评论
打印
The most unexpectedly uplifting and consoling artist of the 20th century was the abstract painter Mark Rothko, the high priest of grief and loss who spent the latter part of his career turning out a succession of sublime and sombre canvases that spoke, as he put it, of the 'tragedy of being human'.
20世纪最令人感到振奋和安慰的艺术家是抽象画家马克·罗斯科，他是悲伤和失去的大祭司，在职业生涯的后半段创作了一系列绝妙而阴郁的油画，用他的话说，这些油画讲述了“人类的悲剧”。
Born in Dvinsk, Russia, Rothko emigrated to the United States at the age of ten and immediately grew to despise the aggressive good cheer and steely optimism of his adopted land.
罗斯科出生于俄罗斯的德文斯克，十岁时移民到美国，并立即开始鄙视他的第二故乡声势浩大的欢乐和坚定的乐观主义。
Appalled by the sentimentality around him, Rothko learnt to make art that was insular, unrelenting, sombre and oriented towards pain.
罗斯科被身边丰富的情感吓坏了，开始创作孤独、无情、阴郁和以痛苦为主导的艺术。
Rothko's favourite colors were a burnt burgundy, dark grey, pitch black and blood red, occasionally, alleviated by a sliver of yellow.
罗斯科最喜欢使用的颜色是勃艮第红、深灰、墨黑和鲜红色，偶尔还会有一丝黄色。
In 1958, Rothko was offered a large sum to paint some murals for a soon to be opened opulent New York restaurant, the Four Seasons on Park Avenue.
1958年，有人给罗斯科一大笔钱，让他为即将开张的豪华纽约餐厅——林荫大道上的四季餐厅——画一些壁画。
It was, as he put it, 'a place where the richest bastards of New York will come to feed and show off.'
用他的话说，这是“纽约最富有的私生子们吃饭和炫耀的地方”。
His intentions for them became clear: 'I hope to ruin the appetite of every son of a bitch who ever eats in that room,' and to that end, Rothko set to work on some large black and maroon colour fields expressing a mood of terror and archaic anguish.
他对食客们的态度变得很明显：“我希望毁掉每一个在那里吃饭的狗娘养的家伙的胃口。”因此，罗斯科开始利用大片的黑色和栗色，营造恐惧氛围，体现远古的痛苦。
However, shortly before the paintings were due to go on display, Rothko had a change of mind, called up his patrons, explained his feelings - and sent back the money.
然而，在画作即将展出前不久，罗斯科改变了主意，打电话给他的赞助人，说明了他的感受——然后把钱退了回去。
He then gave his paintings to London's Tate Gallery, where they were hung in a quiet airy contemplative-seeming space, that enclosed the viewer in an atmosphere of meditative mortification.
之后，他将自己的画作捐献给了伦敦的泰特美术馆，挂在一个安静、通风、像是陷入沉思的空间里，让参观者陷入一种冥想的窘迫。
The paintings remain ideal companions for visitors who drift into the gallery at their wits' end, who might be working through the loss of a partner or the ruin of their career - and who need more than anything else to know that they are not alone.
对于那些手足无措走进画廊的参观者来说，这些画作是理想的伴侣，他们可能刚刚失去伴侣或经历职业生涯的毁灭——他们最需要的是知道自己并不孤单。
Rothko's canvases - though focused on the darkness - are never themselves depressing to look at because they lend our difficulties, dignity and legitimacy.
罗斯科的画布虽然聚焦于黑暗，但看起来并不令人沮丧，因为它们让我们看到了困境、尊严和合理性。
To bathe in their atmosphere is to gain a distinct sense of comfort, like lying in a tender person's arms who says little other than a modest 'I know' in response to our dejection and loss.
沐浴在画作的氛围中，我们会获得一种特有的舒适感，就像躺在一个温柔的人怀里，面对我们的沮丧和失落，他只会谦逊地说一句“我明白”。
With Rothko as our guide, our pain and sorrow can matter a little less.
有了罗斯科作为向导，我们就不会那么痛苦和悲伤了。
We can start to rediscover a taste for life when we see that we're not alone in finding it all very hard; that it is acceptable, even necessary, sometimes to hate the smiling 'bastards' who so annoyed Rothko.
当我们发现自己并不是唯一一个认为生活很艰难的人，当我们明白，有时恨那些让罗斯科如此恼火的，微笑着的“混蛋”是可以接受的，甚至是必要的，我们就能重新体味生活的味道。
We can build friendships - imaginative or real - around shared honesty about dark things.
我们可以围绕对黑暗事物共同的真诚建立友谊——无论是想象中的还是真实的。
Unhappiness is just - as wise artists have always liked to remind us, and despite the suggestions of all those confident-seeming people congratulating themselves in the world's fancy restaurants - very normal indeed.
正如明智的艺术家们总是喜欢提醒我们的那样，尽管那些自信的人总是在世界各地的豪华餐厅里洋洋得意，但不快乐其实真的是一件非常、非常正常的事情。
