Why The Circus Fascinated Modern Artists?

来源: http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170306-why-the-circus-fascinated-modern-artists

Point:
fascinate 使着迷; 使神魂颠倒; 蛊惑
Eg: 我由衷地相信她有使他神魂颠倒的力量, 相信她有令人眼花缭乱的姿色.
I believed devoutly in her power to fascinate him, in her dazzling loveliness.

[1] Painters from Seurat to Matisse were drawn to the circus – not just for its drama and colour, but for the melancholy and alienation it could also represent, writes Alastair Sooke.

Point:
be drawn to 被...所吸引
Eg:（1） 一个优雅的女孩怎么会被一个粗俗的男人所吸引呢 ?
How can a refined（举止优雅的） girl be drawn to such an unrefined man?
（2）为此,我国在对外开放金融市场的同时应注意几个方面的问题。
So attention should be drawn to several aspects while we open the financial market.
melancholy [ˈmelənkɑli] 忧郁; 悲哀; 愁思; 闷闷不乐
Eg: 他笑容忧郁地凝视着我，闪亮的眼睛里空无一物。
He fixed me with those luminous, empty eyes and his melancholy smile.
alienation [ˌeɪlɪə'neɪʃn] 离间; 疏远; （觉得周围环境与自己格格不入的）疏离感; 离心离德
Eg:（1）她与世界脱节的感觉消失了。
.Her sense of alienation from the world disappeared.
疏离感是她小说的一个重要的主题.
Alienation is a central motif in her novels.

Reading Guide：
总起段落，说到了两位艺术家 Seurat和Matisse在绘画作品中迷恋“马戏团”题材，不仅仅是因为戏剧效果和丰富的色彩，更是马戏团所隐含的的那种忧郁感和疏离感。

[2] In 1888, a radical young painter called Georges Seurat submitted an imposing canvas to the fourth Salon des Indepéndants, an annual exhibition in the French capital showcasing revolutionary art. It was a nocturnal scene, depicting a troupe of musicians attempting to entice passers-by to roll up, roll up, and buy tickets for a travelling circus.

Point:
radical 根本的，基本的; 激进的; 彻底的
Eg :这样将出现极左或极右的情况。
There will be a radical swing to the right or the left.
submit 使服从，使顺从; 提交，呈送; [法]主张，建议
Eg :我已请每个人在会议之前提交问题。
I had asked everyone to submit questions in advance of the meeting.
imposing adj印象深刻的; 壮观的，威风的
Eg : (1)一座宏伟的城堡。
a grand and imposing building
山势崔巍.
The mountains stand tall and imposing.
showcasing 玻璃柜台，玻璃陈列柜; 显示优点的东西
nocturnal [nɒkˈtɜ:nl] 夜的，夜间的; （动物）夜间活动的; （植物）夜间开花的; [乐]夜曲的
Eg : (1)夜行动物,如蝙蝠和猫头鹰只在夜里才出来.
Nocturnal animals such as bats and owls only come out at night.
在这无情的季节里,在这可怕的夜间,我在乡野徘徊.
I wander about the dread nocturnal countryside of this inhuman season.
6. troupe [trup] n. 剧团，戏班子; 一班，一团
vi.巡回演出
Eg : (1) 我观看了一个巡回剧团演出.
I watched a troupe of travelling actors.
剧团已经同意续演一期.
The troupe has agreed to be held over for another stanza( [ˈstænzə])节; （戏剧等在某一地点的）演出期; 〈美〉运动比赛的段落; 局，场. )
entice [ɛnˈtaɪs] 诱惑; 怂恿
Eg : 低廉的价格意在把顾客从其他商店吸引过来。
The bargain prices are expected to entice customers away from other stores.
8. roll up 到达，出现
Eg : 快来呀，快来呀，来一起看“地球上最精彩的演出”。
Roll up, roll up, come and join The Greatest Show on Earth.
9. travelling circus （表演的）巡回马戏团

Reading Guide：
描绘了“ the fourth Salon des Indepéndants”展览里，Seurat参展的作品：一群音乐家试图怂恿路人聚集起来购买马戏团表演的票。

[3] In the middle, on a pedestal, beneath a row of gas jets that illuminate the scene, a trombonist wearing conical headgear plays his instrument, supported by four ragtag musicians in bowler hats. To the right, beside a buffoonish entertainer with a slicked-up quiff, a haughty ringmaster, with a puffed-out chest and impressive moustache, surveys the action. Beneath them, members of the public, seen in silhouette, watch the show.

Point:
pedestal [ˈpɛdɪstəl] 底座，基座; 根底，基础;受人尊敬的地位
Eg: 那次失败将我赶下了神坛。
That failure knocked me off my pedestal.
illuminate [ɪˈlu:mɪneɪt] 照亮，照明; 阐明，说明; 装饰; 使灿烂
Eg: 这条街上没有照明的路灯。
No streetlights illuminated the street
3. trombonist [trɒmˈbəʊnɪst] 长号手
4. conical [ˈkɑnɪkl] 圆锥 （形）的
5. headgear 头饰，帽子
6. ragtag [ˈræɡˌtæɡ] 贱民，下等人
7. bowler hat [ˈboʊlə(r)] 圆顶高礼帽
8. buffoon [bəˈfun] 愚蠢的人; 傻瓜; 逗乐小丑; 滑稽的人
Eg: 这个政客在那场辩论中真是丑态百出.
That politician acted like a buffoon during that debate.
slicked-up极好的；漂亮的; 打扫干净的，收拾整洁的
Eg: 妈妈是一个把东西料理得整齐美观的能手.
Mother is a great one for keeping things slicked up.
quiff [kwɪf] 一缕头发，（尤指）额发
haughty [ˈhɔti] 傲慢的，骄傲的; 目中无人的; 自大的
Eg: 他们讨厌她高傲的派头.
They were displeased with her haughty airs.
12. ringmaster [ˈrɪŋmæstə(r)] 马戏表演领班[指挥
13. puffed-out 挺起,吐出
Eg: 他鼓起瘦瘦的脸颊，像模像样地模仿着他的爸爸。
He puffed out his thin cheeks in a passable imitation of his dad.
14. silhouette [ˌsɪluˈet] n. 轮廓，; 体形; 形状; vt. 使呈现影子; 使呈现轮廓
Eg: (1)我能看到夜幕下它黑色的轮廓.
I could see its black silhouette against the evening sky.
他勾勒出这个城市的轮廓.
.He drew the city in silhouette.

Reading Guide：
Seurat这件作品的细节描写

[4] Seurat probably encountered a scene just like this in the spring of 1887, when the travelling Corvi Circus set up at the Gingerbread Fair held annually on the outskirts of Paris. Strangely, though, given the raucous nature of his subject, with loud music and a crowd of jostling onlookers, Seurat imbued the finished painting with a restrained, stately air. More than a century after it was created, Circus Sideshow (1887-88) remains a haunting and mysterious work of art.

(Before the advent of cinema, the circus was one of the most popular forms of mass entertainment)

Point:
encounter 不期而遇; 遭遇; 对抗
Eg: 我曾意外地遇到过一条毒蛇,吓得我要命.
I had a frightening encounter with a poisonous snake.
raucous [ˈrɔkəs] 粗声的，沙哑的; 刺耳的
Eg: (1) 一群吵闹的年轻人
a group of raucous young men .
厨房里的谈笑声粗鲁地传过来.
The laughter in the kitchen grated on his ears ; It'sounded raucous, mocking.
jostle [ˈdʒɑsl]推挤，撞; 使激动; 与…竞争，争夺; 贴近
Eg: (1) 用肘推挤
To push or jostle with the elbow.
不要推我 !
Don't jostle against me!
( jostling n. 推撞）
4. onlooker [ˈɑnlʊkə(r)]旁观者，目击者; 观众（等于spectator）
5. imbue 灌输; 使感染; 浸染
Eg: 他成功激发起雇员的团队精神.
He managed to imbue his employees with team spirit.
restrain [rɪˈstren] 抑制，压抑; 限定，限制; 制止; 监禁
Eg: 她没能克制住自己，起身走向电话。
Unable to restrain herself, she rose and went to the phone.
stately [ˈstetli] 庄严的; 高贵的; 雄伟的; 富丽堂皇的
Eg: (1) 他没像平时那样优雅庄重地走着，而是几乎跑了起来。
Instead of moving at his usual stately pace, he was almost running.
天鹅在池面上优美地游动.
The stately swan glides gracefully on the pond.
8. haunting 萦绕心头的; 不易忘怀的; 无法甩脱的; 给人以强烈感受的
9. mysterious 神秘的，诡秘的; 难以理解的，不可思议的，玄妙的

Reading Guide：
作者在推想Seurat在当时的创作背景。

[5] A new exhibition, Seurat’s Circus Sideshow, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, places this masterpiece in context – beside related studies as well as works by other 19th-Century artists tackling the same theme. And it leaves us in no doubt that Seurat was far from the only modern artist fascinated by the circus.

Point:
masterpiece [ˈmæstərpis] 杰作，名作; 杰出的事
Eg: 这本书是真正的名著.
This book is a real masterpiece.
context [ˈkɑntekst] 上下文; 背景; 环境; 语境
Eg: 我会将它放入上下文中进行具体解释。
I would qualify that by putting it into context.
3. tackle n. 抱住，卷起 v.解决( tackle的现在分词 ); 应付; 与某人交涉; 向某人提起
Eg: 各个政党处理这个问题时都屡屡失败。
Time and again political parties have failed to tackle this issue.

Reading Guide：
（话题转折，另一个总起段落）在纽约的大都会艺术博物馆，新展览作品里还有 其他19世纪艺术家展出了同样主题的艺术作品。其实Seurat并不是唯一一个队马戏团着迷的现代艺术家。

[6] In fact, if we consider the development of modern art, it quickly becomes apparent that, like Seurat, artists from Renoir and Degas to Picasso and Matisse all felt compelled to depict the circus.

Point:
compelled to 被迫
Eg: （1）我觉得从道义上我必须帮忙。
I felt morally compelled to help.
敌人被迫放下武器。
The enemy were compelled to lay down their arms.

Reading Guide：
像Seurat一样，像雷诺西亚，德加，毕加索和马蒂斯的艺术家都用自己的画笔描绘过马戏团的题材。

[7] To understand why, we must cast our minds back to a time, before the advent of cinema, when the circus was one of the most popular forms of mass entertainment, alongside the café-concert (the French equivalent of the music hall).

Point:
alongside 在…旁边; 横靠; 傍着
Eg: （1）各种重工业沿着港口逐渐发展起来。
A variety of heavy industries grew up alongside the port.
他穿过街道，沿着中央公园走。
He crossed the street and walked alongside Central Park.
equivalent [ɪˈkwɪvələnt] 相等的，相当的，等效的; 等价的
Eg: （1）那样调换她的工作等于是解雇她.
Changing her job like that is equivalent to giving her the sack.
这个词在英语中没有令人满意的对应词.
This word has no satisfactory equivalent in English.
点头就等于说 “ 赞同 ”
Nodding your head is equivalent to saying " yes ".

Reading Guide：
作者提出了疑问，为什么呢？为什么会热衷于画“马戏团“呢？

In on the act

Point:
In on the act 在行动上
Eg: （1）其他中国科技企业也在采取行动。
Other Chinese tech companies are getting in on the act.
众多的时尚设计师利用他们的聪明才智运用到电子产品上.
Celebrities are getting in on the act too.

[8] “Absolutely everybody went to the circus,” says Richard Thomson, professor of fine art at the University of Edinburgh, and guest curator of Seurat’s Circus Sideshow at the Met. “Working-class people went to the travelling fairs, which came on a regular basis and were very cheap. But there were also chic circuses. There was a circus in Paris in the 1880s, called the Cirque Molier, which was really for society people – one of the acrobats was the Duke de La Rochefoucauld. He performed a trapeze act with an artist called Theo Wagner, who had been at the École des Beaux-Arts, the art school in Paris, with Seurat. It was extremely fashionable.”

Point:
curator [kjʊˈreɪtə(r)] 馆长; 监护人; 管理者
acrobat 杂技演员; 立场观点善变的人，主张、政见等变化无常的人
acro定点,高点+bat打斗→在高处打斗→杂技演员
3. trapeze [træˈpiz] 高空秋千

Reading Guide：
强调马戏团在当时的社会背景：人人都去马戏团看表演，并且列举出了一个叫做Cirque Molier的马戏团，它在当时是非常时尚的哦。

[9] On a straightforward level, the appeal of the circus for artists needs little explanation: all those tumblers and clowns in bright costumes offered painters a rich, ready-made subject full of dynamism and drama. “Artists have always been interested in the circus, because, as a visual spectacle, it’s very exciting,” explains Thomson.

Point:
straightforward 直截了当的，易懂的，简单的，笔直的，坦率的
Eg: （1）这个问题看起来够简单的。
The question seemed straightforward enough.
（2）巧言不如直说.
A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.
tumbler [ˈtʌmblɚ] 翻跟斗的人
clown 丑角，小丑
dynamism [ˈdaɪnəˌmɪzəm] 活力; 精力，魄力; 劲头
Eg: （1）这些变化是经济腾飞的标志。
Such changes are indicators of economic dynamism.
每次来，都对这座城市的发展活力和独特魅力有新的感受。
Every time I come, I get a fresh impression of the city's strong dynamism and unique charm.

Reading Guide：
总结出了原因一：因为马戏团戏剧性的艺术效果，在视觉上能让人兴奋。

[10] The Met’s show demonstrates that, long before Seurat, caricaturists such as Daumier were getting in on the act. Like Seurat, Daumier depicted the circus ‘parade’ (or sideshow) – a temporary structure, erected outside the big top, on which acrobats and musicians performed excerpts of their acts for free, to drum up business.

Point:
1. caricaturist ['kærɪkətʃʊərɪst] 讽刺画家，漫画家
2. parade [pəˈred] v.游行; 展览; 招摇过市; 接受检阅;n.检阅; 游行; 一系列; 炫耀
Eg: 赤裸裸的展示某人的野心
parade ones ambition nakedly.
erect [ɪˈrekt] 使直立，使竖起; 建立，创立; 安装
Eg: （1）她长腿细臀，身姿笔直。
Her legs were long and fine, her hips slender, her carriage erect.
她昂着头,把背挺得笔直.
She held her head erect and her back straight.
excerpt [ˈeksɜrpt] 摘录; 引用; 摘要; 节录
Eg: 你能从报纸上选录些东西吗?
Can you excerpt something from the newspaper?
drum up 招徕，鼓吹
Eg: (1) 我们应鼓起人们对这项工作的劲头.
We should drum up enthusiasm for the work.
我们为我们的新产品揽一些顾客.
Let's drum up some buyers for our new products.
(3)我要找个借口下周好来看你.
I will drum up an excuse for coming to see you next week.

Reading Guide：
早在Seurat之前，像Daumier这样的漫画家已经有创作过“马戏团”表演的题材了。本段的后半部分说的是Daumier漫画的作品细节。

[11] Daumier drew parallels between saltimbanques – the French word for circus performers, derived from the Italian saltimbanco (someone who jumps on a bench) – and politicians, who were similarly desperate to catch the interest (and, in their case, votes) of the masses.

Point:
saltimbanque ['sæltɪmbæŋk] 骗子，江湖骗子，江湖医生,滑稽演员
derive from 由…起源; 取自
Eg: 如果这样, 他指望从中得到什么慰藉呢?
If so, what comfort did he expect to derive from it?
3. bench [bɛntʃ] 长凳，工作台; 法官，法官席; 议员席; 场边的运动员休息区;
vt. 给…以席位; 为…设置条凳

Reading Guide：
Daumier作品当中细节描绘，以及相关词汇的来源。

[12] But other factors, beyond simple spectacle, contributed to the appeal of the circus for modern artists. “Their fascination was varied and complex,” explains Thomson, “but one aspect was that the circus was constantly changing.”

Point:
spectacle [ˈspɛktəkəl] 眼镜; 奇观，壮观; 光景，景象; 表演，场面
Eg: 目击了这一奇异的景象.
A curious spectacle was witnessed.
complex [kəmˈpleks] 复杂的
Eg: 这个方案牵涉到许多复杂的技术问题。
This project involves a lot of complex technical problems.
constantly 不断地，时常地; 时刻
Eg: 他总是卿卿我我地跟女朋友煲电话粥。
He's constantly on the phone to his girlfriend being soppy（一味情意缠绵的，感情过于丰富的，多愁善感的）.

Reading Guide：
刚才了解了原因之一，本段又是一个总起段落，将要介绍画家们喜欢把“马戏团”纳入创作题材的原因之二：魅力多变且复杂

[13] Since the Middle Ages, the circus had been an integral part of time-honoured travelling fairs, which were deeply embedded in French culture. Beginning in the 1860s, though, impresarios in Paris and elsewhere began to capitalise on the increasing popularity of the circus by erecting permanent rings, with fixed seating.

Point:
integral [ˈɪntɪgrəl] 完整的; 积分的; 必须的
Eg: 焦虑是人类的基本生存状况之一。
Anxiety is integral to the human condition.
time-honoured因古老而受到尊重的，确立已久的; 由来已久
Eg: （1）这种风俗 由来已久.
This is a time - honoured custom.
是黄金, 久经时间考验的风险规避投资者的避风港.
Gold, of course , the time - honoured haven of the risk - averse investor.
embed [ɛmˈbɛd] 把…嵌入; 栽种; 深留（记忆中）
Eg: 其中一颗子弹射穿了安德烈亚的胸部，打入一面墙中。
One of the bullets passed through Andrea's chest before embedding itself in a wall.
4. capitalise [ˈkæpɪtlˌaɪz] 利用; 使资本化; 把…大写

(The circus' association with melancholy and alienation stirred a generation of artists )

Reading Guide：
简述了马戏团的历史，以及在法国文化当中的历史地位。只有了解了马戏团的文化基础，从而探知艺术家为何对它们如此钟爱。

[14]“Circuses needed to present new spectacles to keep the punters coming in,” explains Thomson. “And that sense of modern momentum and need for change and innovation – of being on the edge, being up to date – attracted artists who were conscious of their own modernity, and interested in the spectacle of modernity, such as Renoir and Degas.”

Point:
1. punter ['pʌntər] 下赌注者
2. momentum [moʊˈmentəm] 势头; 动力; 要素，契机
Eg: 这式样很流行,而且越来越流行.
The style prevails and picks up momentum.
3. conscious [ˈkɑnʃəs] 有意识的，神志清醒的; 自觉的，有意的

Reading Guide：
马戏团自身的特性，正是契合了现代艺术的需求：创新性（因为马戏团代表着一种更新的状态，不仅表演形式保持新鲜感，场景也是需要不断变化，不断创新。这样才足以吸引下注者来观看）

[15] In 1879, for instance, Renoir painted two young female acrobats at the Cirque Fernando, a Parisian circus founded four years earlier, and situated in a working-class area at the foot of the hill of Montmartre, not far from other places of popular entertainment such as the Moulin Rouge.

Reading Guide：
举例：Renoir的作品

[16] Degas, too, frequented the Cirque Fernando. Also in 1879, he painted one of its most sensational acts, involving an acrobat known as Miss La La, who was pulled up to the rafters of the circus dome by a rope clenched between her teeth. The painting’s vertiginous composition, looking upwards at the acrobat, who hangs precariously in mid-air, is striking and original.

Point:
frequent [ˈfrikwənt] 常去，时常出入，与...经常往来
Eg: 警察视察了嫌疑犯时常出没的所有酒吧。
Police visited all the bars that suspect frequented.
sensational [senˈseɪʃənl] 轰动的; 耸人听闻的; 极好的; 绝妙的
Eg: （1）专家们一致认为这的确是一场精彩绝伦的演出。
Experts agreed that this was a truly sensational performance.
她的嗓音非常动听。
Her voice is sensational.
pull up to 追赶上
Eg:（1）她即将赶上我们了.
She's going to pull up alongside us.
费了很大力气才到达山上的小屋.
It was a hard pull up to the mountain hut.
4. rafter [ˈræftə(r)] 椽; 筏夫
5. rope 粗绳; 绳索; 一串; 学会决窍，知道决窍
6. clench [klɛntʃ] 紧握，抓紧
Eg:（1）她只得咬紧牙关压住怒气。
She had to clench her jaw to suppress her anger.
幸福就像流星, 谁是那个陪我抓住流星的人.
Happiness seems meteor, who can accompany to me clench it.
vertiginous [vɜrˈtɪdʒɪnəs] 头晕的，引起头晕的; 多变化的
Eg: 从小路向谷底望去令人眩晕。
From the path there was a vertiginous drop to the valley below.
8. mid-air 空中；半空中
9. striking显著的; 引人注目的; 容貌出众的; 妩媚动人的
Eg: (1) 金发细腰的她太引人注目了，他们很难不注意到她。
Blonde and slender, she was too striking to escape their attention.
她酷似她姐姐。
She bears a striking resemblance to her older sister.

Reading Guide：
德加在1879年的绝妙作品和作品的细节。通过对细节的描写，大家能感受到马戏团的特点和它被描绘在画布中，给人的另外一种观感。

[17] “It’s a marvellous painting,” says Thomson. “But also, I think, something of a pun – because by drawing attention to this figure going upwards, it’s like a religious painting of the Ascension. So, it’s a bit of a joke at the expense of pious imagery from the past.”

Point:
1. marvellous [ˈmɑːrvələs]不可思议的; 惊奇的; 极好的; 绝妙的
Eg: 那是个美妙的下午，出席人数众多
It was a marvellous afternoon with a huge turnout of people.
2. pun [pʌn] 双关语; 俏皮话
3. pious [ˈpaɪəs] 虔诚的，信神的; 伪善的; 尽责的，孝敬的; 可赞的，好心的
Eg: (1) 我们需要的不是善意但难以实现的宣言，而是实际行动。
What we need is not manifestos of pious intentions, but real action.
他的态度是真心实意的同情。
His attitude is compassionate without being pious.
4. imagery [ˈɪmɪdʒri] 比喻，形象化的描述; 意象; 肖像，雕像

Reading Guide：
他人对于这幅画的解读。

Clowning around

[18] While the innovations of the modern circus excited artists associated with Impressionism, such as Renoir and Degas, other aspects – chiefly, its association with melancholy and alienation – stirred the generation of artists that followed them, including Seurat. (In 1891, Seurat died suddenly, at the age of 31, leaving behind another major, albeit unfinished, scene filled with circus entertainers.)

Point:
chiefly [ˈtʃifliː] adv. 首先，第一; 主要; 尤其; adj.领袖（般）的
Eg: 一个人的成功主要靠自已.
A man's success depends chiefly on himself.

Reading Guide：
马戏团对于印象派的激发，原因主要是马戏团还带有忧郁和异化，疏离感的色彩——也是文章的原因之三

[19] By the end of the 19th Century, the notion of the sad clown was a firmly established trope. This idea stretched all the way back to Watteau’s ambiguous 18th-Century painting of a wan and solitary Pierrot, a stock character from the Commedia dell’arte, imbued with a sense of pathos.

Point:
notion [ˈnoʊʃn] 概念，观念; 意见，见解; 奇想; 打算
firmly [ˈfɜrmli] 坚固地; 稳固地; 坚定地; 坚决地
Eg: 他坚信做这件事至关重要。
He is firmly convinced that it is vital to do this.
trope [troʊp] 修辞，比喻
ambiguous 含糊的，不明确的; 引起歧义的
5. pathos [ˈpeɪθɒs] 悲怆，哀婉，凄楚，伤感; 痛苦; 同情
Eg: (1) 他的声音里有着多么难以形容的哀愁.
What unutterable pathos was in his voice!
它的基调流露出十分明显的凄怆.
Its tone is rather of an obvious pathos.

Reading Guide：
例子：19世纪末的，悲伤的小丑的概念诞生。

[20] Thomson explains: “There was a strong understanding of the myth of the sad clown – the clown or acrobat who does everything to entertain the public, and make them laugh, but is, himself, deep down inside, melancholy and alienated.”

Reading Guide：
对于“悲伤的小丑”内在意义的解读

[21] Why was this myth so attractive for artists such as Seurat? “Part of the fascination,” Thomson says, “was because travelling players lived on the edge. They were people with no fixed abode, who were reliant on good weather and the goodwill of the public. And being on the margins of society made them fragile.” He continues: “Artists identified with people on the edge of society. The painter trying to sell work that the bourgeoisie wasn’t interested in was like a clown – doing his best to entertain, but not always succeeding. So, circus performers became an equivalent for artists, who treated them almost autobiographically.”

Point:
1. abode [əˈboʊd] 住所; 公寓
2. reliant 依赖的; 依靠的; 信赖的; 信任的
Eg: 她聪慧自立，大胆直言，对蠢人没有耐心。
She is intelligent and self-reliant, speaking her mind and not suffering fools gladly.
3. goodwill 友好，亲善; 好感，青睐; （企业的）信誉，声誉; 商誉
4. margin [ˈmɑrdʒən] 边缘，范围; 极限; 利润，盈余
5. bourgeoisie [ˌbʊrʒwɑˈzi] 资产阶级; 中产阶级
6. equivalent [ɪˈkwɪvələnt] 相等的，相当的，等效的; 等价的
7. autobiographically 自传的，自传体的

Reading Guide：
“悲伤”的原因，生活在社会的边缘，居无定所，他们的职业充满不确定性，其实其中的一些工作性质和艺术家是相似的。所以他们会感同身受。【这一段很重要哦，道出了最最直接的原因】

[22] Certainly, this is what we find in the Rose or ‘circus’ period paintings of Picasso, who also frequented the Cirque Medrano. Family of Saltimbanques (1905), for instance, is the masterpiece of Picasso’s series of paintings of melancholic itinerant circus performers, who function as symbols for the artist and his circle. “These paintings go right back to the idea of the sad clown, and are very much about alienation and solitude,” Thomson says.

Point :
1. melancholic [ˌmelənˈkɑlɪk] 忧郁的
2. symbol 象征; 标志; 符号; 记号

Reading Guide：
在毕加索的画当中就能找到这个原因。

[23] One of the final flourishes of the circus as a subject in modern art, though, came in 1947, with the publication of Matisse’s spellbinding artist’s book, Jazz. This contains 20 colour plates bursting with circus performers, including acrobats, trapeze artists, a high-wire walker, a knife-thrower, an equestrienne, a sword-swallower, a ringmaster, and a white elephant balancing on a ball. Indeed, its original title was The Circus.

Point :
flourish 挥舞; 茂盛，繁荣; 活跃，蓬勃; 挥动
spellbind ['spelˌbaɪnd] 用符咒迷惑，迷住，使入迷
（keep sb spellbind使某人入迷）
Eg: 当魔术师从他的帽子里变出兔子和鸽子时，孩子们都看得着了迷。
The children watched spellbound as the magician produced rabbits and pigeons from his hat.
3. equestrienne [ɪˌkwestrɪ'en] 女骑手

Reading Guide：
马蒂斯的作品以及细节（课堂上我们会详细解读这幅图，然后对照文章，你会品出忧郁的味道）

[24] In other words, Jazz – which one art historian has described as “the closest thing to an autobiography that Matisse has left us” – is a late but brilliant example of the traditional identification between artist and performer – with an additional, poignant twist: Matisse worked on the cut-paper designs for Jazz while convalescing after a life-threatening operation, which had left him an invalid in 1941.

Point :
1. autobiography [ˌɔtəbaɪˈɑgrəfi] 自传; 自传文学
2. identification鉴定，识别; 验明; 身份证明; 认同
3. with an additional
4. poignant [ˈpɔɪnjənt] 尖锐的; 辛酸的; 深刻的
Eg: 他觉得看到她有种难以言喻的哀伤。
He thought the sight of her was inexpressibly poignant.
5. twist 扭成一束; 搓，捻; 绕，卷; 连结，交结
6. cut-paper 剪纸
7. convalesce [ˌkɑnvəˈles] 康复=recuperate
Eg: 手术后她正在家休养康复。

She is convalescing at home after her operation.
invalid n. 病人，病号; 残废者 v. 变得病弱
Eg: 她同她病弱的母亲住在郊区。
She resides with her invalid mother in a suburb.

Reading Guide：
介绍这件作品创作的背景，和马蒂斯当时的创作状态

[25]“How interesting that Matisse made Jazz right at the end of his life when he was physically frail ,” says Thomson. “And yet the imagery that he was dealing with was of gymnasts and vigorous movement. So, ironically, given the wonderful colour of his images, there is a sense of regret and loss as well. That double dimension – of joy and melancholy – is consistent throughout modern representations of the circus.”

Point :
1. frail [frel] 脆弱的，虚弱的; 意志薄弱的; 易损的，易碎的 <美俚>少女，少妇
2. imagery [ˈɪmɪdʒri]比喻 ; 意象,肖像，画像，雕像
3. gymnast [ˈdʒɪmnæst] 体操家，体操运动员
4. vigorous [ˈvɪɡərəs] 有力的; 精力充沛的; 充满活力的; 朝气蓬勃的
Eg: 他虽年老而依然健壮.
He is none the less vigorous for his years.
5. dimension [daɪˈmenʃn] 尺寸; 面积，范围，方面，部分

Reading Guide：
作品的细节处理和马蒂斯当时身体状况刚好吻合，如果了解了这样一个创作背景，欢愉和忧郁这种强烈的反差一定会让你震撼。

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