On Tuesdays and Fridays masters spent the morning at Amitrano’s, criticising the work done. In France the painter earns little unless he paints portraits and is patronised by rich Americans; and men of reputation are glad to increase their incomes by spending two or three hours once a week at one of the numerous studios where art is taught.
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星期二这一天,由米歇尔·罗兰来阿米特拉诺授课。他是个上了年纪的画家,胡子白苍苍的,气色很好。他曾为政府作过许多装饰画,而这现在却在他的学生中间传为笑柄。他是安格尔的弟子,看不惯美术的新潮流,一听到马奈、德加、莫奈和西斯莱tas de farceurs的名字就来火。不过,他倒是个不可多得的好教师:温和有礼,海人不倦,且善于引导。
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Tuesday was the day upon which Michel Rollin came to Amitrano’s. He was an elderly man, with a white beard and a florid complexion , who had painted a number of decorations for the State, but these were an object of derision to the students he instructed: he was a disciple of Ingres, impervious to the progress of art and angrily impatient with that tas de farceurs whose names were Manet, Degas, Monet, and Sisley; but he was an excellent teacher, helpful, polite, and encouraging.
Foinet, on the other hand, who visited the studio on Fridays, was a difficult man to get on with. He was a small, shrivelled person, with bad teeth and a bilious air, an untidy gray beard, and savage eyes; his voice was high and his tone sarcastic . He had had pictures bought by the Luxembourg, and at twenty-five looked forward to a great career; but his talent was due to youth rather than to personality, and for twenty years he had done nothing but repeat the landscape which had brought him his early success. When he was reproached with monotony, he answered:
He was envious of everyone else’s success, and had a peculiar, personal loathing of the impressionists; for he looked upon his own failure as due to the mad fashion which had attracted the public, sale bete, to their works. The genialdisdain of Michel Rollin, who called them impostors, was answered by him with vituperation, of which crapule and canaille were the least violent items; he amused himself with abuse of their private lives, and with sardonic humour, with blasphemous and obscene detail, attacked the legitimacy of their births and the purity of their conjugal relations: he used an Oriental imagery and an Oriental emphasis to accentuate his ribaldscorn.
Nor did he conceal his contempt for the students whose work he examined. By them he was hated and feared; the women by his brutal sarcasm he reduced often to tears, which again aroused his ridicule ; and he remained at the studio, notwithstanding the protests of those who suffered too bitterly from his attacks, because there could be no doubt that he was one of the best masters in Paris. Sometimes the old model who kept the school ventured to remonstrate with him, but his expostulations quickly gave way before the violent insolence of the painter to abject apologies.
It was Foinet with whom Philip first came in contact. He was already in the studio when Philip arrived. He went round from easel to easel, with Mrs. Otter , the massiere, by his side to interpret his remarks for the benefit of those who could not understand French. Fanny Price, sitting next to Philip, was working feverishly . Her face was sallow with nervousness, and every now and then she stopped to wipe her hands on her blouse; for they were hot with anxiety. Suddenly she turned to Philip with an anxious look, which she tried to hide by a sullen frown.
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"你看画得还可以吗?"她问,一边朝自己的画点点头。
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‘D’you think it’s good?’ she asked, nodding at her drawing.
Fanny Price puzzled Philip. Her conceit was stupendous. Philip had already discovered that everyone in the studio cordially disliked her; and it was no wonder, for she seemed to go out of her way to wound people.
‘I complained to Mrs. Otter about Foinet,’ she said now. ‘The last two weeks he hasn’t looked at my drawings. He spends about half an hour on Mrs. Otter because she’s the massiere. After all I pay as much as anybody else, and I suppose my money’s as good as theirs. I don’t see why I shouldn’t get as much attention as anybody else.’
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她重新拿起炭笔,但不多一会儿,又搁下了,嘴里发出一声呻吟。
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She took up her charcoal again, but in a moment put it down with a groan .
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"我再也画不下去了,心里紧得慌哪。"
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‘I can’t do any more now. I’m so frightfully nervous.’
She looked at Foinet, who was coming towards them with Mrs. Otter. Mrs. Otter, meek , mediocre , and self-satisfied, wore an air of importance. Foinet sat down at the easel of an untidy little Englishwoman called RuthChalice . She had the fine black eyes, languid but passionate , the thin face, ascetic but sensual, the skin like old ivory, which under the influence of Burne-Jones were cultivated at that time by young ladies in Chelsea.
Foinet seemed in a pleasant mood; he did not say much to her, but with quick, determined strokes of her charcoal pointed out her errors. Miss Chalice beamed with pleasure when he rose. He came to Clutton, and by this time Philip was nervous too but Mrs. Otter had promised to make things easy for him. Foinet stood for a moment in front of Clutton’s work, biting his thumb silently, then absent-mindedly spat out upon the canvas the little piece of skin which he had bitten off.
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"这根线条画得不错,"他终于开了腔,一边用拇指点着他所欣赏的成功之笔,"看来你已经有点人门了。"
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‘That’s a fine line,’ he said at last, indicating with his thumb what pleased him. ‘You’re beginning to learn to draw.’
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克拉顿没吭声,只是凝目望着这位画家,依旧是那一副不把世人之言放在眼里的讥诮神情。
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Clutton did not answer, but looked at the master with his usual air of sardonic indifference to the world’s opinion.
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"我现在开始,你至少是有几分才气的。"
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‘I’m beginning to think you have at least a trace of talent.’
Mrs. Otter, who did not like Clutton, pursed her lips. She did not see anything out of the way in his work. Foinet sat down and went into technical details. Mrs. Otter grew rather tired of standing . Clutton did not say anything, but nodded now and then, and Foinet felt with satisfaction that he grasped what he said and the reasons of it; most of them listened to him, but it was clear they never understood. Then Foinet got up and came to Philip.
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"他刚来两天,"奥特太太赶紧解释道,"是个新手,以前从没学过画。"
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‘He only arrived two days ago,’ Mrs. Otter hurried to explain. ‘He’s a beginner. He’s never studied before.’
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"Ca se voit,"画师说,"不说也看得出。"
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‘Ca se voit,’ the master said. ‘One sees that.’
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他继续往前走,奥特太太压低嗓门对他说:
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He passed on, and Mrs. Otter murmured to him:
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"这就是我同你提起过的那个姑娘。"
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‘This is the young lady I told you about.’
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他瞪眼冲她望着,仿佛她是头令人憎恶的野兽似的,而他说话的声调也变得格外刺耳。
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He looked at her as though she were some repulsive animal, and his voice grew more rasping.
‘It appears that you do not think I pay enough attention to you. You have been complaining to the massiere. Well, show me this work to which you wish me to give attention.’
Fanny Price coloured. The blood under her unhealthy skin seemed to be of a strange purple. Without answering she pointed to the drawing on which she had been at work since the beginning of the week. Foinet sat down.
‘Well, what do you wish me to say to you? Do you wish me to tell you it is good? It isn’t. Do you wish me to tell you it is well drawn ? It isn’t. Do you wish me to say it has merit? It hasn’t. Do you wish me to show you what is wrong with it? It is all wrong. Do you wish me to tell you what to do with it? Tear it up. Are you satisfied now?’
Miss Price became very white. She was furious because he had said all this before Mrs. Otter. Though she had been in France so long and could understand French well enough, she could hardly speak two words.
‘He’s got no right to treat me like that. My money’s as good as anyone else’s. I pay him to teach me. That’s not teaching me.’
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"她说些什么?她说些什么?"富瓦内问。
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‘What does she say? What does she say?’ asked Foinet.
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奥特太太支吾着,不敢转译给他听。普赖斯小姐自己用蹩脚的法语又说了一遍:‘Je vous paye pour m’apprendre.’
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Mrs. Otter hesitated to translate, and Miss Price repeated in execrable French.‘Je vous paye pour m’apprendre.’
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画师眼睛里怒火闪射,他拉开嗓门,挥着拳头。
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His eyes flashed with rage, he raised his voice and shook his fist.
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"Maia,nom de Dieu,我教不了你。教头骆驼也比教你容易。"他转身对奥特太太说:"问问她,学画是为了消闲解闷,还是指望靠它谋生。"
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‘Mais, nom de Dieu, I can’t teach you. I could more easily teach a camel.’ He turned to Mrs. Otter. ‘Ask her, does she do this for amusement, or does she expect to earn money by it?’
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"我要像画家那样挣钱过日子,"普赖斯小姐答道。
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‘I’m going to earn my living as an artist,’ Miss Price answered.
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"那么我就有责任告诉你:你是在白白浪费光阴。你缺少天赋,这倒不要紧,如今真正有天赋的人又有几个;问题是你根本没有灵性,直到现在还未开窍。你来这里有多久了?五岁小孩上了两堂课后,画得也比你现在强。我只想奉劝你一句,趁早放弃这番无谓的尝试吧。你若要谋生,恐怕当bonne a tout fatre也要比当画家稳妥些。瞧!"
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‘Then it is my duty to tell you that you are wasting your time. It would not matter that you have no talent, talent does not run about the streets in these days, but you have not the beginning of an aptitude . How long have you been here? A child of five after two lessons would draw better than you do. I only say one thing to you, give up this hopeless attempt. You’re more likely to earn your living as a bonne a tout faire than as a painter. Look.’
He seized a piece of charcoal, and it broke as he applied it to the paper. He cursed, and with the stump drew great firm lines. He drew rapidly and spoke at the same time, spitting out the words with venom .
‘Look, those arms are not the same length. That knee, it’s grotesque . I tell you a child of five. You see, she’s not standing on her legs. That foot!’
With each word the angry pencil made a mark, and in a moment the drawing upon which Fanny Price had spent so much time and eager trouble was unrecognisable, a confusion of lines and smudges. At last he flung down the charcoal and stood up.
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"小姐,听我的忠告,还是去学点裁缝的手艺吧。"他看看自己的表。"十二点了。A la semaine prochaine,messieurs."
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普赖斯小姐慢腾腾地把画具收拢来。菲利普故意落在别人后面,想宽慰她几句。他搜索枯肠,只想出这么一句:
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"哎,我很难过。这个人多粗鲁!"
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谁知她竟恶狠狠地冲着他发火了。
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She turned on him savagely .
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"你留在这儿就是为了对我说这个?等我需要你怜悯的时候,我会开口求你的。现在请你别挡住我的去路。"
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‘Is that what you’re waiting about for? When I want your sympathy I’ll ask for it. Please get out of my way.’