ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Tracy Chevalier - Author
Novelist Tracy Chevalier is the author of "Girl With a Pearl Earring."

Why you should listen

Tracy Chevalier pulls stories from paintings and historical episodes, finding the human thread behind opaque images. Her best-known book is Girl With a Pearl Earring, inspired by a Vermeer painting; other books include The Lady and the Unicorn and Burning Brightabout two children who become neighbours of William Blake. Her upcoming book, The Last Runaway, tells a story from the Underground Railroad.

For the anthology Imagined Lives, she wrote about an unknown portrait sitter whom she calls "Rosy." Hear the podcast of her story. and find more stories from the National Portrait Gallery.

More profile about the speaker
Tracy Chevalier | Speaker | TED.com
TEDSalon London Spring 2012

Tracy Chevalier: Finding the story inside the painting

Tracy Chevalier:探索绘画背后的故事

Filmed:
1,389,986 views

当Tracy Chevalier看到画的时候,她会想象背后的故事:画家是怎样见到模特的?怎么解释她眼中的表情?为什么那个男人脸红了?她与我们分享了由肖像所激励的三个故事,其中包括一个最终让她写出了最佳销售小说"戴着珍珠耳环的女孩".
- Author
Novelist Tracy Chevalier is the author of "Girl With a Pearl Earring." Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:16
I'm going to tell you about an affliction痛苦 I suffer遭受 from.
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我即将会给你讲述一个我曾受很大的折磨
00:20
And I have a funny滑稽 feeling感觉 that quite相当 a few少数 of you
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然后我有点感觉到你们有些人
00:23
suffer遭受 from it as well.
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也受到过这个折磨
00:24
When I'm walking步行 around an art艺术 gallery画廊,
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当我在一个艺术博物馆里走来走去
00:27
rooms客房 and rooms客房 full充分 of paintings绘画,
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一间间的屋子里全是画
00:29
after about 15 or 20 minutes分钟,
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过了15到20分钟后
00:33
I realize实现 I'm not thinking思维 about the paintings绘画.
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我意识到我想的不是这些画
00:35
I'm not connecting to them.
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我跟它们没有联系
00:37
Instead代替, I'm thinking思维 about that cup杯子 of coffee咖啡
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我满脑子想的都是要来一杯咖啡
00:39
I desperately拼命 need to wake唤醒 me up.
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让自己好好清醒清醒
00:42
I'm suffering痛苦 from gallery画廊 fatigue疲劳.
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我正在受到博物馆审美疲劳的折磨
00:45
How many许多 of you out there suffer遭受 from --
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有多少人曾有过同样的经历?
00:48
yes. Ha ha, ha ha!
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哈哈,果然是有
00:50
Now, sometimes有时 you might威力 last longer
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有时候你坚持的时间也许长过20分钟
00:52
than 20 minutes分钟, or even shorter,
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有时候不足20分钟
00:54
but I think we all suffer遭受 from it. And do you have
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不过我认为我们都受过这样的折磨
00:56
the accompanying随同 guilt有罪?
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那你们有没有伴随着一种罪恶感?
00:58
For me, I look at the paintings绘画 on the wall
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对于我来说,看着墙上的那些画
01:01
and I think, somebody has decided决定 to put them there,
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然后我就想到有人决定把它们放在这里
01:04
thinks they're good enough足够 to be on that wall,
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认为他们在墙上摆着足够好
01:07
but I don't always see it.
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但我不总这样想
01:08
In fact事实, most of the time I don't see it.
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实际上,大多数情况我都不这么想
01:11
And I leave离开 feeling感觉 actually其实 unhappy不快乐.
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然后呢我离开的时候心情还不好
01:15
I feel guilty有罪 and unhappy不快乐 with myself,
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我对我自己感觉到一种罪恶感以及不愉快
01:18
rather than thinking思维 there's something wrong错误 with the painting绘画,
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而不是感觉到是墙上那些画有问题
01:20
I think there's something wrong错误 with me.
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我会认为是我有问题
01:22
And that's not a good experience经验, to leave离开 a gallery画廊 like that.
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当然对于离开一个展览馆来说,那种感觉一点儿都不好玩
01:24
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
01:26
The thing is, I think we should give ourselves我们自己 a break打破.
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事实上,我认为我们应该给我们自己一个暂停
01:28
If you think about going into a restaurant餐厅,
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如果你想要去一家餐馆
01:31
when you look at the menu菜单, are you expected预期 to order订购
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当你看菜单的时候,你期待着把菜单上
01:34
every一切 single thing on the menu菜单?
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所有东西都点了吗?
01:36
No! You select选择.
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不!你选.
01:38
If you go into a department store商店 to buy购买 a shirt衬衫,
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如果你去一个大商场去买件衬衫,
01:41
are you going to try on every一切 single shirt衬衫
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你会把所有衬衫都试一遍然后
01:44
and want every一切 single shirt衬衫?
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都买下来么?
01:46
Of course课程 not, you can be selective可选择的. It's expected预期.
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当然不会,你可以进行选择.这都是预先想好的
01:50
How come, then, it's not so expected预期
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那为什么当去展览馆的时候,进行选择
01:53
to be selective可选择的 when we go to an art艺术 gallery画廊?
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又不是被所期待的呢?
01:55
Why are we supposed应该 to have a connection连接 with every一切 single painting绘画?
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为什么我们非得跟每幅画都有个联系?
01:58
Well I'm trying to take a different不同 approach途径.
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我在试图走另一条路
02:01
And there's two things I do:
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因此我做了以下两件事:
02:03
When I go into a gallery画廊, first of all, I go quite相当 fast快速,
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当我走进一个展览馆的时候,首先我很快地走一遍
02:07
and I look at everything, and I pinpoint查明 the ones那些
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我每个都看,然后我把那些能让我慢下来的
02:11
that make me slow down for some reason原因 or other.
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画都记下来
02:14
I don't even know why they make me slow down, but something
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我不知道为啥它们让我慢了下来,不过
02:17
pulls me like a magnet磁铁
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有些东西就跟磁铁一样吸住了我
02:19
and then I ignore忽视 all the others其他, and I just go to that painting绘画.
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然后我把其他的全部忽略,直接去看那幅画
02:22
So it's the first thing I do is, I do my own拥有 curation策展.
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因此我做的第一件事是自己筛选
02:25
I choose选择 a painting绘画. It might威力 just be one painting绘画 in 50.
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我先选一副画.有可能是50选一
02:28
And then the second第二 thing I do is I stand in front面前 of that painting绘画,
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然后第二件事就是站在那副画的面前
02:32
and I tell myself a story故事 about it.
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我给我自己讲个关于那画的故事
02:35
Why a story故事? Well, I think that we are wired有线,
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为什么呢?嗯..因为我们是连接的
02:39
our DNA脱氧核糖核酸 tells告诉 us to tell stories故事.
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我们的DNA让我们去讲故事
02:42
We tell stories故事 all the time about everything,
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我们时时刻刻都在讲各种各样的故事
02:45
and I think we do it because the world世界 is kind of a crazy, chaotic混乱的 place地点,
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因为这个世界其实挺疯狂,挺混乱的
02:50
and sometimes有时 stories故事, we're trying to make sense of the world世界 a little bit,
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有时候我们可以通过故事来更进一步了解世界
02:54
trying to bring带来 some order订购 to it.
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并且带来一些秩序
02:56
Why not apply应用 that to our looking at paintings绘画?
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那为什么我们不也在画上用呢?
03:00
So I now have this sort分类 of restaurant餐厅 menu菜单
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现在我手里有个餐馆的菜单似的东西
03:04
visiting访问 of art艺术 galleries画廊.
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是参观艺术展览馆得来的
03:07
There are three paintings绘画 I'm going to show显示 you now
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我现在准备给你看三幅作品
03:10
that are paintings绘画 that made制作 me stop in my tracks轨道
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这些是令我放慢脚步的画
03:13
and want to tell stories故事 about them.
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并且想给我讲一个故事
03:16
The first one needs需求 little introduction介绍 --
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第一个需要我介绍一下--
03:19
"Girl女孩 with a Pearl珍珠 Earring耳环" by Johannes约翰内斯 Vermeer维米尔,
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"戴珍珠耳环的女孩"由Johannes Vermeer创作
03:22
17th-centuryTH-世纪 Dutch荷兰人 painter画家.
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17世纪的荷兰画家
03:25
This is the most glorious辉煌 painting绘画.
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这是我见过最繁华的绘画作品
03:27
I first saw it when I was 19,
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我19岁的时候第一次看到它
03:29
and I immediately立即 went out and got a poster海报 of it,
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然后我立刻去了海报店买了一张
03:31
and in fact事实 I still have that poster海报. 30 years年份 later后来 it's hanging in my house.
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实际上现在我还有那个海报呢,30年后还在我家挂着
03:36
It's accompanied伴随着 me everywhere到处 I've gone走了,
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我每次去哪它都伴随着我
03:39
I never tire of looking at her.
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我看她从未感到无聊
03:41
What made制作 me stop in my tracks轨道 about her to begin开始 with
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之所以它令我放慢脚步
03:45
was just the gorgeous华丽 colors颜色 he uses使用
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是因为这些美丽的颜色
03:47
and the light falling落下 on her face面对.
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以及在她脸上的坠下的光芒
03:49
But I think what's kept不停 me still coming未来 back
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不过我认为令我不断回来欣赏的原因
03:52
year after year is another另一个 thing, and that is
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是另外一个东西,那就是
03:55
the look on her face面对, the conflicted冲突 look on her face面对.
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她脸上矛盾,纠结的表情
03:59
I can't tell if she's happy快乐 or sad伤心,
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我看不出来她高兴还是伤心
04:01
and I change更改 my mind心神 all the time.
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而且我时时刻刻在改变主意
04:04
So that keeps保持 me coming未来 back.
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因此它持续吸引我注意力
04:08
One day, 16 years年份 after I had this poster海报 on my wall,
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一天,在我在墙上挂的这幅海报16年后,
04:12
I lay铺设 in bed and looked看着 at her,
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我躺在床上看着她
04:15
and I suddenly突然 thought, I wonder奇迹 what
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然后我突然想到,我想知道
04:17
the painter画家 did to her to make her look like that.
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画家是怎样把她画成这样的
04:21
And it was the first time I'd ever thought that
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那是我第一次想到这一点
04:24
the expression表达 on her face面对 is actually其实 reflecting反映
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她脸上的表情实际上反映出她对
04:27
how she feels感觉 about him.
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画家本人的看法
04:29
Always before I'd thought of it as a portrait肖像 of a girl女孩.
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在我之前总认为这只不过是对一个女孩的画像,
04:32
Now I began开始 to think of it as a portrait肖像 of a relationship关系.
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现在我觉得是对于一段感情的描绘
04:37
And I thought, well, what is that relationship关系?
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然后我就想到,嗯...那是什么感情呢?
04:40
So I went to find out. I did some research研究 and discovered发现,
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因此我做了些研究,然后发现
04:43
we have no idea理念 who she is.
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我不知道她是谁
04:45
In fact事实, we don't know who any of the models楷模
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实际上,我们不知道任何出现在Vermeer
04:48
in any of Vermeer's维米尔的 paintings绘画 are,
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画中的人是谁
04:50
and we know very little about Vermeer维米尔 himself他自己.
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而且我们对于Vermeer也是知道很少
04:52
Which哪一个 made制作 me go, "YippeeYIPPEE!"
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这让我也是很兴奋!
04:55
I can do whatever随你 I want, I can come up with whatever随你 story故事 I want to.
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我可以想干啥干啥.我可以随便想一个故事
05:00
So here's这里的 how I came来了 up with the story故事.
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现在我告诉你我怎么想的故事
05:02
First of all, I thought,
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首先,我想到,
05:04
I've got to get her into the house.
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我得把她带到房间来,
05:06
How does Vermeer维米尔 know her?
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Vermeer怎么知道她的
05:09
Well, there've已经有 been suggestions建议 that
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有记录表明
05:10
she is his 12-year-old-岁 daughter女儿.
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她是他的12岁的女儿
05:15
The daughter女儿 at the time was 12 when he painted the painting绘画.
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在那副画里,他女儿当时就是12岁
05:17
And I thought, no, it's a very intimate亲密 look,
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我又想到,不,这个表情很亲近,
05:20
but it's not a look a daughter女儿 gives her father父亲.
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但是不是一个女儿给爸爸的表情
05:22
For one thing, in Dutch荷兰人 painting绘画 of the time,
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对于当时的荷兰绘画来说,
05:24
if a woman's女人的 mouth was open打开, it was indicating说明 sexual有性 availability可用性.
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如果一个女的嘴巴是张开的,就表明她是性开放的
05:27
It would have been inappropriate不当 for Vermeer维米尔
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对于Vermeer来说是不会把他女儿
05:29
to paint涂料 his daughter女儿 like that.
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画成那样的
05:31
So it's not his daughter女儿, but it's somebody
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因此呢这不是他女儿,但是是一个跟
05:33
close to him, physically物理 close to him.
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他很靠近的人
05:35
Well, who else其他 would be in the house?
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那么,还有谁在他的家呢?
05:37
A servant仆人, a lovely可爱 servant仆人.
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一个管家,很漂亮的管家
05:41
So, she's in the house.
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她在房间里
05:42
How do we get her into the studio工作室?
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那我们怎么把她弄到工作室里呢?
05:45
We don't know very much about Vermeer维米尔,
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我们对于Vermeer不是很了解
05:47
but the little bits that we do know, one thing we know
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不过对于他起码我们知道他与一个
05:49
is that he married已婚 a Catholic天主教徒 woman女人, they lived生活 with her mother母亲
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天主教的女人结婚了,他们与她母亲同住
05:52
in a house where he had his own拥有 room房间
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在他自己有一个房间的房子里--
05:54
where he -- his studio工作室. He also had 11 children孩子.
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他的工作室.他还有11个小孩,
05:59
It would have been a chaotic混乱的, noisy嘈杂 household家庭.
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家里按说应该非常吵闹和乱
06:02
And if you've seen看到 Vermeer's维米尔的 paintings绘画 before,
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不过你如果之前看过Vermeer画的画,
06:05
you know that they're incredibly令人难以置信 calm冷静 and quiet安静.
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你知道他画的画都特别的镇静和安静
06:09
How does a painter画家 paint涂料 such这样 calm冷静, quiet安静 paintings绘画 with 11 kids孩子 around?
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一个画家是怎样在11孩子身边画出这样安静的作品呢?
06:13
Well, he compartmentalizes间隔化 his life.
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他把自己的生活隔离了起来
06:15
He gets得到 to his studio工作室, and he says, "Nobody没有人 comes in here.
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每回他进工作室的时候,他会说:"没人能进这里."
06:18
Not the wife妻子, not the kids孩子. Okay, the maid女佣 can come in and clean清洁."
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妻子不行,孩子不行.好吧,管家可以进去进行打扫
06:23
She's in the studio工作室. He's got her in the studio工作室, they're together一起.
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这样她就在工作室里面,他们在一起
06:30
And he decides决定 to paint涂料 her.
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于是他决定给她画副画
06:32
He has her wear穿 very plain clothes衣服.
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他让她穿上很朴素的衣服
06:35
Now, all of the women妇女, or most of the women妇女 in Vermeer's维米尔的 other paintings绘画
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在Vermeer的画里,大多数女人
06:38
wore穿着 velvet丝绒, silk, fur毛皮, very sumptuous豪华 materials物料.
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都穿天鹅绒,丝质品,毛制品,非常奢侈的衣服
06:44
This is very plain; the only thing that isn't plain
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但这却很朴素,唯一一个不朴素的
06:46
is her pearl珍珠 earring耳环.
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是她的珍珠耳环
06:49
Now, if she's a servant仆人, there is no way she could afford给予
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如果她是个管家的话,显然她不可能买得起
06:52
a pair of pearl珍珠 earrings耳环.
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这样的耳环
06:54
So those are not her pearl珍珠 earrings耳环. Whose谁的 are they?
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因此这些耳环不是她的,那是谁的呢?
06:57
We happen发生 to know, there's a list名单 of Catharina凯瑟琳娜, the wife's妻子 clothes衣服.
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不过我们得知他妻子Catharina的衣服
07:02
Amongst当中 them a yellow黄色 coat涂层 with white白色 fur毛皮,
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其中有一件是带着白色毛的黄色大衣
07:06
a yellow黄色 and black黑色 bodice紧身胸衣,
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一件黄色加黑色的紧身上衣
07:08
and you see these clothes衣服 on lots of other paintings绘画,
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你可以在其他很多作品中见到
07:12
different不同 women妇女 in the paintings绘画, Vermeer's维米尔的 paintings绘画.
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在Vermeer的作品中见到
07:15
So clearly明确地, her clothes衣服 were lent借给 to various各个 different不同 women妇女.
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因此很明显,她妻子的衣服曾借给过很多人
07:19
It's not such这样 a leap飞跃 of faith信仰 to take
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说那对耳环其实是他妻子的
07:22
that that pearl珍珠 earring耳环 actually其实 belongs属于 to his wife妻子.
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其实也并不夸张
07:25
So we've我们已经 got all the elements分子 for our story故事.
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因此呢我们把故事中所有元素都找到了
07:28
She's in the studio工作室 with him for a long time.
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她在工作室里与他呆了很长时间
07:31
These paintings绘画 took a long time to make.
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这些画用了很长时间
07:33
They would have spent花费 the time alone单独, all that time.
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他们单独在一起呆了很长时间
07:36
She's wearing穿着 his wife's妻子 pearl珍珠 earring耳环.
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她在戴着他妻子的耳环,
07:38
She's gorgeous华丽. She obviously明显 loves him. She's conflicted冲突.
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她长得漂亮极了.她很爱他.但是她又很矛盾
07:41
And does the wife妻子 know? Maybe not.
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那他妻子知道么?估计不知道.
07:43
And if she doesn't, well --
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如果她不知道的话,那么呢....
07:47
that's the story故事.
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好吧,故事完了.
07:49
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
07:51
The next下一个 painting绘画 I'm going to talk about
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下一个我要讲的画叫做
07:53
is called "Boy男孩 Building建造 a House of Cards" by Chardin夏尔丹.
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"建造卡片房子的男孩"由Chaedin创作
07:57
He's an 18th-centuryTH-世纪 French法国 painter画家 best最好 known已知 for his still lifes静物,
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他是个以他的静止生命绘画所著名的18世纪法国画家
08:01
but he did occasionally偶尔 paint涂料 people.
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不过他偶尔也画画人
08:04
And in fact事实, he painted four versions版本 of this painting绘画,
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实际上,他画过这幅画的四个版本
08:08
different不同 boys男孩 building建造 houses房屋 of cards, all concentrated集中.
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不同的造卡片房子的男孩,都是聚集在一起的
08:11
I like this version the best最好, because some of the boys男孩
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我最喜欢的是这个版本,因为这里面有些男孩年轻点,
08:15
are older旧的 and some are younger更年轻, and to me, this one,
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有些年长点,而且对我来说
08:18
like Goldilocks's金发的 porridge稀饭, is just right.
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这幅就像是Goldilock的粥,感觉太对了
08:21
He's not quite相当 a child儿童, and he's not quite相当 a man.
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他不是完全一个小孩,也不是完全一个男人
08:25
He's absolutely绝对 balanced均衡 between之间 innocence无辜 and experience经验,
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他完全介于天真的成熟之间
08:30
and that made制作 me stop in my tracks轨道 in front面前 of this painting绘画.
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这就是为什么这幅画令我放慢了脚步
08:35
And I looked看着 at his face面对. It's like a Vermeer维米尔 painting绘画 a bit.
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我看着他的脸.有点像是Vermmer画的
08:38
The light comes in from the left, his face面对 is bathed沐浴
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光从左边进来,他的脸
08:41
in this glowing泛着 light. It's right in the center中央 of the painting绘画,
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被光芒笼罩着.就在画面的正中央
08:43
and you look at it, and I found发现 that when I was looking at it,
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如果你看看的话,当我看的时候
08:46
I was standing常设 there going,
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我就站在那说话:"
08:47
"Look at me. Please look at me."
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看着我.快看着我."
08:50
And he didn't look at me. He was still looking at his cards,
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不过他还是看着他的卡片
08:53
and that's one of the seductive妖媚 elements分子 of this painting绘画 is,
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这是他的画诱惑人的一个地方
08:56
he's so focused重点 on what he's doing that he doesn't look at us.
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他在专注于自己正在干的事情以至于他不关注别人
09:00
And that is, to me, the sign标志 of a masterpiece杰作,
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对我来说,那就是一副杰作的标志
09:04
of a painting绘画 when there's a lack缺乏 of resolution解析度.
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一个缺少决心的画
09:08
He's never going to look at me.
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他永远不会看着我
09:10
So I was thinking思维 of a story故事 where,
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因此我在想一个故事
09:11
if I'm in this position位置, who could be there looking at him?
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如果我在那个位置的时候,谁又会看着我呢?
09:15
Not the painter画家, I don't want to think about the painter画家.
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不会是画家,我不想去想那个画家
09:17
I'm thinking思维 of an older旧的 version of himself他自己.
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我在想一个更老一点的他自己
09:19
He's a man, a servant仆人, an older旧的 servant仆人 looking at this younger更年轻 servant仆人,
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他是个男人,一个管家,一个年长的管家看着这个年轻的管家
09:25
saying, "Look at me. I want to warn警告 you about
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说到:"看着我.我想要告诫你
09:28
what you're about to go through通过. Please look at me."
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你将会遇到什么.请看着我."
09:30
And he never does.
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不过他从来不看
09:32
And that lack缺乏 of resolution解析度, the lack缺乏 of resolution解析度 in "Girl女孩 with a Pearl珍珠 Earring耳环" --
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就是那种决心的缺少,在"戴着珍珠耳环的女孩"中
09:35
we don't know if she's happy快乐 or sad伤心.
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我们不知道她到底是高兴还不伤心
09:38
I've written书面 an entire整个 novel小说 about her,
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我写过整个一本关于她的小说,
09:39
and I still don't know if she's happy快乐 or sad伤心.
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但是我还是不知道她到底是高兴还是难过
09:41
Again and again, back to the painting绘画,
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一次又一次,我回到那幅画
09:43
looking for the answer回答, looking for the story故事 to fill in that gap间隙.
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想找到一个答案,找到一个能给出答案的故事
09:48
And we may可能 make a story故事, and it satisfies满足 us momentarily瞬间,
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而我们可以编一个故事,它可以使我们暂时性的满足
09:51
but not really, and we come back again and again.
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不过不是完全的,然后我们再次回来
09:57
The last painting绘画 I'm going to talk about
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最后一个我要讲述的画呢
10:00
is called "Anonymous匿名" by anonymous匿名. (Laughter笑声)
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叫做"匿名",是由匿名画的.(笑声)
10:05
This is a Tudor都铎 portrait肖像 bought by the National国民 Portrait肖像 Gallery画廊.
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这是一个对都铎的描绘,是由国家素肖像览馆购买的
10:08
They thought it was a man named命名 Sir先生 Thomas托马斯 Overbury被害,
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他们认为这是个叫Thomas Overbury的男人
10:10
and then they discovered发现 that it wasn't him,
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不过在他们发现不是他后,
10:13
and they have no idea理念 who it is.
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他们就不知道是谁了
10:15
Now, in the National国民 Portrait肖像 Gallery画廊,
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在国家肖像展览馆中,
10:17
if you don't know the biography of the painting绘画,
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如果你不知道作品的来龙去脉
10:18
it's kind of useless无用 to you.
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那就没什么用了
10:20
They can't hang it on the wall, because they don't know who he is.
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他们没法把这幅作品挂出来,因为他们不知道他是谁
10:23
So unfortunately不幸, this orphan孤儿 spends most of his time in storage存储,
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因此很可惜,这个孤儿在库房度过了大多数的时间
10:27
along沿 with quite相当 a number of other orphans孤儿,
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同时跟其他的一堆孤儿一起度过的
10:30
some of them some beautiful美丽 paintings绘画.
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有一些是很美丽的绘画
10:32
This painting绘画 made制作 me stop in my tracks轨道 for three reasons原因:
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有三个原因这幅画让我停了下来
10:37
One is the disconnection断开 between之间 his mouth
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一个是他的带着笑容的嘴巴与留恋的眼睛
10:40
that's smiling微笑 and his eyes眼睛 that are wistful怅惘.
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之间的分离
10:43
He's not happy快乐, and why isn't he happy快乐?
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他不是很高兴,不过为什么呢?
10:46
The second第二 thing that really attracted吸引 me
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第二个吸引我的是
10:49
were his bright red cheeks脸颊.
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他亮红的脸蛋
10:51
He is blushing脸红. He's blushing脸红 for his portrait肖像 being存在 made制作!
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他脸都红了,因为别人在给他画肖像
10:55
This must必须 be a guy who blushes脸红 all the time.
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肯定是一个脸很容易红的家伙
10:58
What is he thinking思维 about that's making制造 him blush脸红?
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那他在想什么以至于他的脸红了呢?
11:00
The third第三 thing that made制作 me stop in my tracks轨道
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第三件事就是
11:04
is his absolutely绝对 gorgeous华丽 doublet成对的东西.
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他非常漂亮的紧身上衣
11:06
Silk, gray灰色, those beautiful美丽 buttons纽扣.
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丝质,灰色,带着美丽的扣子
11:10
And you know what it makes品牌 me think of,
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它令我想到
11:12
is it's sort分类 of snug舒适 and puffy蓬松; it's like a duvet羽绒被 spread传播 over a bed.
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这件衣服很温暖很舒服,就跟在床上的一床羽绒被一样
11:16
I kept不停 thinking思维 of beds and red cheeks脸颊,
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我不断想着床和他们的红脸蛋
11:19
and of course课程 I kept不停 thinking思维 of sex性别 when I looked看着 at him,
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当然我看他的时候,我一直在想着性爱,
11:22
and I thought, is that what he's thinking思维 about?
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然后我就想,他是不是就在想性爱呢?
11:24
And I thought, if I'm going to make a story故事,
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我又想到,如果我要编一个故事,
11:27
what's the last thing I'm going to put in there?
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我最不想编的是什么?
11:29
Well, what would a Tudor都铎 gentleman绅士 be preoccupied斤斤计较 with?
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一个都铎的绅士应该全神贯注与谁呢?
11:32
And I thought, well, Henry亨利 VIII, okay.
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嗯..应该是亨利八世,好吧.
11:34
He'd他会 be preoccupied斤斤计较 with his inheritance遗产, with his heir继承者.
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他应该对他的家产和遗产很着迷
11:38
Who is going to inherit继承 his name名称 and his fortune幸运?
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谁会继承他的名字的财富呢?
11:42
You put all those together一起, and you've got your story故事
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你把这些都加进去,你就有你的故事了
11:46
to fill in that gap间隙 that makes品牌 you keep coming未来 back.
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这样你就填满了漏洞,使得你不断回来
11:49
Now, here's这里的 the story故事.
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这就是我的故事
11:54
It's short.
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非常短
11:57
"Rosy红润"
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"玫瑰红"
12:00
I am still wearing穿着 the white白色 brocade锦缎 doublet成对的东西 Caroline卡罗琳 gave me.
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我还是穿着Caroline给我的白色棉缎的紧身上衣
12:04
It has a plain high collar, detachable可拆开 sleeves袖子
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它有个高的领子,可以卸掉的袖子
12:08
and intricate错综复杂 buttons纽扣 of twisted扭曲 silk thread线,
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以及用卷在一起复杂丝线做成的扣子
12:11
set close together一起 so that the fit适合 is snug舒适.
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这些都在一起因此衣服穿起来很舒服
12:14
The doublet成对的东西 makes品牌 me think of a coverlet床单 on the vast广大 bed.
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紧身上衣使我想起了在一张大床上的床单
12:18
Perhaps也许 that was the intention意向.
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也许这是我的初衷
12:21
I first wore穿着 it at an elaborate阐述 dinner晚餐 her parents父母 held保持 in our honor荣誉.
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我在她家长举行的一次晚宴上第一次穿这件衣服,
12:26
I knew知道 even before I stood站在 up to speak说话
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在我站起来说话之前我就
12:28
that my cheeks脸颊 were inflamed发炎的.
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知道我的脸蛋发烫
12:31
I have always flushed easily容易, from physical物理 exertion用力,
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我从来都是很容易就脸红了,体育锻炼,
12:34
from wine红酒, from high emotion情感.
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红酒,以及强的情感
12:37
As a boy男孩, I was teased戏弄 by my sisters姐妹 and by schoolboys小学生,
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当我是个小孩的时候,我被我的姐姐们和在学校的男孩们嘲笑
12:41
but not by George乔治.
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不过George从未嘲笑我
12:44
Only George乔治 could call me Rosy红润.
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只有George把我叫做玫瑰红
12:47
I would not allow允许 anyone任何人 else其他.
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我只允许他一个人这么叫
12:49
He managed管理 to make the word tender投标.
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他想要让这个世界更加温暖
12:53
When I made制作 the announcement公告, George乔治 did not
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当我在发表演讲时,George
12:56
turn rosy红润, but went pale苍白 as my doublet成对的东西.
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没有变玫瑰红,但却变得跟我紧身上衣一样白
12:59
He should not have been surprised诧异.
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他不应该变得这么惊讶
13:01
It has been a common共同 assumption假设
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应该很容易就推测出来
13:03
that I would one day marry结婚 his cousin表姐.
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有一天我要区他的表妹
13:06
But it is difficult to hear the words aloud高声.
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不过实际听到这一刻却很难
13:09
I know, I could barely仅仅 utter说出 them.
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我几乎说不出来了
13:12
Afterwards之后, I found发现 George乔治 on the terrace阳台 overlooking俯瞰 the kitchen厨房 garden花园.
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在那之后,我看到George在阳台上鸟瞰厨房的花园
13:17
Despite尽管 drinking steadily稳步 all afternoon下午, he was still pale苍白.
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尽管他整个下午都在思考,但他的脸还是白的
13:22
We stood站在 together一起 and watched看着 the maids女佣 cut lettuces生菜.
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我们站在一起,注视着管家把生菜切掉
13:26
"What do you think of my doublet成对的东西?" I asked.
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"你觉得我的紧身上衣怎么样?"我问到
13:29
He glanced瞥了一眼 at me. "That collar looks容貌 to be strangling绞杀 you."
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他扫了我一眼."领子看起来要把你勒死."
13:34
"We will still see each other," I insisted坚持.
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"我们还会见面的."我坚定地说到
13:36
"We can still hunt打猎 and play cards and attend出席 court法庭.
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"我们还是可以去打猎,去玩牌,还有出席在法院.
13:39
Nothing need change更改."
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没有任何事会改变."
13:41
George乔治 did not speak说话.
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George没说话
13:45
"I am 23 years年份 old. It is time for me to marry结婚
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"我都23岁了.也该是结婚和找继承人
13:48
and produce生产 an heir继承者. It is expected预期 of me."
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的时候了.对我来说这都是理所当然的."
13:52
George乔治 drained倒掉 another另一个 glass玻璃 of claret红葡萄酒 and turned转身 to me.
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George喝干了另一杯葡萄酒然后转了过来
13:56
"Congratulations祝贺 on your upcoming即将到来 nuptials婚礼, James詹姆士.
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"我对你的婚姻表示祝贺,James.
14:00
I'm sure you'll你会 be content内容 together一起."
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我相信你们在一起一定很幸福."
14:05
He never used my nickname昵称 again.
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至此之后,他再也没有用过我的昵称了.
14:08
Thank you.
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谢谢
14:10
(Applause掌声)
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(鼓掌)
14:13
Thank you.
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谢谢
14:14
(Applause掌声)
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(鼓掌)
Translated by Karen SONG
Reviewed by Yuguo Zhang

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Tracy Chevalier - Author
Novelist Tracy Chevalier is the author of "Girl With a Pearl Earring."

Why you should listen

Tracy Chevalier pulls stories from paintings and historical episodes, finding the human thread behind opaque images. Her best-known book is Girl With a Pearl Earring, inspired by a Vermeer painting; other books include The Lady and the Unicorn and Burning Brightabout two children who become neighbours of William Blake. Her upcoming book, The Last Runaway, tells a story from the Underground Railroad.

For the anthology Imagined Lives, she wrote about an unknown portrait sitter whom she calls "Rosy." Hear the podcast of her story. and find more stories from the National Portrait Gallery.

More profile about the speaker
Tracy Chevalier | Speaker | TED.com