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Audio Stop 217

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A man with pale peach skin and dark hair wears a military uniform and stands in front of a desk in this vertical portrait painting. He nearly fills the composition so seems close to us, and he looks directly at us. His body is angled slightly to our left and he tucks his right hand, on our left, flat against his chest between the buttons of his jacket. His navy-blue waistcoat is white along the front where it is fastened with brass buttons along his chest. The jacket has red cuffs, gold epaulets on the shoulders, and three medals affixed to the chest. White britches end just below the knee, and white stockings covering his calves are wrinkled at the ankle above black shoes with brass buckles. A candle burns low in a lamp on an ornately carved and gilded desk behind the man. Books and papers are piled on the desk to our right. More papers and a thin sword rest on a chair in front of the desk to our right. The chair is also carved and gilded, and is upholstered with scarlet-red fabric decorated with gold bees. The legs of the chair push back the forest-green carpet underfoot. A tall clock stands on the wall opposite us and reads 4:13. A few capital letters are written on a scroll of paper on the chair, “COD.” The artist’s name is also written as if printed on a scroll of paper on the floor behind the desk to our left: “LVD.CI.DAVID OPVS 1812.”

Jacques-Louis David

The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries, 1812

West Building, Main Floor — Gallery 56

法国绘画副策展人Aaron Wile探讨Jacques-Louis David在对拿破仑大帝的描绘中如何将其神化。

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阿龙·怀尔:
这幅画让我着迷的一点在于,它采用了明显非常现代的视角来审视这位政治权威。我叫阿龙·怀尔,在法国绘画部担任副策展人。  

讲解员:
在雅克-路易·大卫的画中,法兰西皇帝拿破仑以一只手插进马甲的标志性姿态置身于书房之中。

阿龙·怀尔:
时钟告诉我们当时是早上4:13,由此可知拿破仑整夜都在工作。蜡烛几乎全都化了。拿破仑头发乱糟糟,袖口的纽扣都没扣上。他桌上有一大卷文书,说明他彻夜忙于《拿破仑法典》。这是拿破仑最著名的立法创举,让法国在大革命后拥有了第一套逻辑严密的法律条文。画家描绘的拿破仑似乎刚从伏案工作中起身,准备系上宝剑,赶去阅兵。

讲解员:
书桌下是一部名著,用编年史的形式记载了亚历山大大帝和凯撒大帝的丰功伟绩。

阿龙·怀尔:
它传递了一个很清楚的信号:拿破仑在功绩上与古希腊、古罗马的帝王平齐,甚至更胜一筹。  

这幅肖像画既写实又虚幻。每个细节、每种纹理都处理得一丝不苟,其写实还原度让我们大为震惊。貌似纪实性的史实记录,却其实是虚构的谎言。这一幅画里集合了历史上多个不同时期拿破仑的相关要素和代表物品。所以这幅画是在积极参与造神运动。我认为我们应该更仔细地审视作品,理解神话是如何构建的,以及拿破仑一类的伟人如何维持其政治正当性。  
 

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