萨达姆的艺术口味(Saddam’s taste in art)

American artist Rowena Morrill - known¹ for fantasy-styled, brightly coloured works² - has told the BBC³ of her shock at the discovery of her paintings in Saddam Hussein's private collection. Morrill's sister first spotted⁴ the works during television coverage⁵ of the war on Iraq.

美国艺术家Rowena Morrill以作品充满幻想色彩，用色明艳著称。当她发现萨达姆.侯赛因的私人收藏中有她的作品，她显得十分震惊。Morrill的姐妹首先在伊拉克战争的电视报道上发现了她的作品。

 
She saw the pictures hanging on the wall of one of Saddam Hussein's private palaces, and immediately called Morrill.

"I was utterly[彻底地] stunned[惊呆]," Morrill told BBC World Service's Everywoman[平凡女人] programme.

She added⁶ that she had had "absolutely no idea" the Iraqi leader had purchased the two paintings.

Curious

Morrill added that she was intrigued[好奇] at his interest in her work.

"I can't say that I take anything coming from a quarter like that as a compliment[恭维]," she said.

"However I certainly think that - if in fact he was looking at my works and thinking anything - I'm very curious."

"I've always known that once I sell a piece it could end up anywhere.

"Of course I never dreamt that it would end up in a place like that."

Voluptuous⁷ priestess[奢华的女祭司]

Morrill's artwork is primarily[主要的] based on fantasy[幻想] images - and the paintings found in Saddam Hussein's palace were typical examples.

The first was of a priestess[女祭司] "who is very voluptuous[奢华的], draped[垂躺] over an altar[祭坛] in front of a stone demon[恶魔]," she said.

"She's hurling[猛掷] a magic snake monster[蛇怪] forward at the hero of the story, who's invading[入侵] the inner⁸ sanctum[密室] of the temple."

The other featured a green dragon, "flying down to get a girl who's chained to a rock".

"A lot of it is based on book covers, but I was living in Japan as a child, and probably that had some influence[影响]."

"I loved those wonderful Japanese ghost stories."

1 known   

adj.大家知道的；知名的，已知的

参考例句：

• He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。
• He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。

2 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

3 BBC   

abbr.（=British Broadcasting Corporation）英国广播公司

参考例句：

• She works for the BBC.她为英国广播公司工作。
• The BBC was founded in 1922.英国广播公司建于1922年。

4 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

5 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

6 added   

adj.更多的，附加的，额外的

参考例句：

• They have added a new scene at the beginning.在开头他们又增加了一场戏。
• The pop music added to our enjoyment of the film.片中的流行音乐使我们对这部电影更加喜爱。

7 voluptuous   

adj.肉欲的，骄奢淫逸的

参考例句：

• The nobility led voluptuous lives.贵族阶层过着骄奢淫逸的生活。
• The dancer's movements were slow and voluptuous.舞女的动作缓慢而富挑逗性。

8 inner   

adj.内部的，里面的；内在的，内心的；精神的

参考例句：

• The label is on the inner side of the box.标签贴在盒子内侧。
• Other people seek the mountains for renewal of their inner lives.另一些人到深山中去，寻求新的精神生活。