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It was not till four years after Strickland's death that Maurice Huret wrote that article in the Mercure de France which rescued the unknown painter from oblivion and blazed the trail which succeeding writers, with more or less docility, have followed. For a long time no critic has enjoyed in France a more incontestable authority, and it was impossible not to be impressed by the claims he made; they seemed extravagant; but later judgments have confirmed his estimate, and the reputation of Charles Strickland is now firmly established on the lines which he laid down. The rise of this reputation is one of the most romantic incidents in the history of art. But I do not propose to deal with Charles Strickland's work except in so far as it touches upon his character. I cannot agree with the painters who claim superciliously that the layman can understand nothing of painting, and that he can best show his appreciation of their works by silence and a cheque-book. It is a grotesque misapprehension which sees in art no more than a craft comprehensible perfectly only to the craftsman: art is a manifestation of emotion, and emotion speaks a language that all may understand. But I will allow that the critic who has not a practical knowledge of technique is seldom able to say anything on the subject of real value, and my ignorance of painting is extreme. Fortunately, there is no need for me to risk the adventure, since my friend, Mr. Edward Leggatt, an able writer as well as an admirable painter, has exhaustively discussed Charles Strickland's work in a little book which is a charming example of a style, for the most part, less happily cultivated in England than in France. |
直到司查爾去世四年後，胡茂瑞在《法蘭西信使》雜誌上發表了那篇文章，才將這位被世人遺忘的無名畫家拯救出來，披荊斬棘為接下來的各位作家開辟了一條新路，而這些作家，或多或少有些畏首畏尾，方敢沿著這條道路步其後塵。在很長一段時間內，法蘭西沒有一個評論家可以挑戰胡茂瑞的權威，他所下的斷言無法不給人留下深刻印象；這些斷言過去看起來似乎誇大其詞；但後人的種種評判給他的推斷下了定論，司查爾的名氣現在已經牢牢根植在他所寫文章的字裏行間。藝術史中有各種最具傳奇色彩的軼聞趣事，司查爾的一舉成名算得上其中一種。但我在此並不打算討論司查爾的作品，除非觸及到他的性格。某些畫家目空一切，聲稱外行對繪畫一無所知，對畫作賞識的最好方式就是默默掏出支票本購買畫作，對此觀點我不敢苟同。這是一種荒誕可笑的誤解，認為藝術隻不過是一種手藝，隻有工匠才能完全理解。藝術其實是情感的流露，而情感所使用的是一種人人都可理解的語言。但我承認，對技藝沒有實際了解的評論家很少能夠在這個問題上說出真正有價值的東西，而我對繪畫一無所知。謝天謝地，我沒有必要冒這個險，因為我的朋友賴愛德先生既是寫作能手，也是令人欽佩的畫家，他在一本小冊子中全麵討論了司查爾的作品，其寫作風格堪稱令人著迷的典範。與法蘭西相比，這種文風的養成，英格蘭在很大程度上遠不盡如人意。 |
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Maurice Huret in his famous article gave an outline of Charles Strickland's life which was well calculated to whet the appetites of the inquiring. With his disinterested passion for art, he had a real desire to call the attention of the wise to a talent which was in the highest degree original; but he was too good a journalist to be unaware that the "human interest" would enable him more easily to effect his purpose. And when such as had come in contact with Strickland in the past, writers who had known him in London, painters who had met him in the cafes of Montmartre, discovered to their amazement that where they had seen but an unsuccessful artist, like another, authentic genius had rubbed shoulders with them there began to appear in the magazines of France and America a succession of articles, the reminiscences of one, the appreciation of another, which added to Strickland's notoriety, and fed without satisfying the curiosity of the public. The subject was grateful, and the industrious Weitbrecht-Rotholz in his imposing monograph has been able to give a remarkable list of authorities. |
胡茂瑞在他的那篇雄文中對司查爾的生平勾勒出了一個輪廓，老謀深算地吊起了獵奇者的各種胃口。他懷著一股對藝術大公無私的激情，真切希望能夠喚起睿智之士關注這樣一位擁有最高級藝術創作天分的人才；但胡茂瑞作為一名新聞工作者，太會炒作，他並非不知道文章要有“人情味”，才會令他更容易達到目的的道理。從前接觸過司查爾的人驚奇地發現，他們當初看到的隻不過是一位尚未成功的藝人，與他人並無兩樣，原來竟是個真材實料的天才，這些人包括在倫敦認識他的作家，以及在蒙馬特的那些咖啡館中遇到過他的畫家。司查爾與這些人在茫茫人海中擦肩而過之後，法蘭西和美國的雜誌上隨即開始相繼刊登一係列文章，不是對他的種種回憶，就是對他的大加讚賞，這些文章都提升了他並不光彩的名氣，部分迎合但並未完全滿足公眾的好奇心。司查爾對此感恩戴德，而且魏若特通過不辭辛勞的努力，在他的那部專著中已經能夠給出一份舉世矚目有關司查爾的權威資料清單。 |
