ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Siegfried Woldhek - Illustrator
Siegfried Woldhek knows faces -- he's drawn more than 1,100 of them. Using sophisticated image analysis and his own skills as an artist, he's come up with a fascinating discovery about Leonardo Da Vinci.

Why you should listen

The work of illustrator Siegfried Woldhek is a familiar sight in the European press. His witty pen and sharp eye for faces helps him capture political and literary figures in his home country, the Netherlands, and around the world (he estimates he's drawn 1,100 faces). He's also an accomplished illustrator of nature, and was the longtime CEO of the Dutch branch of the World Wildlife Fund.

Woldhek is the founder of nabuur.com, "the global neighbor network." On nabuur.com, villages in developing communities can connect with volunteers and resources online throughout the world -- sort of a Match.com that pairs communities with the people who'd like to get involved.

More profile about the speaker
Siegfried Woldhek | Speaker | TED.com
TED2008

Siegfried Woldhek: The search for the true face of Leonardo

Siegfried Woldhek 找寻达·芬奇的真实面孔

Filmed:
1,343,993 views

蒙娜丽莎可以称得上是这个世界上最著名的面孔之一。可是你是否知道其作者列奥纳多·达·芬奇的样子呢?画家Siegfried Woldhek缜密地利用各种图像分析技术找到了他心目中达·芬奇的真实面孔。
- Illustrator
Siegfried Woldhek knows faces -- he's drawn more than 1,100 of them. Using sophisticated image analysis and his own skills as an artist, he's come up with a fascinating discovery about Leonardo Da Vinci. Full bio

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

00:12
Good morning早上.
0
0
2000
早上好。
00:14
Let's look for a minute分钟 at the greatest最大 icon图标 of all, Leonardo莱昂纳多 daDA Vinci达芬奇.
1
2000
5000
让我们先花一分钟的时间来看看伟大的传奇人物列奥纳多·达·芬奇。
00:19
We're all familiar with his fantastic奇妙 work --
2
7000
3000
我们对他的杰作是再熟悉不过了──
00:22
his drawings图纸, his paintings绘画, his inventions发明, his writings文章.
3
10000
3000
他的画作、他的发明、他的写作。
00:25
But we do not know his face面对.
4
13000
2000
但我们却不知道他长什么样。
00:27
Thousands成千上万 of books图书 have been written书面 about him,
5
15000
3000
虽然关于他的著作成百上千,
00:30
but there's controversy争议, and it remains遗迹, about his looks容貌.
6
18000
4000
但对于他的样貌,人们仍旧是充满分歧。
00:34
Even this well-known知名 portrait肖像 is not accepted公认 by many许多 art艺术 historians历史学家.
7
22000
5000
即使是这幅著名的肖像画,也无法得到很多艺术史学家的认可。
00:39
So, what do you think?
8
27000
2000
你们觉得呢?
00:41
Is this the face面对 of Leonardo莱昂纳多 daDA Vinci达芬奇 or isn't it?
9
29000
3000
这到底是不是列奥纳多·达·芬奇的面孔呢?
00:44
Let's find out.
10
32000
3000
让我们一同寻找答案。
00:47
Leonardo莱昂纳多 was a man that drew德鲁 everything around him.
11
35000
3000
达·芬奇是一个会画身边各种事物的人。
00:50
He drew德鲁 people, anatomy解剖学, plants植物, animals动物, landscapes景观, buildings房屋, water, everything.
12
38000
8000
他画过人物、人体结构、动植物、风景、建筑、江河湖海、各种事物。
00:58
But no faces面孔?
13
46000
2000
但却从来没有画过脸?
01:00
I find that hard to believe.
14
48000
2000
我觉得这有点让人难以置信。
01:02
His contemporaries同时代 made制作 faces面孔, like the ones那些 you see here --
15
50000
3000
他同时代的画家都画过自画像,就好比你们现在看到的这些。
01:05
en face面对 or three-quarters四分之三.
16
53000
2000
正面或者是四分之三的侧面像。
01:07
So, surely一定 a passionate多情 drawer抽屉 like Leonardo莱昂纳多
17
55000
3000
所以像达·芬奇这样充满热情的画家
01:10
must必须 have made制作 self-portraits自画像 from time to time.
18
58000
3000
也一定会时不时地画些自画像。
01:14
So let's try to find them.
19
62000
2000
就让我们试着把他们给找出来。
01:16
I think that if we were to scan扫描 all of his work
20
64000
3000
我认为如果我们仔细查阅他所有的作品,
01:19
and look for self-portraits自画像, we would find his face面对 looking at us.
21
67000
4000
并从中寻找自画像,我们就可以发现他的面孔。
01:23
So I looked看着 at all of his drawings图纸, more than 700,
22
71000
4000
于是我认真查看了他所有的画,700多幅,
01:27
and looked看着 for male portraits画像.
23
75000
3000
从中寻找男士的画像。
01:30
There are about 120, you see them here.
24
78000
3000
这里所看到的,就是我找到的120幅。
01:33
Which哪一个 ones那些 of these could be self-portraits自画像?
25
81000
2000
这里面有哪些有可能是自画像呢?
01:35
Well, for that they have to be doneDONE as we just saw, en face面对 or three-quarters四分之三.
26
83000
5000
就如我们前面所看到的,自画像一定要是正面或者四分之三侧面的才可以。
01:40
So we can eliminate消除 all the profiles型材.
27
88000
3000
所以我们排除所有的侧面画像。
01:43
It also has to be sufficiently充分地 detailed详细.
28
91000
2000
自画像也应该有充分的细节。
01:45
So we can also eliminate消除 the ones那些 that are very vague模糊 or very stylized程式化.
29
93000
6000
所以我们也可以排除那些模糊不清的或者是过于风格化的画像。
01:51
And we know from his contemporaries同时代
30
99000
2000
同时我们从达·芬奇同时代的人中也了解到
01:53
that Leonardo莱昂纳多 was a very handsome英俊, even beautiful美丽 man.
31
101000
3000
达·芬奇长得非常帅气,甚至可以说是美男子。
01:56
So we can also eliminate消除 the ugly丑陋 ones那些 or the caricatures漫画.
32
104000
4000
这样一来,我们又排除了那些长得丑的以及那些漫画像。
02:00
(Laughter笑声)
33
108000
1000
(笑声)
02:01
And look what happens发生 -- only three candidates候选人 remain that fit适合 the bill法案.
34
109000
5000
现在再来看一看──只剩下三个符合条件的候选画像了。
02:06
And here they are.
35
114000
2000
就是这三张
02:08
Yes, indeed确实, the old man is there,
36
116000
2000
的确,老人画像是其中之一,
02:10
as is this famous著名 pen钢笔 drawing画画 of the Homo智人 VitruvianusVitruvianus.
37
118000
3000
这幅著名的铅笔画《维特鲁威人》也在其中。
02:13
And lastly最后, the only portrait肖像 of a male that Leonardo莱昂纳多 painted, "The Musician音乐家."
38
121000
5000
最后一幅就是达·芬奇所画的唯一一幅男性肖像油画《音乐家肖像》。
02:18
Before we go into these faces面孔,
39
126000
2000
在我们开始研究这些面孔之前,
02:20
I should explain说明 why I have some right to talk about them.
40
128000
3000
我应该解释一下我有什么资格在这里发表关于他们的评论。
02:23
I've made制作 more than 1,100 portraits画像 myself
41
131000
4000
我画过超过1100张的人物画像,
02:27
for newspapers报纸, over the course课程 of 300 -- 30 years年份, sorry, 30 years年份 only.
42
135000
4000
为各类报纸所做,历时300多──30多年,不好意思,只有30多年。
02:31
(Laughter笑声)
43
139000
1000
(笑声)
02:32
But there are 1,100, and very few少数 artists艺术家 have drawn so many许多 faces面孔.
44
140000
5000
但还是画了1100张。很少有画家画过这么多张脸。
02:37
So I know a little about drawing画画 and analyzing分析 faces面孔.
45
145000
3000
所以我对绘画和分析脸孔还是略知一二的。
02:40
OK, now let's look at these three portraits画像.
46
148000
3000
好了,现在让我们来看看这三幅画像。
02:43
And hold保持 onto your seats, because if we zoom放大 in on those faces面孔,
47
151000
3000
你们可要坐好了,因为如果我们将这些脸孔放大的话,
02:46
remark备注 how they have the same相同 broad广阔 forehead前额, the horizontal eyebrows眉毛,
48
154000
4000
我们就会发现他们都有着同样宽广的额头、平直的眉毛、
02:50
the long nose鼻子, the curved弯曲 lips嘴唇 and the small, well-developed发达 chin下巴.
49
158000
3000
高长的鼻子、弯曲的嘴唇、小而丰满的下颚。
02:53
I couldn't不能 believe my eyes眼睛 when I first saw that.
50
161000
3000
当我第一次注意到这一切的时候,我简直不敢相信自己的眼睛。
02:56
There is no reason原因 why these portraits画像 should look alike一样.
51
164000
2000
这些画像怎么可能如此相像。
02:58
All we did was look for portraits画像 that had the characteristics特点 of a self-portrait自画像,
52
166000
4000
我们只是搜寻有自画像特色的肖像,
03:02
and look, they are very similar类似.
53
170000
2000
但找到的画像却是如此得相像。
03:04
Now, are they made制作 in the right order订购?
54
172000
3000
问题是,他们是不是依照正确的时间顺序绘制的呢?
03:07
The young年轻 man should be made制作 first.
55
175000
2000
年轻人的画像应该是最先绘制的。
03:09
And as you see here from the years年份 that they were created创建,
56
177000
2000
而如果你们看看这些画像创作的年份,
03:11
it is indeed确实 the case案件.
57
179000
2000
就会发现事实的确如此。
03:13
They are made制作 in the right order订购.
58
181000
2000
他们是按照正确的时间顺序绘制的。
03:15
What was the age年龄 of Leonardo莱昂纳多 at the time? Does that fit适合?
59
183000
2000
而达·芬奇在创作这些画像的时候的年龄又是多大呢?和画中人的年龄相符吗?
03:17
Yes, it does. He was 33, 38 and 63 when these were made制作.
60
185000
3000
是的,完全相符。他在创作这些画像的时候分别是33岁、38岁和63岁。
03:20
So we have three pictures图片, potentially可能 of the same相同 person
61
188000
4000
也就是说,我们现在这里的三幅画像,有可能是同一个人的画像,
03:24
of the same相同 age年龄 as Leonardo莱昂纳多 at the time.
62
192000
2000
平且画中人和达·芬奇创作这些画像时的年龄是一致的。
03:26
But how do we know it's him, and not someone有人 else其他?
63
194000
3000
但我们如何知道这画中之人是达·芬奇而不是别人呢?
03:29
Well, we need a reference参考.
64
197000
2000
我们需要一个可供参考的标准。
03:31
And here's这里的 the only picture图片 of Leonardo莱昂纳多 that's widely广泛 accepted公认.
65
199000
4000
这里是唯一一幅被广泛接受的达·芬奇的照片,
03:35
It's a statue雕像 made制作 by Verrocchio韦罗基奥, of David大卫,
66
203000
3000
是韦罗基奥创作的大卫雕像,
03:38
for which哪一个 Leonardo莱昂纳多 posed构成 as a boy男孩 of 15.
67
206000
2000
由15岁的达·芬奇当作人体模特。
03:40
And if we now compare比较 the face面对 of the statue雕像,
68
208000
3000
如果我们把这个雕塑的脸
03:43
with the face面对 of the musician音乐家, you see the very same相同 features特征 again.
69
211000
4000
和之前那个音乐家的脸相比较的话,我们就会再次发现之前那些相同的特征。
03:47
The statue雕像 is the reference参考, and it connects所连接 the identity身分 of Leonardo莱昂纳多
70
215000
3000
这个雕像就是参考物,将达·芬奇的身份
03:50
to those three faces面孔.
71
218000
2000
同那三张脸联系起来。
03:52
Ladies女士们 and gentlemen绅士, this story故事 has not yet然而 been published发表.
72
220000
5000
女士们、先生们,这个故事暂未发表,
03:57
It's only proper正确 that you here at TEDTED hear and see it first.
73
225000
3000
由在座的TED观众们对之先睹为快是再为合适不过了。
04:00
The icon图标 of icons图标 finally最后 has a face面对.
74
228000
3000
伟人中的伟人终于有了脸孔。
04:03
Here he is: Leonardo莱昂纳多 daDA Vinci达芬奇.
75
231000
2000
他就是──列奥纳多·达·芬奇。
04:05
(Applause掌声)
76
233000
7000
(掌声)
Translated by Zachary Lin Zhao
Reviewed by Jing Yu

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Siegfried Woldhek - Illustrator
Siegfried Woldhek knows faces -- he's drawn more than 1,100 of them. Using sophisticated image analysis and his own skills as an artist, he's come up with a fascinating discovery about Leonardo Da Vinci.

Why you should listen

The work of illustrator Siegfried Woldhek is a familiar sight in the European press. His witty pen and sharp eye for faces helps him capture political and literary figures in his home country, the Netherlands, and around the world (he estimates he's drawn 1,100 faces). He's also an accomplished illustrator of nature, and was the longtime CEO of the Dutch branch of the World Wildlife Fund.

Woldhek is the founder of nabuur.com, "the global neighbor network." On nabuur.com, villages in developing communities can connect with volunteers and resources online throughout the world -- sort of a Match.com that pairs communities with the people who'd like to get involved.

More profile about the speaker
Siegfried Woldhek | Speaker | TED.com