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　　選修6英語課文及翻譯

　　Unit 1 A SHORT HISTORY OF WESTERN PAINTING 西方繪畫藝術的歷史

　　Art is influenced by the customs and of a people. Styles in Western art have changed many times. As there are so many different styles of Western art, it would be impossible to describe all of them in such a short text. Consequently, this text will describe only the most important ones. Starting from the sixth century AD. The Middle Ages(5th to the 15th century AD)

　　During the Middle Ages, the main aim of painters was to represent religious themes. A conventional artistof this period was not interested in showing nature and people as they really were. A typical picture at this time was full of religious symbols, which created a feeling of respect and love for God. 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.

　　The Renaissance(15th to 16th century)

　　During the Renaissance, new ideas and values gradually replaced those held in the Middle Ages. People began to concentrate less on

　　religious themes and adopt a more humanistic attitude to life.At the same time painters returned to classical Roman and Greek ideas about art. They tried to paint people and nature as they really were. Rich people wanted to possess their own paintings, so they coule decorate their superb palaces and great houses. They paid famous artists to paint pictures of themselves, their houses and possessions as well as their activities and achievements.

　　One of the most important discoveries during this period was how to draw things in perspective. This technique was first used by Masaccio in 1428. When people first saw his paintings, they were convinced that they were looking through a hole in a wall at a real scene. If the rules of perspective had not been discovered, no one would have been able to paint such realistic pictures. By coincidence,oil paints were also developed at this time, which made the colours used in paintings look richer and deeper. 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. Impressionism(late 19h to early 20th century)

　　In the late 19th century, Europe changed a great deal,from a mostly agricultural society to a mostly industrial one. Many people moved from the countryside to the new cities. There were many new inventions and social changes also led to new painting styles.

　　Among the painters who broke away from the traditional style of painting were the Impressionists, who lived and worke in Paris. The Impressionists were the first painters to work outdoors. They were eager to show how light and shadow fell on objects at different times of day. However, because natural light changes so quickly, the Impressionists had to paint quickly. Their paintings were not as detailed as those of earlier painters. At first, many people disliked this style of painting and became very angry about it. They said that the painters were careless and their paintings were ridiculous.

　　Modern Art(29th century to today)

　　At the time they were created, the Impressionist paintings were controversial, but today they are accepeted as the beginning of what we call “modern art”. This is because the Impressionists encouraged artists to look at their environment in new ways. There are scores of modern art styles,but without the Impressionists, many of these painting styles might not exsist. 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 n certain qualities of the object, using colour, line and shape to represent them. On the other hand, some paintings of modern art are so realistic that they look like photographs. These styles are so different. Who can predict what painting styles there will be in the future?

　　西方的藝術風格經歷了多次變革，而中國藝術所經歷的變革則比較少。藝術受到人民生活方式和信仰的影響，而中國，和歐洲不同，它的生活方式在很長時期里都是相近的。西方藝術風格多種多樣，在短短的一篇課文里不可能進行全面的描述。因此，本文只談從公元5世紀以來少數幾種主要的藝術風格。

　　中世紀（公元5世紀到15世紀）

　　在中世紀，畫家的主要任務是把宗教的主題表現出來。藝術家們無意于如實地展現自然和人物，卻著意體現對上帝的愛戴與敬重，因此，這段時期的繪畫充滿著宗教的信條。到13世紀時，情況已經開始發生變化，像喬托這樣的畫家們開始以一種比較現實的風格來畫宗教場景。

　　文藝復興時期（15世紀到16世紀）

　　在文藝復興時期，新的思想和價值觀取代了中世紀的思想和價值觀。人們開始更多地關注人而非宗教。畫家們回到了羅馬、希臘的古典藝術理念上。他們力爭如實地畫出人物和自然。富人們想為自己的宮殿和豪宅收集藝術品，他們高價聘請著名藝術家來為自己畫相，畫自己的房屋和其它財物，以及他們的活動和成就。

　　在此期間，最重要的發現之一就是如何用透視法來畫出事物。第一個在繪畫中使用透視法的人是馬薩喬，那是在1428年。當人們第一次看到他的畫時，還以為是透過墻上的小洞來觀看真實的場景，并對此深信不疑。如果沒有發現透視法，人們就不可能畫出如此逼真的畫。在文藝復興對期，油畫也得到了發展，它使得色彩看上去更豐富、更深沉。

　　印象派時期（19世紀后期到20世紀初期）

　　19世紀后期，歐洲發生了巨大的變化，從以農業為主的社會變成了以工業為主的社會。許多人從農村遷入到新城市。有著許多新發明，還有許多社會變革。這些變革也自然而然地導致了繪畫風格上的變化。在那些突破傳統畫法的`畫家中有生活和工作在法國巴黎的印象派畫家。

　　印象派畫家是第一批室外寫景的藝術家。他們想把一天中不同時間投射到物體上的光線和陰影呈現出來。由于自然光的變化很快，所以印象派畫家們必須很快地作畫，因此，他們的畫就不像以前那些畫家的畫那樣細致了。起初，多數人都討厭這種新式畫法，甚至還怒不可遏。他們說這些畫家作畫時漫不經心、粗枝大葉，而他們的作品更是荒謬可笑。

　　現代藝術（加世紀至今）

　　在印象派作品的創建初期，它們是存在著爭議的，但是如今已被人們接受而成為現在所說的"現代藝術"的始祖了。如今，現代藝術風格已經有好幾十種，然而如果沒有印象派，那么這許多不同的風格就不可能存在。印象派畫家幫助藝術家甩新的方渙來觀察環境與藝術。有些現代藝術養砷象的，《祖就是說,；畫家并不打算把我們眼睛看到的東西如實地畫出來，而是集中展現物體的某些品質特性，用色彩、線條和形狀把它們呈現出來。而另一方面，有些現代派的藝術作品卻是太現實了，它看上去就像是一張照片。預言將來繪畫藝術的風格倒是饒有興趣的一件事。