Encountering Botticelli in the Hallway
The women in the painting are exquisite and brilliant
提起文藝復興，腦中定會出現大名鼎鼎的三傑：達文西、米開朗基羅、拉斐爾。其實還有一傑也不遑多讓，那就是年長達文西七歲，兩人曾是「同學」的山德羅‧波提切利（Sandro Botticelli）。波提切利在眾傑之中獨樹一格，知名代表畫作的〈春〉（Primavera）與〈維納斯的誕生〉（The Birth of Venus），兩幅作品都屬於大型畫作，現皆存於佛羅倫斯的烏菲茲美術館（Uffizi Gallery）。
"Spring" (202cmx314cm) is painted on wood, and "The Birth of Venus" (172cmx279cm) is painted on canvas. The medium is tempera. Oil painting had already begun to be used, but Botticelli still insisted on using tempera. You must know that oil paints are slow-drying and highly malleable, and can be stacked layer by layer to produce rich tones, while tempera paints dry very quickly and lack elasticity, so they have to be applied one stroke at a time, layer by layer... . When I was looking at "Spring", I thought it was an oil painting! Botticelli is definitely the top representative in the tempera painting world!
舉凡特別有才氣的藝術家，大都被貼上「風流成性」的標籤；堪稱是女神製造機的波提切利，卻是位百分百的癡情漢。
在他筆下的女人各個美若天仙、氣質非凡，但仔細一看，原來都是同一個模特兒。若是不信，你可以將〈春〉與〈維納斯的誕生〉兩位女主角交換頭像。這位女主角就是西蒙妮塔（Simonetta Vespucci），據說當年整個義大利都為她傾倒！她在16歲時就嫁進與美帝奇（Medici）家族交好的偉斯普奇家族。要知道美帝奇家族當時政治經濟勢力強大，可是15至18世紀文藝復興時期最重要的推手，一眾藝術家的贊助者。在不方便對「老闆娘」公開示愛下，只能將對西蒙妮塔的愛慕寄情於畫中。美麗的西蒙妮塔於22歲時因肺結核撒手人寰，波提切利在失去惟一摯愛後，終身不娶，甚至要求死後能夠葬在她的腳邊。
一句話這樣形容：「女人要當波提切利的維納斯，男人要成為米開朗基羅的大衛。」〈維納斯〉是愛與美的代表。在波提切利筆下的她，有著少女羞澀的神情，形體卻是成熟女人的嫵媚。S型的身軀加上七分步，如此不平衡但又協調的站姿，已經深植人心，成為了一個符號。如今這「招牌站勢」仍可在許多場合見到！
Botticelli used the themes of Greek mythology to show smooth lines, soft contours, gorgeous colors, and full of poetry. From it, people can feel that the Roman gods are also "sensual" like human beings, showing the romance of joy and freedom in the world. On the other hand, when he painted icons, he revealed gentleness and kindness, presented a solemn "sacredness", and sought a deeper soul resonance.
以前對波提切利的了解，只停留在兩幅名作，尤其是喜歡〈春〉。其中的〈美惠三女神〉（The Three Graces），她們身上披著紗衣，仙氣飄飄；肢體互相優雅地串連，舞出律動。畫中充滿了植物與鮮花，無論是象徵美帝奇家族財富累累的金橘樹，還是依據佛羅倫斯當地盛開所描繪的花朵……，而每一朵花也正反映了作者的心思縝密與超群的技巧。
In Matthew 6:28-29, Jesus said:「你想野地裡的百合花，怎麼長起來，他不勞苦，也不紡線，然而我告訴你們，就是所羅門極榮華的時候，他所穿戴的，還不如這花一朵呢。」
The mission of a flower is to bloom beautifully and be worthy of the world's gaze. Being able to display flowers in such exquisite colors is the painter's response to the Creator's gratitude. Because of this, I personally feel that the Flower Goddess in a gorgeous flower robe is better than Venus in the C position!
From beautiful flowers to heavy confession
The talented Botticelli set up his own business at the age of 25 and opened a personal painting studio. The Medici family was extremely fond of Botticelli and ordered a large number of paintings from him. Under the dual political and economic protection of the Medici family, Botticelli blossomed with unique brilliance in Florence's upper class society and literary and artistic circles!
However, the good times did not last long, and the Medici family fell into an economic crisis. After the death of the ruler Lorenzo, the French King Charles V invaded Florence, and the Medici family was expelled. A Mesquite monk named Girolamo Savonarola became Florence's "spiritual and temporal leader." This man was an extreme ascetic who opposed the art and philosophy promoted by the Renaissance as immoral luxuries. These are the people that the Medici family is keen to support, and they naturally become the targets of criticism. In 1497, in the square of Florence, a fire called the "Fire of the Vanities" was set up, and thousands of works of art, books, cosmetics... were burned, just because these were all vanities. Symbols can lead people to sin.
想不到，波提切利竟然轉向追隨薩佛納羅拉。為了響應號召，也將自己的作品丟擲於火堆之中，從此捨棄以往的繪畫風格。幸好，一些如〈春〉與〈維納斯的誕生〉，都是美帝奇不對外公開的私人收藏，否則也難逃被燒毀的結局！從此以後，波提切利的風情不復返，再也沒有飄飄倩影與滿地鮮花，取而代之的則是懺悔的主題與沉重的色調。〈房內的聖奧古斯丁〉（Saint Augustine in His Cell），便是受薩佛納羅拉委託，在此時期的畫作。
Why did Botticelli change so dramatically? If he had a firm and confident attitude, just like he could stick to tempera paintings, wouldn't he be able to not deny himself easily and follow the crowd? On the other hand, Brother Savonarola not only openly persecuted wealthy residents, but also killed many innocent people. Anyone who commits injustice will be punished by his own death. In the end, the angry crowd finally rose up to resist and took Savonarola to the execution ground, where he was burned alive in the Piazza della Signoria!
Due to Botticelli's unsteady stance, his reputation plummeted after Savonarola's death. In order to make a living, he decided to return to his old business, but his popularity was no longer what it used to be. In his later years, Botticelli was in poverty. If it were not for the help provided by the Medici family who later came back to power, it is difficult to imagine how miserable the final end of Botticelli would have been.
Masterpiece hangs in the hallway
令人不解—如此「愛美」的波提切利怎麼能夠追隨極端「仇美」的薩佛拉羅拉？然而這個大哉問，並沒有阻礙我對作者的欣賞。
在〈憂患之子〉（Man of Sorrows〉這幅完成於晚期的作品中，沒有劇烈表情與血流斑斑，但從耶穌的眼神、手上的釘痕、被荊棘穿刺的皮膚……，都透露著巨大的哀痛與憂傷。那深沉安靜的受苦，天使在黑暗中環繞，在在表達了人性與神性共存的隱喻。若將晚期的〈憂患之子〉與前期的〈春〉、〈維納斯的誕生〉相比較，你可能不會相信是出自於同一位畫者吧！大師到了晚年仍是大師，但眼中山水已有不同—年輕的〈春〉得意浪漫，激發熱情；晚年的〈憂患之子〉則給予觸動與安慰。
I always thought that if I wanted to revisit Botticelli’s paintings, I would have to go to Florence and visit the Uffizi Gallery, but I didn’t expect to find an unexpected surprise recently! That afternoon, I made an appointment with a friend from out of state whom I had not seen for many years to visit the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Because we had to cooperate with her five-year-old daughter, we walked around, went to the bathroom, drank coffee, and ate snacks, which took up a lot of time. Anyway, let’s just treat it as afternoon tea.
然而就在經過歐洲繪畫廳的途中，走廊上一幅〈聖母聖子與施洗約翰〉（Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist ）攫獲了我的視線。咦，這幅畫怎麼會如此眼熟，人物表情、質感、光線等處理，加上又是蛋彩畫，莫非這是波提切利的作品？帶著一絲懷疑自說自話：「堂堂波士頓美術館應該不會掛出贗品吧？」
迫不及待跟朋友興奮地分享我的發現，朋友問：「波提切利是誰啊？」只能轉向跟身旁一位架著眼鏡，看似「懂畫」也有點年紀的男士請教：「你覺得這是波提切利的真跡嗎？」他愣了一下，反問：「為甚麼不是？」我說：「最起碼也要放在展廳內，怎麼可以就這樣掛在走廊上，而且還沒有保護的畫框？」對方：「林布蘭的那張〈小畫家〉（Artist in His Studio）不也是放在走廊嗎？難道林布蘭不好嗎？」
Speaking of which, there are quite a few "famous painters" hanging in the corridor! In short, the style of each museum is different, and it all depends on the views and tastes of the person in charge. I thought, if I were the curator, I would definitely treat Botticelli well and arrange this painting in a grand way! I told my friend, "Although I didn't see many paintings today, I am very satisfied to have met Botticelli!"
God gave people the ability to create, especially the outstanding artists during the Renaissance—it was as if God breathed a breath of spiritual energy into them! There is no doubt that Botticelli is the painter who possesses this aura. Just like the parable of the entrusted silver in the Gospel of Matthew, talent is a gift given by God. As a favored steward, in addition to affirming his own strengths and making use of his wisdom, more importantly, he must follow the "true master" . Although Botticelli's works fell silent in history for a period of time and did not receive attention again until the 19th century. Fortunately, at least his "silver coins" were not truly buried!
註：蛋彩畫（英文：Tempera或Egg Tempera），是一種永久性、快乾的繪畫媒介，主要是將蛋黃混入顏料粉末中來繪畫，有很多種混合方式。蛋彩畫可長久保存，目前仍留有西元1世紀的作品。蛋彩畫是歐洲主要的繪畫方式，盛行於文藝復興初期，到了1500年才被油畫取代。
Zhou Lanhui，畫家。善用色彩與個人符號訴說與神、與人、與自然的生命故事。曾獲古金漢繪畫獎 （Guggenheim Fellow 2007），美國德州休士頓定 4/26/2008為「周蘭惠日」。
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