羅丹：永遠的思想者

A life-sized figure of a nude male sits on a rock with his chin resting in one hand, as if lost deep in thought. The Thinker, the work of French sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840–1917), has been impressing people for generations. This legendary artist gained worldwide fame with his numerous sculptures with a distinct style.

他赤身裸體坐在一塊石頭上，單手拖住下巴，仿佛陷入了深深的沉思——這座真人大小的雕塑正是出自法國雕塑家奧古斯特•羅丹(1840–1917)之手的《思想者》。它給一代又一代人留下了深刻印象。這位傳奇的藝術大師因其許多別具一格的雕塑作品而聞名于世。

The National Museum of China is hosting a retrospective show of Rodin’s creations until March 22, 2015. The show is his largest ever in China and displays 139 classic works created by the progenitor of modern sculpture. The sculptures are provided by the Rodin Museum in Paris.

(2014年11月28日)至2015年3月22日，羅丹雕塑回顧展在中國國家博物館舉行。此次展出的139件展品都是出自現代雕塑鼻祖羅丹之手，這也是迄今為止在中國最大規(guī)模的羅丹藝術展。所有展品均來自巴黎羅丹博物館。

Departing from the idealism of the Greeks and the decorative beauty of the Baroque and neo-Baroque movements of the 1600s in Europe, Rodin introduced innovative practices that paved the way for modern sculpture. Instead of focusing on traditional themes like mythology and allegory, he modeled the human body with realism and celebrated individual character and physicality. This was the key to his success and few other artists can rival him.

既有別于古希臘的“理想主義”，也與歐洲17世紀巴洛克與新巴洛克時期的華麗風格不同，羅丹的創(chuàng)新地奠定了現代雕塑的基石。神話、寓言等傳統(tǒng)主題不再是他作品的焦點，相反，他以現實中的人為模型，贊頌人的身體和精神。羅丹因此獲得成功，成為無人能敵的藝術家。

His genius was to express inner truths of the human psyche. His sculpture emphasized the individual and the concreteness of flesh, and suggested emotion through detailed, textured surfaces and the interplay of light and shadow. Every part of the body speaks for the whole in his work. Imagine in the sculpture The Thinker, the grip of the toes, the rigidness of his back, and the differentiation of his hands all indicate the male passion and power.

羅丹的偉大之處在于表達出了人類的深層精神內涵。他的雕塑強調個體性與肉體的具體性;通過細膩而充滿質感的表面、以及光與影的運用表達情感。他作品中的每個部分仿佛都在說話。《思想者》就是代表之一：緊縮的腳趾、堅硬的后背、與眾不同的兩手無不展現出男性的激情與力量。

Unlike many artists, Rodin didn’t establish his distinct artistic style or a credible list of works until he was in his 40s. Rejected by the prestigious art school Ecole des Beaux-Arts three times, Rodin worked as a decorative bricklayer for nearly two decades, from the late 1850s to late 1870s.

與很多藝術家不同，羅丹一直到不惑之年才形成自己獨特的藝術風格、并擁有了一系列成功的作品。連續(xù)三次被巴黎美術學院拒之門外后，羅丹當了近二十年的砌磚工(從十九世紀五十年代至十九世紀七十年代)。

But later a fateful trip to Italy in 1875 stirred Rodin’s inner-artist. He drew inspiration from Italian sculptor Michelangelo and other sculptors of the Renaissance. His first great piece The Age of Bronze was created at that time. Later, he spent much time exploring alternative techniques such as assembling existing fragments. This dedication resulted in creative pieces such as The Gates of Hell, which included several hundred figures.

直到1875年，到訪意大利的“命運之行”激發(fā)了羅丹內心的藝術渴望。意大利雕塑家米開朗基羅和其他文藝復興時期的雕塑家給了他靈感。他的第一個偉大作品《青銅時代》就是創(chuàng)作于這個時期。隨后，他花費了大量時間鉆研各種各樣的新技法，比如將已有的碎片進行組合。這些努力成就了他的許多創(chuàng)新之作——比如擁有一百多個形象的《地獄之門》。

He believed that art should be true to nature, a philosophy that shaped his attitudes toward models and materials.

羅丹堅信藝術應是忠實于自然，這種理念影響了他對模特與材料的態(tài)度。