西斯廷教堂就像一面镜子 让我们不停地探索。

Who am I in this picture?

我在这幅画中么？

Am I one of the crowd?

我是群众的一员么？

Am I the drunk guy?

我是那个喝醉的人么？

Am I the athlete?

我是强壮的人么？

And as we leave this haven of uplifting beauty,

当我们离开 这振奋人心的美丽港湾

we are inspired to ask ourselves life's biggest questions:

我们也会不由自主地扪心自问

Who am I, and what role do I play in this great theater of life?

我是谁？ 我在这浮浮众生中扮演什么角色？

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）

Bruno Giussani: Elizabeth Lev, thank you.

布鲁诺·朱萨尼： 伊丽莎白·列弗，谢谢。

Elizabeth, you mentioned this whole issue of pornography,

您刚才提到这部作品中的色情描绘

too many nudes and too many daily life scenes and improper things

每时每刻都可以看见 有很多裸体和一些

in the eyes of the time.

不太合适的东西。

But actually the story is bigger.

实际上问题比这还要严重。

It's not just touching up and covering up some of the figures.

不仅仅是一些部分被遮盖

This work of art was almost destroyed because of that.

这件作品差点因此被毁。

Elizabeth Lev: The effect of the Last Judgment was enormous.

《最后的审判》的影响是无比深远的

The printing press made sure that everybody saw it.

当时的机构认定所有人都看过它

And so, this wasn't something that happened within a couple of weeks.

所以这不是几周内发生的事情

It was something that happened over the space of 20 years

这件事横跨了20年的时间

of editorials and complaints,

期间有讨论也有投诉

saying to the Church,

很多人在教堂表示

"You can't possibly tell us how to live our lives.

“你不能告诉我们 怎么活我们自己的生活”

Did you notice you have pornography in the Pope's chapel?"

“你没有看见教皇教堂里 有色情的东西么？”

And so after complaints and insistence

在不停地抱怨

of trying to get this work destroyed,

和试图毁坏这幅作品的声音中

it was finally the year that Michelangelo died

在米开朗基罗去世那一年，

that the Church finally found a compromise,

教堂终于找到了折衷的办法

a way to save the painting,

可以挽救这幅画作。

and that was in putting up these extra 30 covers,

即增加三十多处遮盖，

and that happens to be the origin of fig-leafing.

这也是无花果叶遮盖的原型。

That's where it all came about,

这就是它的由来。

and it came about from a church that was trying to save a work of art,

这其实是教堂尽力 去挽救一副伟大的画作

not indeed deface or destroyed it.

而不是想要丑化或者摧毁它

BG: This, what you just gave us, is not the classic tour

所以您刚才为我们展示的这些

that people get today when they go to the Sistine Chapel.

不是通过一般的西斯廷教堂旅行 可以看到的

(Laughter)

（笑声）

EL: I don't know, is that an ad?

我不知道 这算是广告么？

(Laughter)

（笑声）

BG: No, no, no, not necessarily, it is a statement.

不，不是，这是一种叙述。

The experience of art today is encountering problems.

现在越来越多的艺术品 面临失窃或其他风险。

Too many people want to see this there,

太多人希望可以在原址看到它们，

and the result is five million people going through that tiny door

这也是为什么500万人愿意穿过 那扇小门

and experiencing it in a completely different way

以和我们刚才所感受的 不一样的方式

than we just did.

感受它。

EL: Right. I agree. I think it's really nice to be able to pause and look.

是的，我有同感 走走停停观赏艺术品是美妙的。

But also realize, even when you're in those days,

而且 即便每天慕名而来的游客

with 28,000 people a day,

有28000之多，

even those days when you're in there with all those other people,

即便你和大家一起

look around you and think how amazing it is

环视四周 你仍然会感叹它的不可思议

that some painted plaster from 500 years ago

感叹500年前的画作仍然可以

can still draw all those people standing side by side with you,

让你和你周围所有的人

looking upwards with their jaws dropped.

瞠目结舌。

It's a great statement about how beauty truly can speak to us all

这证明真正美好的作品

through time and through geographic space.

是可以跨越时间和空间的界限的。

BG: Liz, grazie.

谢谢

EL: Grazie a te.

谢谢你

BG: Thank you.

谢谢

(Applause)

（掌声）