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Waterhouse, and Heroines on Canvas 凝睇艺术：沃特豪斯画作之美

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No matter how skillfully a historical, mythological, or fictional character is depicted in words, it is often through art that they are immortalized and become part of society’s consciousness. Just as Botticelli brought the Roman love goddess to life in The Birth of Venus, John William Waterhouse is held in high regard for artworks which have similarly put an unforgettable face on some of the world’s best-known figures.

不论描写历史、神话、或小说虚构人物的文字多么生动巧妙，只有透过艺术的诠释才能让他们升华，成为众人共同记忆的一部份。就像波提切利透过《维纳斯的诞生》这幅画作赋予生命给罗马的爱之女神一般，约翰．威廉．沃特豪斯也同样地以令人印象深刻的方式诠释世界各个最知名的故事人物而闻名。

Waterhouse was born in 1849 to British parents in Rome, Italy. Ten years later, the family moved to London where, in 1871, Waterhouse was accepted into the Royal Academy of Art. Waterhouse found galleries to exhibit his work and gained recognition and popularity with ease. His 1874 painting, Sleep and His Half-Brother Death, and his 1876 work, After the Dance, firmly put the artist on the road to success. Waterhouse employed many Pre-Raphaelite principles, but his work is also neo-classical. For this, Waterhouse is dubbed “the modern Pre-Raphaelite.”

沃特豪斯生于1849年，父母亲是英国人，但是一家住在意大利的罗马。十年之后，全家搬到伦敦，也就是日后1871年沃特豪斯获得皇家艺术学院入学资格的所在地。沃特豪斯找到了几间画廊展示他的画作，并且因此轻松打开知名度、受到热烈欢迎。1874年的作品《睡神与他同母异父的兄弟死神》和1876年的作品《舞蹈之后》让这位艺术家稳稳地步上成功之路。沃特豪斯运用了许多前拉斐尔画派的原则，但是他的画作也算是新古典画派。因此，沃特豪斯被称为「现代前拉斐尔画派」画家。

Perhaps the most beautiful and most famous of his work are The Lady of Shalott (1888) and Ophelia (1894). The Lady of Shallot is based on a woman in Arthurian legend who dies because Lancelot fails to return her love, while Waterhouse’s Ophelia will forever be connected with Shakespeare’s tragic heroine. Cleopatra (1888) is another example of a woman portrayed by Waterhouse’s hand, but there were many more, including Shakespeare’s Juliet and the mythological Medea.

沃特豪斯最美丽也最知名的作品也许是《夏洛特小姐》（1888年）以及《奥菲丽亚》（1894年）。《夏洛特小姐》取材于阿瑟王传奇故事中的一名女子，由于蓝斯洛特-加龙省无法响应她的爱情而香消玉殒；而《奥菲丽亚》则是源于莎士比亚的悲剧女主角。《克利奥派翠拉》（1888年）也是出自沃特豪斯之手的一幅女性肖像，但是沃特豪斯描绘的女子还不仅只有这些，还有像是莎士比亚的朱丽叶以及神话故事中的米蒂亚。

Waterhouse died in 1917. Many of his 200 works are lost, but what survives can be seen in galleries in England, Germany, and Australia. In any case, Waterhouse’s iconic representations of literary and mythological females certainly give credence to the claim that a picture is worth a thousand words.

沃特豪斯去世于1917年。他两百幅画作中，有许多已遗失。不过其余保存的画作仍可于英国、德国及澳洲的美术馆观赏。无论如何，沃特豪斯对于文学与神话中女性角色，深具代表性的描绘与诠释无疑地证明了图像可抵千万言。

－by Alice Davis

Vocabulary

单词发音

mythological [͵mɪθəˋlɑdʒɪk!] adj. 神话的

immortalize [ɪˋmɔrt!͵aɪz] v. 使永恒；使不朽

consciousness [ˋkɑnʃəsnɪs] n.（个人或群体的）意念；意识

gallery [ˋgælərɪ] n.画廊

return [rɪˋtɝn] n. 回答; 回应 to answer or respond

heroine [ˋhɛro͵ɪn] n. 女英雄，女杰

iconic [aɪˋkɑnɪk] adj. 标志性的

More Information

成语发音

be hold in high regard 被尊敬   to think well of someone or something

put a face on  赋予...面貌.  to give the appearance of being satisfied etc with something when one is not

with ease 容易地; 从容地  easily; without much effort

give credence to someone or something 相信, 信任, 使可信  to consider someone or something as believable or trustworthy

picture is worth a thousand words 一幅图画胜过千言万语  pictures convey information more efficiently and effectively than words do

Reading Questions

1.    Which of the following might John William Waterhouse be most likely to paint?

(A)  Guan Yu, the Chinese god of war, also called Guandi.

(B)  Cupid, the Roman god of desire and symbol of romantic love.

(C)  Jane Austen, an English novelist who died in 1817.

(D)  Fantine, a poverty-stricken, sickly female character in Les Miserables.

2.    Which statement is true about Waterhouse’s early career?

(A)  After the Dance was Waterhouse’s first painting.  

(B)  Waterhouse struggled to find a place to display his work.

(C)  Waterhouse studied at a London art institution.

(D)  Waterhouse’s early fame quickly slipped away.

3.    Which of these is NOT mentioned as one of the heroinesWaterhouse painted?

(A)  Venus, the Roman love goddess.

(B)  The playwright William Shakespeare’s Juliet.

(C)  Medea, a woman in Greek myth.

(D)  The Egyptian queen, Cleopatra.

The Birth of Venus

The Lady of Shalott

Ophelia

Cleopatra

Juliet

Medea

Answer