Level 3 Reading 11A

Ch.21

第21章

Reading 11A VAN GOGH'S WORLD Starry nights and sunflowers, self-portraits and café settings—all painted in bold, intense colors. Today, people around the world immediately recognize these as the work of Vincent van Gogh, the Dutch painter. Probably no other artist, at any time in any culture, has achieved such popularity. But who was this man and why, even today, do his art and life have such an ability to move us? An Artist Is Born Vincent van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853, in Zundert, a small village in southern Holland. As a child, he was serious and sensitive. He loved to draw, and his work showed talent, but no one encouraged him to become an artist. Instead, his father thought he should take a "sensible" job—something like a salesclerk or carpenter. As a young adult, he wandered from job to job with little success and very little money, becoming more depressed with each failure. In March 1880, however, just before his 27th birthday, something changed inside van Gogh. He realized that he was meant to be a painter, and he began to study art in Brussels, receiving financial help from his brother Theo. Discovering Color In 1886, van Gogh moved to Paris, hoping to learn more about the color techniques being used by Impressionist artists there. Instead of grays and browns, his work began to emphasize blue and red, and then yellow and orange. Soon he began to see life differently: Go slow. Stop thinking. Look around. You'll see something beautiful if you open yourself. These were the principles that guided his art. With his innovative color combinations, van Gogh wanted to show others how to better appreciate a flower, the night sky, or a person's face. Descent into Madness Few who lived in van Gogh's time appreciated his work, however. Many laughed when they saw his paintings, which hurt the sensitive artist terribly. In February 1888, he moved away from Paris to Arles, a town in southern France. Often he could not eat or sleep, and stayed up into the early morning hours painting. Days passed, and he spoke to no one. Following an argument with fellow artist Paul Gauguin, van Gogh took a razor and cut off his own earlobe.

阅读11A 梵高的世界 星光灿烂的夜晚和向日葵，自画像和咖啡馆的环境——所有这些都以大胆、强烈的色彩绘制。 今天，世界各地的人们立即认出这些是荷兰画家文森特·梵高的作品。 在任何文化的任何时候，可能都没有其他艺术家如此受欢迎。 但这个人是谁，为什么，即使在今天， 他的艺术和生活能打动我们吗？ 一位艺术家诞生了 文森特·梵高于1853年3月30日出生在荷兰南部的一个小村庄宗德特。 小时候，他严肃而敏感。 他喜欢画画，他的作品也很有天赋，但没有人鼓励他成为一名艺术家。 相反，他的父亲认为他应该找一份“明智”的工作——比如售货员或木匠。 作为一个年轻人，他从一份工作流浪到另一份工作，几乎没有成功，也没有多少钱， 每次失败都会变得更加沮丧。 然而，1880年3月，就在梵高27岁生日前，他的内心发生了变化。 他意识到自己注定要成为一名画家，于是开始在布鲁塞尔学习艺术， 从弟弟西奥那里得到经济援助。 发现色彩 1886年，梵高搬到巴黎，希望更多地了解色彩技巧 被那里的印象派艺术家使用。 他的作品开始强调蓝色和红色，然后是黄色和橙色，而不是灰色和棕色。 不久，他开始以不同的眼光看待生活： 慢慢来。别想了。看看周围。如果你打开心扉，你会看到一些美丽的东西。 这些是指导他的艺术的原则。 梵高想用他创新的色彩组合向别人展示如何更好地欣赏一朵花， 例如天空、夜空或人的脸。 陷入疯狂 然而，生活在梵高时代的人很少欣赏他的作品。 许多人看到他的画都笑了，这深深地伤害了这位敏感的艺术家。 1888年2月，他从巴黎搬到了法国南部的阿尔勒。 他经常吃不下也睡不着，熬夜画画。 几天过去了，他没有和任何人说话。 在与艺术家保罗·高更发生争执后，梵高拿起剃刀割下了自己的耳垂。

He never explained why he injured himself, but by now, many were convinced that van Gogh was crazy, and, indeed, his mental health started to decline. He began to have attacks during which he would hear strange sounds and think people were trying to hurt him. In the spring of 1889, he was sent to a mental hospital in Saint-Rémy, a town near Arles. What exactly was van Gogh suffering from? No one knows for certain, but some now think it may have been a form of manic depression. Whatever his condition, van Gogh's illness both inhibited and inspired his creativity. When his attacks came, he could not paint. But during his periods of calm, he was able to complete more than a hundred masterpieces, including the classic The Starry Night. "Working on my pictures," he wrote, "is almost a necessity for my recovery." Following his release from the hospital in May 1890, van Gogh took a room in Auvers-sur-Oise, a town just north of Paris. For the 70 days that he lived there, he produced, on average, a painting a day. Until his death, however, he was unable to sell a single one; today, those paintings would be worth more than a billion U.S. dollars. It was at this time that van Gogh either borrowed or stole a gun. On the afternoon of July 27, 1890, he went out to the country and shot himself in the stomach. Two days later, Vincent van Gogh died at age 37. What caused him to take his own life—his lack of financial success, mental illness, loneliness? Van Gogh's Legacy Over a century after his death, van Gogh remains extremely popular. His story—of a man who resisted materialism and greed, who was alone and unappreciated—gives people something they need. We find pieces of ourselves in him. This may also explain the high prices paid for van Gogh's work. His Portrait of Dr. Gachet sold in 1990 for more than $80 million to a Japanese businessman, breaking the world record for a painting. Many of his other works have also sold for millions. Of course, people are buying great art when they purchase one of van Gogh's paintings, but they are also buying a piece of his story, which, like his work, will live on forever.

他从未解释过自己为什么受伤，但现在，许多人都相信梵高疯了， 事实上，他的心理健康状况开始下降。 他开始发作，期间他会听到奇怪的声音，并认为有人试图伤害他。 1889年春天，他被送往阿尔勒附近圣雷米镇的一家精神病院。 梵高究竟遭受了什么痛苦？ 没有人确切知道，但现在有些人认为这可能是一种躁狂抑郁症。 无论他的病情如何，梵高的疾病都抑制并激发了他的创造力。 当他的攻击来临时，他无法画画。 但在他平静的时期，他能够完成一百多部杰作， 包括经典的《星夜》。 “处理我的照片，”他写道，“几乎是我康复的必要条件。” 1890年5月出院后，梵高在瓦兹河畔奥维尔住了一个房间， 巴黎以北的一个小镇。 在他居住的70天里，他平均每天创作一幅画。 然而，直到他去世，他一个也卖不出去； 如今，这些画作的价值将超过10亿美元。 就在这个时候，梵高要么借了枪，要么偷了枪。 1890年7月27日下午，他去了乡下，朝自己的肚子开枪。 两天后，文森特·梵高去世，享年37岁。 是什么导致他自杀的——他缺乏经济上的成功、精神疾病、孤独？ 梵高的遗产 梵高去世一个多世纪后，他仍然非常受欢迎。 他的故事——一个抵制物质主义和贪婪的人， 他独自一人，不受赏识，给了人们他们需要的东西。 我们在他身上找到了自己的碎片。 这也可以解释梵高作品的高昂价格。 他的Gachet博士肖像于1990年以超过8000万美元的价格售出 一位日本商人打破了绘画的世界纪录。 他的许多其他作品也卖出了数百万美元。 当然，当人们购买梵高的画作时，他们是在购买伟大的艺术品， 但他们也在购买他的故事，就像他的作品一样，将永远流传下去。

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