选修六Unit1 A SHORT HISTORY OF WESTERN PAINTING
西方绘画艺术简史
Art is influenced by the customs and faith of a people. 艺术是受着人民生活习俗和信仰的影响的。 Styles in Western art have changed many times. 西方的艺术风格经历了多次变革。 As there are so many different styles of Western art, it would be impossible to describe all of them in such a short text. 由于西方的艺术风格多种多样，在短短的一篇课文里不可能进行全面的描述。Consequently, this text will describe only the most important ones, starting from the sixth century AD.
因此,本文只谈及从公元6世纪以来最主要的几种艺术风格。
The Middle Ages (5th to the 15th century AD) 中世纪(公元5世纪到15世纪)
During the Middle Ages, the main aim of painters was to represent religious themes. 在中世纪,画家的主要任务是把宗教的主题表现出来。 A conventional artist of this period was not interested in showing nature and people as they really were. 一个传统的艺术家无意于如实地展现自然和人物。A typical picture at this time was full of religious symbols, which created a feeling of respect and love for God. 那个时期的典型的绘画充满了宗教的(象)特征,体现出了对上帝的爱戴与敬重。 But it was evident that ideas were changing in the 13th century when painters like Giotto di Bondone began to paint religious scenes in a more realistic way.但是,很显然到了13世纪时,观念发生变化,像乔托这样的画家开始以一种比较现实的风格来画宗教场景。
The Renaissance (15th to 16th century) 文艺复兴时期( 15世纪到16世纪)
During the Renaissance, new ideas and values gradually replaced those held in the Middle Ages. 在文艺复兴时期,新的思想和价值观逐渐取代了中世纪的思想和价值观。 People began to concentrate less on religious themes and adopt a more humanistic attitude to life. 人们开始较少关注宗教主题而采取一种更人性化的生活态度。 At the same time painters returned to classical Roman and Greek ideas about art. 同时画家们回到了罗马、希腊的古典艺术理念上。 They tried to paint people and nature as they really were. 他们力争如实地画出人物和自然。Rich people wanted to possess their own paintings, so they could decorate their superb palaces and great houses. 富人们想拥有自己的艺术品并用来装饰自己的高级宫殿和豪宅They paid famous artists to paint pictures of themselves, their houses and possessions as well as their activities and achievements.,他们出价聘请著名艺术家来为自己画像,画自己的房屋和其他财物,以及他们的活动和成就。
One of the most important discoveries during this period was how to draw things in perspective. 在此期间,最重要的发现之一就是如何用透视法来画出事物。 This technique was first used by Masaccio in 1428. 这一手法是1428年由马赛其奥第一次使用的。When people first saw his paintings, they were convinced that they were looking through a hole in a wall at a real scene. 当人们第一次看到他的画时,还以为是透过墙上的小洞来观看真实的场景,并对此深信不疑。If the rules of perspective had not been discovered, no one would have been able to paint such realistic pictures. 如没有发现透视法,人们就不可能画出如此逼真的画。 By coincidence, oil paints were also developed at this time, which made the colours used in paintings look richer and deeper. 巧合的是这一时期油画颜料也得到了发展,它使得绘画的色彩看上去更丰富、更深沉。 Without the new paints and the new technique, we would not be able to see the many great masterpieces for which this period is famous. 没有新的颜料和新的(绘画)手法,我们就不能看到很多使这一时代著名的杰作。
Impressionism (late 19th to early 20th century)
印象派时期( 19世纪后期到20世纪初期)
In the late 19th century, Europe changed a great deal from a mostly agricultural society to a mostly industrial one. 19世纪后期,欧洲发生了巨大的变化,从以农业为主的社会变成了以工业为主的社会。Many people moved from the countryside to the new cities. 许多人从农村迁入到新城市。There were many new inventions and social changes. 有着许多新发明,还有许多社会变革。Naturally, these changes also led to new painting styles. 这些变革也自然而然地促成了新的绘画风格。Among the painters who broke away from the traditional style of painting were the Impressionists, who lived and worked in Paris.在那些突破传统画法的画家中有生活和工作在法国巴黎的印象派画家。
The Impressionists were the first painters to work outdoors. 印象派画家是第一批室外写景的画家。They were eager to show how light and shadow fell on objects at different times of day. 他们急切地想把一天中不同时间投射到物体上的光线和阴影呈现出来。However, because natural light changes so quickly, the Impressionists had to paint quickly. 然而由于自然光的变化很快,印象派画家们必须很快地作画,Their paintings were not as detailed as those of earlier painters. 因此,他们的画就不像以前那些画家们的画那样细致了。 At first, many people disliked this style of painting and became very angry about it. 起初,许多人都不喜欢这种画法,甚至还怒不可遏。They said that the painters were careless and their paintings were ridiculous.他们说这些画家作画时漫不经心、粗枝大叶,而他们的作品更是荒谬可笑。
Modern Art (20th century to today) 现代艺术(20世纪至今)
At the time they were created, the Impressionist paintings were controversial, but today they are accepted as the beginning of what we call "modern art".在印象派作品的创建初期,它们是存在着争议的,但是如今己被人们接受而成为现在我们所说的“现代艺术”的始祖了。This is because the Impressionists encouraged artists to look at their environment in new ways. 这是因为印象派鼓励画家用一种崭新的视角看待他们的环境。There are scores of modern art styles, but without the Impressionists, many of these painting styles might not exist. 如今,现代艺术风格有好几十种,然而如果没有印象派,那么这许多不同的风格就不可能存在。 On the one hand, some modern art is abstract; that is, the painter does not attempt to paint objects as we see them with our eyes, but instead concentrates on certain qualities of the object, using colour, line and shape to represent them. 一方面,有些现代艺术是抽象的,也就是说,画家并不打算把我们眼睛看到的东西如实地画出来,而是集中展现物体的某些品质特性,用色彩、线条和形状把它们呈现出来。On the other hand, some paintings of modern art are so realistic that they look like photographs. 而另一方面,有些现代派的艺术作品却是那么写实,看上去就像是照片。These styles are so different.这些风格如此不同。Who can predict what painting styles there will be in the future?谁能预言将来会有什么样的绘画艺术风格?
