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The Man Who Became Picasso 抽象艺术的标竿：毕加索

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

There may have never lived another artist who could turn his hand to any style or mood as expertly as Picasso. His contribution to art cannot be underestimated and his name is known around the world.

从没有一位艺术家能像毕加索般，可以成功的转换到任何的格调与雅兴。毕加索对艺术的贡献不容被低估；他的名声响遍全世界。

Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain on October 25th, 1881. His father, also an artist, began teaching him to paint at a very early age – it’s rumored the boy was painting before he could speak. Throughout Picasso’s childhood, his artistic ability improved at an exceptional rate. By the age of 13, he was demonstrating such extraordinary talent that his father gave his son his paintbrush, swearing he would never paint again.

巴布罗．路易兹．毕加索于1881年10月25日出生于西班牙的马拉加。他的父亲也是位艺术家。父亲于毕加索极年幼时便开始教导他绘画。据谣传说毕加索在牙牙学语前就已会画画了。综观毕加索的童年时期，他的艺术才能以卓越速度不断精进。毕加索于13岁时即展现超凡的天份，父亲因而将笔刷传给毕加索，并誓言不再拾起画笔。

Picasso attended art school, painting in a realistic style, until he quit his studies just before the turn of the century. Breaking away from the academic side of art, he traveled to Barcelona. He frequented a bar called Els Quatre Gats (The Four Cats), and the artists and intellectuals who gathered there introduced Picasso to modernism. He met like-minded people, including a young painter named Carlos Casagemas. In 1990, the two men moved to Paris.

毕加索就读艺术学校时走的是写实派画风。这画风持续至毕加索辍学时，也是19世纪末。摒弃学术派的艺术风格后，毕加索前往巴塞隆纳。在巴塞隆纳时，他常到一间名为「四只猫」的酒吧，在那儿艺术家与知识分子介绍现代主义的思想给毕加索。毕加索遇到志趣相投的人们，如年轻画家卡洛斯．卡萨加马斯。毕加索与卡萨加马斯于1900年一同动身前往巴黎。

The buzzing art scene suited Picasso, and he began to express himself as a unique and groundbreaking artist. But tragedy struck when, in 1901, Casagemas committed suicide. The loss deeply affected Picasso, and he entered his “Blue Period,” which derives its name from the recurring use of the color in these works. Beggars, prostitutes, and alcoholics were the artist’s subjects, and he fell into dire financial straits. This continued until 1904, when the painter’s “Rose Period” began. The period was characterized by rose-tinted pictures, which revealed Picasso’s improved state of mind. He was in love and making money, and he began painting harlequins and circus people.

巴黎充满活力的艺术环境适合毕加索的发展。他开始崭露头角并成为一位独特与创新的艺术家。但悲剧却于此时降临。1901年，卡萨加马斯自杀，他的死对毕加索影响甚深，也使他进入「蓝色时期」。顾名思义，「蓝色时期」一词源自毕加索不断地以蓝色笔调作画，并以乞丐、妓女与酒鬼为主题。毕加索的经济情况于这段时期也陷入困顿。这种状况一直持续到1904年，此时毕加索跨入「粉红时期」。此时期的画风以充满粉红的画作为特点。「粉红时期」透露毕加索心境的好转：陷入爱河、有了收入、并开始以小丑和马戏团的人物作为画作主题。

Vocabulary

单词发音

turn one's hand to something/Ving (能够)担任某工作; 能轻易做好某事

contribution [͵kɑntrəˋbjuʃən] n. 贡献

underestimate [ˋʌndɚˋɛstə͵met] v. 低估

rumor [ˋrumɚ] v. 谣传；传说

artistic [ɑrˋtɪstɪk] adj. 艺术的

exceptional [ɪkˋsɛpʃən!] adj. 例外的,异常的,特别的

extraordinary [ɪkˋstrɔrdn͵ɛrɪ] adj. 非凡的

realistic [rɪəˋlɪstɪk] adj. 写实（派）的

frequent [ˋfrikwənt] v. 常到，常去，时常出入于

like-minded [ˋlaɪkˋmaɪndɪd] adj. 志趣相投的；看法相同的

buzzing ['bʌzɪŋ] adj. 热闹的; 充满活力的 noisy like the sound of a bee

dire [daɪr] adj. 极度的；紧迫的

strait [stret] n. 困境，危难

More Information

单词发音

expertly [ˋɛkspɚtlɪ] adv. 熟练地；巧妙地

paintbrush [ˋpent͵brʌʃ] n. 画笔；油漆刷

the turn of the century 世纪转变期

modernism [ˋmɑdɚn͵ɪzəm] n. 现代主义

suit [sut] v. 适合，中……的意

recurring [rɪˋkɝɪŋ] adj. 再发的；循环的

beggar [ˋbɛgɚ] n. 乞丐，叫化子

alcoholic [͵ælkəˋhɔlɪk] n. 酒鬼

tinted [ˋtɪntɪd] adj. [玻璃]有色的

harlequin [ˋhɑrləkwɪn] n.〔身穿鲜艳服装的〕滑稽角色﹐小丑

课文朗读

课文讲解

The art that we might say is most unmistakably Picasso, that most freely springs to mind when we think of him, was painted after the Rose Period. To the shock of some and praise of others, Picasso completed his first Cubist painting, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (The Young Ladies of Avignon), in 1907.

最令人无庸置疑的毕加索作品、或想到毕加索时马上想起的作品，都是在「粉红时期」之后的创作。1907年毕加索完成一幅褒贬参半的作品，也是他的第一幅抽象画：《亚维侬的姑娘》。

Georges Braque, who was very enthusiastic about the direction of Picasso’s art, collaborated with Picasso in an exploration of Cubism and where it could lead. In Cubist art, the individual features of a subject are broken down and painted from different points. The resulting paintings are abstract representations that often, at first, look little like the subject at all. They might resemble a series of shapes, specifically cubes – hence the name. Instead of simply imitating reality, cubism is a means to its own end. The concept of “art for art’s sake” was taken to another level.

对毕加索画作的发展充满热忱的乔治．布拉克与毕加索合作，一同探索立体派所能发展的境界。立体派艺术里，画中物体之各别特征被分解并由多个方向加以观察，产生的结果是抽象式的再现：常常第一眼望去，画里的物体与现实事物完全不同。画中事物似乎像是一连串的形体，尤其是立方体，因此这画派的名称为立体派。立体派不单单描绘现实，它的方法就是它的目的，并使绘画行为本身成为一种目标，「为艺术而艺术」的观念因而被提升到另一层次。

Picasso did not stay with this style for long, though he would return to it later. He continued to learn and experiment, and even returned to classic styles for a time.

虽然毕加索不时还会创作抽象画，但他这种风格并没有维持太久。他不停地学习与实验，有时甚至也回头画古典画。

In 1937, Picasso created one of his most famous, and most political, works: Guernica. It is a massive Cubist masterpiece, 11 feet tall and 25 feet wide, and it was created as a protest against the bombing of the Spanish town of Guernica. Picasso depicts pain and brutality through the black and gray shapes; the bull in the painting is often interpreted as destruction, and the horse is seen to represent those who suffered in the massacre.

1937年，毕加索画了一幅最有名、也最具政治意味的《格尔尼卡》。这幅立体派的巨幅杰作，高11英呎（约3公尺）、宽25英呎（约7公尺）。《格尔尼卡》是对西班牙小镇格尔尼卡被轰炸所做的抗议。毕加索透过画中黑、灰色的形体来描述苦痛与残忍。画中的公牛常被解读为毁灭，而马儿则代表大屠杀下的受害者。

Picasso died, aged 92, in 1973. He was incredibly prolific, incredibly famous, and incredibly influential. He once said of himself, “I was a painter and I became Picasso.”

毕加索于1973年去世，享年92岁。他创作丰富也极负名气，且具有极大影响力。他曾经这么谈论自己，「我是位画家，并成为毕加索」。

－by Alice Davis

Vocabulary

单词发音

unmistakably [͵ʌnməˋstekəblɪ] adv. 不会被误解地；不会弄错地

spring to mind 突然想到; 直接想到 be remembered

collaborate [kəˋlæbə͵ret] v. 共同工作；合作

exploration [͵ɛkspləˋreʃən] n. 探索

break down 把…分解成

imitate [ˋɪmə͵tet] v. 模仿；仿效

a means to an end 用以达到目的的方法(或事物、行动) something that you are not interested in but that you do because it will help you to achieve something else

for one's sake 为了.... 的缘故

for a time  暂时；一度

brutality [bruˋtælətɪ] n. 残忍，野蛮

prolific [prəˋlɪfɪk] adj. 〔艺术家﹑作家等〕多产的﹐ 作品丰富的

More Information

单词发音

Cubist [ˋkjubɪst] n. 立体派艺术家

masterpiece [ˋmæstɚ͵pis] n. 杰作，名作

massacre [ˋmæsəkɚ] n. 大屠杀，残杀

Reading Questions

1.  According to the article, what made Picasso a special artist?

A.  He was the most popular Spanish musician.

B.  He created his best work when he was just a child.

C.  He kept changing his style throughout his career.

D.  He never let his emotions influence his paintings.

2.  Which of the following might be a subject of a Picasso painting during his “Blue Period”?

A.  A poor man who just won the lottery.

B.  A pretty woman from a middle-class family.

C.  An old man who just lost his home.

D.  A happy young girl playing with her dolls.

3.  Which of the following is NOT true about Cubist art?

A.  Objects are often painted from different perspectives.

B.  Cubist artists tried to paint things as they appeared in reality.

C.  It can be hard to tell what the artist has painted.

D.  Many Cubists used different shapes, especially cubes.

4.  Where might this article appear?

A.  In a textbook about the history of modernism.

B.  In a magazine article about Picasso’s “Rose Period.”

C.  On a website about the U.S.’s greatest sculptors.

D.  In an art journal article that discusses Picasso’s influence.

Les Demoiselles d’Avignon

Guernica

Els Quatre Gats Cafe Barcelona

Pablo Ruiz Picasso - Artist Extraordinaire

Answer