美国国家公共电台 NPR Dutch Artists Painted Their Patriotism With Pearls And ... Parrots?

 

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

The world of 17th-century Holland is filling up several rooms of Washington's National Gallery of Art right now. It is a world captured in paintings by Vermeer and some of his contemporaries. And they show well-to-do Dutch, mostly women doing ordinary things - getting dressed, writing letters, making music. NPR's special correspondent Susan Stamberg has more.

SUSAN STAMBERG, BYLINE¹: This can't be a Vermeer.

ARTHUR WHEELOCK: It can be a Vermeer.

STAMBERG: Curator Arthur Wheelock.

WHEELOCK: It's one of his very latest Vermeers, "The Young Woman Seated At The Virginal."

STAMBERG: But she's klutzy at her keyboard, graceless, sitting in a dark room - none of that ethereal, luminous² light Vermeer shines on his subjects. What's going on? He made it in the last year of his short life.

WHEELOCK: We know that he died suddenly and maybe ill. So I don't know what effect that might have on this quality.

STAMBERG: So little is known - just 35 or 36 paintings left in the world. The National Gallery is showing 10 of them - domestic scenes, most with that glorious, gentle light. "Lady Writing" from 1665 pours lemony sunshine onto the woman's ermine-trimmed, yellow jacket. Light strokes her quill³ pen. That's the Vermeer we know. There are lots of letter writing ladies in this exhibition, a favorite subject of several artists of the day - Ter Borch, Metsu.

WHEELOCK: The letter writing demonstrates one thing - the level of literacy in the Dutch Republic and the importance of education.

STAMBERG: Women were educated. They read. They wrote.

WHEELOCK: All levels of society were writing letters - also demonstrates the importance of the postal⁴ service. These letters got delivered.

STAMBERG: The women also played musical instruments. Vermeer and the virginals, also Dou and van der Neer - names we don't know, masters of genre⁵ painting everyday life. What was it about life in the Netherlands, then, that led to these paintings? Well, there was peace. After 80 years of war with Spain, the Dutch won their independence, beat the most important power in the world.

WHEELOCK: So there was a great sense of pride of who they were. And that feeling of pride is evident in every single painting in this room - a great sense of, we are a small country, but look at what we have done.

STAMBERG: Look at our gorgeous fabrics⁶, our oriental rugs, our glimmering⁷ pearls, our pets, parrots - so exotic - shipped in from Africa and Asia, patted and fed by sweet ladies. Caspar Netscher's woman is pretty and plump.

WHEELOCK: She is lovely. And she looks out at you very directly in a sort of come-hither look. And the way she's holding the little biscuit for the parrot makes you wonder if there's something sexual underlying⁸ that gesture. We don't really know.

STAMBERG: Most of the painted women look as virginal as those keyboards they play. But there is one exception on a 1659 canvas by Frans van Mieris, an artist who is right up there with Vermeer in his mastery of light, the sheen and luster⁹ of his fabrics. The picture's called "Brothel Scene." A smiling maiden¹⁰ tips her pewter pitcher¹¹ toward a red-cloaked soldier.

WHEELOCK: He's grabbing her apron¹² to pull her towards him. She's pouring a glass of wine. There's a couple in the back room. And there are couple of dogs that really make sure that you understand what kind of scene this is. So...

STAMBERG: The dogs are at.

WHEELOCK: They're at it.

STAMBERG: Dogs appear in plenty of these paintings, usually less passionate¹³ - King Charles spaniels. Dogs, rugs, ermine-trimmed jackets - the same objects pop up in many pictures. You wonder if carriages loaded up with these props¹⁴ were schlepped from Leiden to the Hague to Amsterdam to Delft and various painters' studios. Arthur Wheelock says some of the artists knew one another as teacher-student or drinking buddies¹⁵. They certainly knew one another's work.

WHEELOCK: They were familiar. Oh, yes, I saw that painting, and I'm going to do it in a very similar way. So there are very clear relationships.

STAMBERG: The National Gallery shows how many artists were at work in 17th-century Netherlands - many great ones, many just so-so. But among them all, Vermeer looms¹⁶ largest for his precision, the secrets in the faces he paints, the sheer beauty he shows us.

WHEELOCK: There's something that keeps these works so alive because you come back to them. And every time you see them, they're somehow different. It's not so much they have changed as you've changed. You come at a certain point when you're in a good mood or you're sad. And those different experiences inform how you actually approach the work of art.

STAMBERG: The pictures are proof that the 17th century was indeed the golden age of Dutch painting. In Washington, I'm Susan Stamberg, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF YVONNE TIMOIANU'S "VIOLONCELLI")

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 luminous   

adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的

参考例句：

• There are luminous knobs on all the doors in my house.我家所有门上都安有夜光把手。
• Most clocks and watches in this shop are in luminous paint.这家商店出售的大多数钟表都涂了发光漆。

3 quill   

n.羽毛管；v.给（织物或衣服）作皱褶

参考例句：

• He wrote with a quill.他用羽毛笔写字。
• She dipped a quill in ink,and then began to write.她将羽毛笔在墨水里蘸了一下，随后开始书写。

4 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

5 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

6 fabrics   

织物( fabric的名词复数 )； 布； 构造； （建筑物的）结构（如墙、地面、屋顶）：质地

参考例句：

• cotton fabrics and synthetics 棉织物与合成织物
• The fabrics are merchandised through a network of dealers. 通过经销网点销售纺织品。

7 glimmering   

n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I got some glimmering of what he was driving at. 他这么说是什么意思，我有点明白了。 来自辞典例句
• Now that darkness was falling, only their silhouettes were outlined against the faintly glimmering sky. 这时节两山只剩余一抹深黑，赖天空微明为画出一个轮廓。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

8 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

9 luster   

n.光辉；光泽，光亮；荣誉

参考例句：

• His great books have added luster to the university where he teaches.他的巨著给他任教的大学增了光。
• Mercerization enhances dyeability and luster of cotton materials.丝光处理扩大棉纤维的染色能力，增加纤维的光泽。

10 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

11 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

12 apron   

n.围裙；工作裙

参考例句：

• We were waited on by a pretty girl in a pink apron.招待我们的是一位穿粉红色围裙的漂亮姑娘。
• She stitched a pocket on the new apron.她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。

13 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

14 props   

小道具； 支柱( prop的名词复数 )； 支持者； 道具； （橄榄球中的）支柱前锋

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The government props up the prices of farm products to support farmers' incomes. 政府保持农产品价格不变以保障农民们的收入。

15 buddies   

n.密友( buddy的名词复数 )；同伴；弟兄；（用于称呼男子，常带怒气）家伙v.（如密友、战友、伙伴、弟兄般）交往( buddy的第三人称单数 )；做朋友；亲近（…）；伴护艾滋病人

参考例句：

• We became great buddies. 我们成了非常好的朋友。 来自辞典例句
• The two of them have become great buddies. 他们俩成了要好的朋友。 来自辞典例句

16 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》