The petrifying gaze of Medusa
美杜莎具有石化魔力的凝视
turns David into cold, lifeless stone.
把大卫变成冰冷 毫无生气的石头
Cellini got away with his stupendous work
切利尼用他惊人的作品逃脱了罪责
only because it flattered
只是因为他的作品
his Medici patron's sense of self-importance.
满足了美第奇家族赞助者的自负感
The great days of Florence are gone,
佛罗伦萨光辉的日子一去不复返
but a show of grandstanding art
但存留下来的伟大艺术品
would postpone insignificance indefinitely.
永远不会让此地变得无足轻重
And for rising empires,
至于新兴的崛起帝国
art and artists were indispensable
帝国威势的投射
to the projection of their power.
离不开帝国的艺术和艺术家
And this was as true in Muslim Asia as in Christian Europe.
亚洲的穆斯林国家和欧洲的基督教国家都是如此
The Mughal Empire in India was a sponge for all the cultures
印度的莫卧儿帝国是个继承和崇尚
it inherited and admired.
多元文化的海绵
And that tolerant, curious openness to many influences,
在阿克巴统治下 那种对东西方影响
east and west under the Emperor Akbar
容忍 好奇 开放的态度
became a principal of government.
成为了政府的主要政策
When he and his descendants
当他和他的子嗣们
rebuilt the old ruined Hindu city of Lahore,
重建破旧的印度教城市拉合尔时
they borrowed from Indian temple style
他们借鉴了印度庙宇
and from Persian architecture.
以及波斯建筑的风格
But most crucially, Akbar, who had learned painting himself,
但最重要的是 阿克巴他自学了绘画
made art the mirror of his civilisation.
使得艺术成为他那个时期文明的镜子
"There are many that hate painting," Akbar said,
"很多人都讨厌绘画" 阿克巴说
"But such men I dislike."
"但我不喜欢这种人"
Akbar established workshops of hundreds of artists,
阿克巴为数以百计的艺术家们建立了作坊
great factories of royal culture
这些伟大的皇家文化工厂
that dwarfed the modest studios of western painters.
让西方画家狭窄的画室相形见绌
Mughal art drew on Indian epics,
莫卧儿帝国时期的艺术取材于印度史诗
Persian poetry, calligraphy and profuse decoration,
波斯诗歌 书法以及装饰品
but it quickly developed its own style,
但它很快发展出了自己的风格
crowded with dashing incident,
充满着气派的故事
courtly elegance
儒雅且高贵
and sometimes under the influence of Western art
而且有时也会受到阿克巴所见过的
seen by Akbar,
西方艺术的影响
a flair for naturalism.
例如自然主义的内秉性
Akbar himself, always at the centre of the subject matter,
阿克巴他自己一直都是作品主题的中心
paid personal attention to the work,
他会亲自关注作品的创作
regularly descending on workshops and,
时常去作坊看看
to the terror of the artists,
令艺术家们害怕的是
promoting or demoting painters,
他会根据自己对画家们最近作品的喜恶
depending on how he liked or disliked their latest work.
来擢升或贬斥画家