ArtSleuth

大哉問

The moon,

月亮

a church,

教堂

a cypress tree.

柏樹

A picture by Vincent van Gogh.

這是梵谷的作品之一

A peaceful night in the country?

是鄉村的寧靜夜晚嗎?

Yet

其實不然

repose seems unlikely beneath that angry sky,

寧靜似乎不容於這片憤怒的天空之下

In fact, Van Gogh painted this nightscape in a lunatic asylum,

事實上 這幅夜景是梵谷是在精神病院時畫的

a year before he killed himself.

就在他自殺的前一年

The rebellious cry of a genius ahead of his time?

是不容於時代的天才 反抗的吶喊嗎?

While his contemporaries succumb to the city’s bright lights,

世人推崇城市燈光時

Van Gogh flees Paris and gives us a stressed-out urbanite’s dream.

梵谷離開了巴黎 並透露出一絲城市生活艱困的氣息

So - let us find release in the madness of art,

讓我們在藝術的狂熱中尋求片刻舒緩

and reconnect with the quiet pleasures of country life.

並與靜謐 快意的鄉村生活重新連結吧

Is his frenzied vision of night and stars simply that - a longing for the past?

星星與夜空的狂亂繪法 僅是對往事的渴求嗎?

Van Gogh - The Starry Night - Transfigured Night

梵谷的變異星空

Part 1 : Madness -with Method

第一部分 狂熱: 繪法

Is his picture the spontaneous product of insanity?

梵谷的畫 是精神異常下的自然產物?

A rash conclusion:

有人妄下定論:

Van Gogh’s nightscape dates from 1889 - when astronomy is attracting amateur enthusiasts, inspired by a string of popular handbooks,

梵谷於1889年完成《星空》 當時一系列科普書籍轟動一時 致使許多業餘人士熱衷於天文學

containing the first-ever photographs of the night sky.

書中包含前所未有的夜空照

This spiral, for example, is based on a real nebula.

《星空》中的螺旋 便仿自真實星雲

Venus, nearing the end of its cycle, was unusually bright that year

即將遠離地球的金星 那年也格外明亮

And the moon is just as the painter might have seen it from his cell ...

月亮則應該是從房間裡看見的

… before dawn on 25 May 1889

就在1889年5月25日前的某個晚上

But the view from Van Gogh’s window stops short at a wall.

但窗前的一面牆卻擋住了他的視野

So he invents a landscape,

因此他自行想像出完整的夜景

adding the cypress and the village steeple,

他加上了柏樹與尖塔

which give the picture depth

塑造畫面的高度

and structure it.

也構出比例

And even the wild spiral keys in the vanishing point, directly below it.

螺旋消失的中心點 就在畫面中心的正上方

If sanity rules the composition,

若構圖以穩健為基

surely madness powers the turbulent brushwork?

狂亂顯然增添了力度

Van Gogh is working so fast he leaves part of the canvas bare!

他一下子就完成了 有些地方甚至還沒上色呢

In fact, his handling of the paint strengthens the contrast between the picture’s two halves.

事實上 梵谷的筆法更加強了畫面的上下對比

At the bottom, the houses are outlined in black, like the figures in a stained glass window,

底部的建築描上黑邊 與彩色玻璃窗的人物如出一轍

the trees resemble dense skeins of wool,

樹木就像濃密的羊毛

and the earth has a carved solidity,

地表起伏卻不失殷實

while the sky swirls and surges, like a shoal of fish,

夜空迴旋而洶湧 彷如魚群

and the starlight spreads outward in concentric waves.

星光以同心圓向外發散

In short, the picture’s pulsing movement is a conscious effect, and Van Gogh uses it to create a powerful opposition between:

簡言之 梵谷刻意繪出如此澎湃的畫面 是為了形塑強烈對比:

the earth’s tangible solidity, and

地表的固實

the sky’s wave-like dynamism.

與夜空的湧動

Viscous as tar, vibrant as flame, the cypress links them like a bridge.

如焦油般黏實而熱情如火 柏樹就像橋樑連接著彼此

Why does Van Gogh pump all this drama into a potentially peaceful nightscape?

梵谷為何要為原本寧靜的夜景 注入這些性質呢?

Part 2: Night -danger and deliverance

第二部分 夜晚: 面臨與解除危機

Van Gogh’s vision of night...

梵谷眼中的夜晚

as a star-filled sky,

星光熠熠

has been preceded by another - night as a time of release, when the day’s work is done.

但卻比不上整日工作後 得以休息的夜晚

A massive contrast with those avant-garde artists who revel in the glitter and bustle of the after-hours city.

與沉溺午後時光 享受聲光酒色的前衛藝術家大相逕庭

Van Gogh takes a very different line

梵谷與眾不同

He sees the nobility of the peasants’ dimly-lit meal....

他尊崇鄉下人燈光昏黃的餐聚時刻

… and the bright city’s dehumanising effect on its denizens.

厭惡通明燈火對人們造成的非人性化影響

At first glance, primitive and gloomy ...

乍看之下也許原始 晦暗

This mealtime scene, where the eaters exchange looks and words

但在畫中 用餐的人彼此交流眼神與言語

in a single lamp’s consoling glow, is a celebration of well-earned rest from labour.

在單盞吊燈柔和的燈光下 慶祝辛勤工作後應得的休息時光

The family is united, like these small houses clustered round a single steeple, which stands for Christian belief.

家人齊聚一堂 如同圖中房舍圍繞著象徵基督教信仰的尖塔

Van Gogh is not the first to celebrate the peasants’ simple dignity:

首位描繪鄉村簡樸生活的人並非梵谷

his revered predecessor, Jean-François Millet, has been there first.

而是備受景仰的畫壇前輩米勒

The sense of communion with heaven and earth which pervades Millet’s “The Angelus”...

天堂與人間的交流 在米勒的《晚禱》中表露無遺

makes Van Gogh’s pictures of nightlife in the city seem like visions of hell.

也使得梵谷筆下的夜生活 彷彿置身地獄

In “The Dance-Hall in Arles”, the light which brings people together has gone, and a swarm of dim lamps have taken over.

在《阿爾的舞廳》中 沒有聚集人群的明亮燈光 只有幾盞昏黃的吊燈

Individual dancers seem lost in the whirling, hysterical throng.

許多人彷彿迷失在狂亂的人群中

This is an all-night café, and an all-night haze of alcohol envelops it.

這是一間通宵營業的咖啡廳 酒氣瀰漫 直至天明

The complementary reds and greens combine garishly

紅綠兩種互補色 華麗地合而為一

a billiard table replaces the respectable piece of furniture in the family kitchen:

撞球桌取代了樸實的餐桌

a passion for gaming has sapped these people’s strength, and also their ability to connect with one another.

對賭博的投入使顧客精疲力盡 無法與他人交流

The drunks adrift on the edges of the picture seem to be shrivelling, like moths,

醉客在圖畫邊緣游移 像飛蛾一般

in the burning glare of these three false suns.

撲向人造的三顆太陽 被灼熱的燈光燒乾

In these pictures, Van Gogh seems to be using Japanese print techniques to unmask the falsity of modern life.

在這些作品中 梵谷運用了浮世繪法 揭穿現代生活的假面

Exploiting the emotional power of black outline,

以極富情感張力的黑線描邊

sudden shifts of viewpoint,

迅速接換視角

and harshly contrasted complementary colours,

並巧妙利用對比鮮明的互補色

he pits the star-filled sky’s eternal order against the city’s tinsel and glitter.

他以星星永恆的位置 與城市華而不實的燈火相抗衡

But the outcome is uncertain.

結果卻不盡人意

The sky may be solid and convincing,

夜空或許濃密厚實

but the stars look pale and insipid …

星星卻顯得黯淡無光

beside the livid glare of streetlamps reflected in water.

相較於路燈倒映水中的刺眼光芒 尤其明顯

Van Gogh has discovered what we now call “light pollution”:

梵谷當時便發現了“光害”

artificial light blinds us to the stars

人造光使我們看不見星星

and even invades the cities’ surroundings - like this streetlamp, which shows that yet another slice of countryside will soon be absorbed,

甚至侵入市郊 這盞路燈彷彿在說 城市的另一邊也即將淪陷

or this NASA satellite image, over a century on from Van Gogh, where the earth itself resembles a star-filled sky

百年後的今日 在美國太空總署的衛星影像中 地球就像一片璀璨星空

Before trying again, Van Gogh retreats from Arles to a village…

重新振作前 梵谷離開阿爾 來到一個村落

where his brushwork changes radically.

在此 他的筆觸徹底改變

The earth becomes as solid and immutable as the heavens,

地表與天空相似 堅實而不朽

while the sky and stars take on the pyrotechnic sharpness and dynamism…

夜空與星星變得鮮明且極具張力

of modern artificial lighting.

勝過人造光

The result is spectacular but - frankly - over the top: this is genius run mad - yet again!

此舉再次顯現他非常人的觀點 儘管世人無法參透 卻實屬創舉

Why is Van Gogh so bent on glorifying the power of the heavens?

梵谷為何如此執著於讚揚天空的力量呢?

Is forgetting the stars really such a big deal?

遺忘星星 真的這麼嚴重嗎?

Part 3: Night strikes back

第三部分 夜的反擊

Regardless of what Van Gogh and other artists do with it, the night sky fascinates us because it puts us in touch with two fundamental things

無論梵谷或其他藝術家如何描繪夜空 我們總會驚艷於夜空的兩個特質:

beauty and the sublime.

綺麗與崇高

The classic vision of the heavens is that of an immense vault, which is beautiful because it stands for order and perfection.

古時認為天空是個巨型拱頂 象徵秩序與完美 因而顯得美麗

Seen from afar, the bright and everlasting stars

從遠處看 永恆 明亮的星星

seem utterly remote from our drab and battered world, where change and corruption are the norm!

總是離我們那麼遠 我們的世界單調 破舊 不斷改變與墮落

Modern physics may have shattered this innocent vision, but the yearning for perfection remains.

現代物理學也許駁斥了這無知的想法 卻仍不減人們對完美的嚮往

Van Gogh sees the star-filled sky as a map, and death itself as a kind of space shuttle.

梵谷認為星空是張地圖 而死亡是一架太空梭

“The sight of the stars sets me dreaming quite as simply as do the black dots which denote towns and villages on a map.”

"星星使我做夢 就如同地圖上代表小鎮與村落的黑點"

“I think it not impossible that cholera and cancer may be celestial means of locomotion...

"我認為霍亂與癌症 也許是通往天境的工具"

... like steamships, omnibuses and the railway.”

"就像輪船 公車與火車"

His two nightscapes are the product of this vision:

梵谷的兩幅夜景 皆以下列概念為出發點:

The first, where the sky seems a divine and unchanging canvas, and his treatment of the stars is conventional,

第一 天空是神聖 永恆的畫布 但星星則以傳統方式描繪

and the second, where the cypress - the traditional cemetery tree - evokes death, which transports us from our world to the realm of celestial light.

第二 墓地常見的柏樹使人想起死亡 死亡能帶人離世 前往天光之境

But the latter also reflects a more modern response to the heavens - a response linked with a sense of the infinite and the immense.

後者亦衍生出人們對天堂更新潮的思維: 無限與無垠

In the world of music, the vault of heaven recurs as the image behind this set design for Mozart’s “Magic Flute”.

音樂世界中 拱頂出現在莫札特《魔笛》的這一幕

But the tingling sublimity which we feel in the Queen of the Night’s aria no longer reflects a yearning for order, but a sense

但在夜后的詠嘆調中 這份揪心的崇高不再是對秩序的嚮往

of our littleness in the face of immensity.

而是面對無限時 對渺小的體認

In architecture, too, holes in the vaulting of Etienne-Louis Boullée’s huge Cenotaph for Isaac Newton simulate starlight and make humans ant-sized.

建築方面 在布雷獻給牛頓的巨型紀念碑上 孔洞模擬了星光 使人類自覺渺小

Both celebrate reason’s triumph over imagination : the Queen of the Night is vanquished by Sarastro’s wisdom, and Boullée salutes Newtonian science - the “mathematical sublime”

兩者皆慶讚理性勝於想像: 薩拉斯妥智退夜后 布雷則向牛頓的"數學崇高"致敬

Immensity is also Van Gogh’s theme in his second nightscape.

無垠亦是梵谷第二幅夜景的主題

He breaks new ground by giving his sky the elemental power, effectively captured by other artists, of:

他賦予天空自然界的力量 以達到創新 尤其是其他藝術家常用的力量 例如:

volcanoes

火山

avalanches

雪崩

and floods.

與洪水

He is celebrating, not scientific knowledge, but the willpower

他為意志喝采 而非科學新知

which enables human beings to defy even forces which threaten to destroy them.

意志使人藐視力量 而這些力量卻可能毀滅人類

This is the “dynamic sublime”, as embodied in minute, but steadfast figures who stand firm against the elements.

這便是"力學崇高" 其具體表現為堅決對抗大自然的小人物

In El Greco’s seventeenth-century vision of Toledo, the cathedral forms an unshakable landmark beneath the stormy sky.

17世紀的葛雷柯認為 托雷多大教堂是暴風雨中不可動搖的地標

Van Gogh shifts these elemental forces to the star-filled sky above Saint-Rémy’s proud steeple,

梵谷將這些自然界的力量 移轉至聖雷米引以為傲的尖塔之上

where reason, not madness, guides his brush, and this nondescript Provençal village acquires mythical status,

作畫時梵谷相當理性 而這個原先沒沒無聞的普羅旺斯村落 卻因梵谷而被奉為神話

as a sublime fixed point in a world rocked and buffeted by the swirling currents of modernity.

儘管被現代渦流衝擊 它仍然屹立不搖

Special thanks : English translation Vincent Nash

特此感謝 英文字幕翻譯: 何泰穎 Eddy Ho