向大师致敬@George Stubbs
Mares and Foals without a Background by George Stubbs, Public Domian (source: commons.wikimedia.org)
引言
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论欧洲历史中绘画骏马最著名者，非英国画家 GEORGE STUBBS（乔治 史塔布斯；1724~1806）莫属，自幼立志成为画家的他，只经历过数周的拜师学艺，便通过自学成才的方式达到如此深湛造诣，天赋之高令人惊叹，但能够成为一代艺术巨匠，他所付出的努力也是常人所难以想象的。
George Stubbs by George Stubbs, National Portrait Gallery, UK, CC BY-NC-ND (source: artuk.org)
现存关于这位画家的文献记录少之又少，为何他的大部分画作均以马为题已是无从稽考，但无论是过去或现在，大家都一致认为 GEORGE STUBBS 笔下的马匹，是画家中表现得最为真实、最为准确的。
我们今天暂且不谈赛马、不聊马匹血统，就让笔者带您好好欣赏这位大师震撼心灵的艺术作品，领略什么是真正的栩栩如生。
震撼初体验
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数年前一次走马观花之旅，笔者有幸亲眼观赏到 GEORGE STUBBS 最著名的作品 Whistlejacket，奈何当时有眼不识泰山，对这位艺术大师一无所知，只记得当时在其它画厅中透过门廊，远远看到这幅巨型作品（292 x 246.4 cm）之时，便被活像要跳出来的栗色骏马所深深吸引，画中虽无传统画作中精美绝伦的背景，但马匹的立体感实在令人拍案叫绝，至今仍记忆犹新，对艺术一知半解的笔者尚有如此感受，不难想象有多少人曾被这幅栩栩如生的画作打动过。
Whistlejacket by George Stubbs, The National Gallery, UK (source: artuk.org)
这幅约于 1762 年完成的作品，是 GEORGE STUBBS 为他最重要的顾客，第二代 Marquess of Rockingham（罗金汉侯爵）所画，这位侯爵是两届英国首相兼欧洲最富有的人之一，而 Whistlejacket 正是其名下马匹，出生于 1749 年，乃 Goldolphin Arabian（纯血马三大原始祖先之一）的第三代。
传世佳作
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就像很多画家一样，GEORGE STUBBS 也曾有穷困潦倒、依靠亲朋戚友补贴的时光，所幸在三十多岁之时，赶上纯血赛马活动在英国上流社会急速盛行的风口，让这位极度精于绘画马匹的画家，受到一众达官贵人与皇室贵族的青睐，争相邀约为爱马留画纪念。
有画一匹的…
Bay Hunter by a Lake by George Stubbs, Tate, UK, CC BY-NC-ND (source: artuk.org)
成对的…
Two Horses in a Paddock by George Stubbs, National Trust, Ascott, UK (source: artuk.org)
三匹一起的…
'Gnawpost' and Two Other Colts by George Stubbs, Walker Art Gallery, UK (artuk.org)
有大有小的…
Mares and Foals in a River Landscape by George Stubbs, Tate, UK, CC BY-NC-ND (artuk.org)
当然亦有马主喜欢一起成为主角的…
Sir Sidney Medows by George Stubbs, Royal Collection Trust, UK (source: royalcollection.org.uk)
名媛自然是少不了…
Laetitia, Lady Lade by George Stubbs, Royal Collection Trust, UK (source： royalcollection.org.uk)
这可是英皇乔治四世未登位之前啊！
George IV, when Prince of Wales by George Stubbs, Royal Collection Trust, UK (source: royalcollection.org.uk)
有一家三口的…
The Reverend Robert Carter Thelwall and His Family by George Stubbs, The Holburne Museum, UK, CC BY-NC-ND (source: artuk.org)
还有一大家子的…
Wedgwood Family by George Stubbs, Wedgwood Museum, UK (sources: artuk.org)
就像 Whistlejacket 一样，有不少有名有姓的真实纯血马成为了画中主角，比如说 Eclipse「日蚀」，一匹绝大部份现代纯血马的共同祖先…
Eclipse by George Stubbs, Learning Resource Centre, UK (source: artuk.org)
1795 年三岁经典赛「英国圣烈治」冠军 Hambletonian…
Hambletonian by George Stubbs, National Trust, Mount Stewart, UK (source: royalcollection.org.uk)
这匹叫 Lustre，Godolphin Arabian 的第三代，与 Whistlejacket 同辈份啊！
Lustre, held by a Groom by George Stubbs, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection (source: britishart.yale.edu)
Baronet，一匹后来出口到美国的纯血马…
Baronet with Samuel Chifney up by George Stubbs, Royal Collection Trust, UK (source: royalcollection.org.uk)
灰马 Gimcrack 是当时名字响当当的赛场王者！
Gimcrack with John Pratt up on Newmarket Heath by George Stubbs, The Fitzwillian Museum, UK, CC BY-NC-ND (source: artuk.org)
一匹腿长长称作 Molly Long Legs 的雌马，果然马如其名…
'Molly Long-Legs' with Her Jockey by George Stubbs, Walker Art Gallery, UK (source: artuk.org)
这匹叫 Otho 所属的父线血系（St Victors Barb）早就灭绝了…
Otho, with John Larkin up by George Stubbs, Tate, UK, CC BY-NC-ND (source: artuk.org)
这匹叫 Pumpkin 的栗毛马，曾拿下十六场赛事的冠军！
Pumpkin by George Stubbs, National Trust, Ascott, UK (source: royalcollection.org.uk)
这是 Turf，第三代 Duke of Ancaster（安卡斯特公爵）的名下马…
Turf, with Jockey up, at Newmarket by George Stubbs, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection (source: britishart.yale.edu)
除了马，GEORGE STUBBS 也会画一些其他动物，比如说汪星人…
Fino and Tiny by George Stubbs, Royal Collection Trust, UK (source: royalcollection.org.uk)
牦牛…
Yak by George Stubbs, Hunterian Museum, UK (source: artuk.org)
斑马…
Zebra by George Stubbs, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection (source: britishart.yale.edu)
驼鹿…
The Moose by George Stubbs, Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow, UK (source: artuk.org)
牛与鸡（还有英国人一枚）…
The Lincolnshire Ox by George Stubbs, Walker Art Gallery, UK (source: artuk.org)
犀牛也有？
Rhinoceros by George Stubbs, Hunterian Museum, UK (source: artuk.org)
猎鹰，看上去是家养的吧？
Greenland Falcon by George Stubbs, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection (source: britishart.yale.edu)
蓝牛羚，没听说过…
The Nilgai by George Stubbs, Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow, UK (source: artuk.org)
撒狗粮的马鹿情侣…
A Red Deer Buck and a Doe by George Stubbs, Royal Collection Trust, UK (source: royalcollection.org.uk)
袋鼠？据说这是在欧洲画作当中首次出现的澳洲大陆物种！
The Kongouro from New Holland by George Stubbs, Royal Museums Greenwich, UK (source: collections.rmg.co.uk)
一头鹿、一头猎豹和两个印度人，他们想干什么呢？
Cheetah and Stag with Two Indians by George Stubbs, Manchester Art Gallery, UK, CC BY-NC-ND (source: artuk.org)
狮子是 GEORGE STUBBS 在画中经常与马放一起的动物，可怜的马自然是被侵害的对象了，而这个主题曾经出现过不少的版本，比如这匹银鬃马的…
Horse Frightened by a Lion by George Stubbs, Tate, UK (source: artuk.org)
吓得不轻呢！这是匹 Palomino 还是 Cremello？
A Stallion Surprised by a Lion by George Stubbs, English Heritage, Down House, UK (source: artuk.org)
小白龙也跑不掉哈！
Horse Frightened by a Lion by George Stubbs, Walker Art Gallery, UK (source: artuk.org)
最后，还是银鬃马被咬上了，呜呜呜…
Horse Devoured by a Lion by George Stubbs, Tate, UK, CC BY-NC-ND (source: artuk.org)
大家都知道马是极度好动的动物，要他如模特般一动不动让您画，简直是难于登天，绘画马匹的实际难度要比人像大得多了，而 GEORGE STUBBS 除了天份外，到底还有什么秘诀能使画作如此的传神？
真正的大师
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GEORGE STUBBS 与另一位大家都认识的大师「达芬奇」拥有一个共通点，那便是对解刨学均甚感兴趣并曾经深入研究，GEORGE STUBBS 约二十岁时便向一些专家开始学习解剖，在三十二岁时更在妻子的协助下，利用一年半的时间对死去的马匹进行解剖，在一层一层剥下后用画笔记录所见，以深入了解马匹运动时骨骼与肌肉的实际状态。
Finished study for The Third Anatomical Table of the Muscles ... of the Horse by George Stubbs, Royal Academy of Arts, UK (source: royalacademy.org.uk)
The Fourth Anatomical Table of the Muscles ... of the Horse by George Stubbs, Royal Academy of Arts, UK (source: royalacademy.org.uk)
The Fifth Anatomical Table of the Muscles ... of the Horse by George Stubbs, Royal Academy of Arts, UK (source: royalacademy.org.uk)
这一切均发生在 GEORGE STUBBS 未成名之时。
The Eleventh Anatomical Table of the Muscles ... of the Horse by George Stubbs, Royal Academy of Arts, UK (source: royalacademy.org.uk)
The Thirteenth Anatomical Table of the Muscles ... of the Horse by George Stubbs, Royal Academy of Arts, UK (source: royalacademy.org.uk)
The Fifteenth Anatomical Table of the Muscles ... of the Horse by George Stubbs, Royal Academy of Arts, UK (source: royalacademy.org.uk)
The Third Anatomical Table of the Skeleton of the Horse by George Stubbs, Royal Academy of Arts, UK (source: royalacademy.org.uk)
在完成这些解剖作品后，GEORGE STUBBS 更希望集结成书谋求出版，以帮助后世画家对马匹的了解，可惜在当时来说这样的想法过于疯狂，自己因为囊中羞涩无法如愿的同时，亦没有金主愿意施以援手，但他并没有因此而放弃，在经过不断努力并于画作完成约八年后的 1766 年，他的这本＂The anatomy of the Horse＂最终得以问世。
我们在 GEORGE STUBBS 的身上可以看到，要成就一位真正的大师，除了过人的天赋外，背后超乎常人的努力与坚持也是重要关键所在，现在总归明白为何他笔下的马匹是如此的传神、如此的准确了。
后记
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GEORGE STUBBS 的画值多少钱？他的一幅＂Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath, with a Trainer, a Stable-lad, and a Jockey＂（96.5 x 186.5cm）于 2011 年以 2,240 万英镑在拍卖会上成交，成为该画家成交价最高的一幅作品。
Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath, with a Trainer, a Stable-lad, and a Jockey by George Stubbs, Public Domian (commons.wikimedia.org)
而在 2016 年，一幅唤作＂Two Hacks＂（54.6 x 73.7cm）的作品，原收藏者美国加州 Huntington Library 以为是临摹作品，以 21.5 万美元在拍卖会上把真迹出售，据说眼光独到的买家后来对该画的定价高达 75 万英镑，成为收藏界的一时佳话。
Two Hacks by George Stubbs, The Parker Gallery (source theparkergallery.com)
由于本身对马匹的钟爱，GEORGE STUBBS 成为了笔者最喜欢的画家之一，希望透过这篇文章对他的简单介绍与作品展示，你也会喜欢上他，不少画作的真迹目前被美国的 Yale Center for British Art 以及英国的 Royal Acadeny of Arts、The National Gallery、National Maritime Museum、National Museums Liverpool 与 Tate Gallery 等地收藏，英国皇室亦拥有其十六幅画作之多，如果日后有机会不妨去看一看真迹，那种震撼感是在这里看小图无法比拟的。
文 / Marty S.
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