The Seasons《四 季》

[圖見封底]

Mucha was established as a leading poster artist between 1895 and 1900. In gaining wider public recognition as the ‘Master of the Art Nouveau poster’, Mucha’s success in a new genre—decorative panels—played a significant part. Decorative panels were posters without text, a prototype of today’s art posters, designed purely for artistic appreciation or decorating interior walls.

[2] It was Mucha’s belief that through the creation of beautiful works of art the quality of life would be improved. He also believed that it was his duty as an artist to promote art for ordinary people.He was able to fulfill both of these objectives by means of his innovative concept of the mass-produced decorative panel.

[3] The first of Mucha’s decorative panels were The Seasons (colour lithograph, each 103cm × 54cm, 1896), a series of four panels representing the theme of the four seasons. The series proved very popular and it was followed by other popular series including The Flowers (1898), The Arts (1898), The Times of the Day (1899), The Precious Stones (1900) and The Moon and the Stars (1902). These panels illustrate all the typical qualities of the Mucha poster—the beautiful women with suggestive gestures, the decorative use of flowers and flowing hair, the subtle yet striking colours—all combine to create a compelling harmony of vision whose intention is to inspire and elevate the viewer.

1895年至1900年，穆夏一直是公認的最重要的海報畫家。他之所以被譽為“新藝術海報大師”而獲得廣泛認可，有一個因素不可忽略，那就是他在新的藝術樣式——裝飾鑲板——方面取得的成功。裝飾鑲板是無字海報，可謂當今藝術海報的雛形，純粹為藝術欣賞或內墻裝飾而設計。

[2]穆夏相信，創造美的藝術作品可以提高生活品質。他還認為，身為畫家，他的職責就是向普羅大眾推介藝術。為達成這兩個目的，他就要實踐自己的創新理念，即大批量生產裝飾鑲板。

[3]穆夏的首個裝飾鑲板作品是《四季》（彩色平版印刷，單板103厘米×54厘米，1896年），由以四季為主題的四塊系列鑲板構成。這組作品推出后深受歡迎，其后又推出了好幾組流行作品，包括《花》（1898）、《藝術》（1898）、《四時》（1899）、《寶石》（1900）和《星月》（1902）。這些鑲板具有穆夏海報的所有典型特征——姿態富含意味的麗人、裝飾性的花朵和飄逸長發、細膩而耀目的色彩。種種特征組合在一起，就是要營造一份賞心悅目的和諧感，旨在激勵及提升觀者。

[4] The Seasons shows the harmonious cycles of nature. Four seasonal beauties, each set against a distinct natural backdrop, convey the mood of each season. Innocent Spring stands among white blossoms, charming birds;Summer lounges among red poppies;bountiful Autumn rests with chrysanthemums, gathering fruit; and Winter,in a snowy landscape, huddles under a cloak with a small bird.

[5] Mucha personifies Spring as a fair-haired figure in a translucent white dress standing under a blossoming tree.The blossom is echoed in the white flowers in her hair. She holds a lyre fashioned from a branch on which three small birds sit.

[6] Mucha portrays Summer as a sensual and sultry brunette with red poppies in her hair. A serene mood of repose and contentment pervades the scene as the woman leans against a grapevine with her feet bathing in the shallow water below. Mucha captures the summer light in the delicate blue sky beyond.

[4]《四季》表現的是大自然的和諧輪回。四個代表不同季節的麗人傳遞出每個季節不同的情緒，背景也是各具特色的自然風光。純真的“春”站立白色花叢中，鳥兒為之迷醉；“夏”小憩紅色罌粟叢；豐裕的“秋”置身菊花叢，采摘著水果；雪景中，“冬”手捧小鳥藏身斗篷下。

[5]穆夏將春擬人化為一個金發女子，身著半透明白裙，站立在一棵鮮花盛開的樹下。那些花兒與她發上所戴一模一樣。女子手持一把用樹枝做成的里爾琴，琴弦上停著三只小鳥。

[6]穆夏將夏描繪為性感撩人的褐發女子，發戴紅罌粟。女子倚著葡萄藤，雙腳垂浸在淺淺的水洼中，整幅畫面彌漫著休憩的寧靜和滿足的祥和。穆夏充分表現了淡藍色天空背景下的夏日之光。

[7] Autumn is represented as a playful figure wearing a wreath of chrysanthemums in her long auburn hair. She sits amid a rich tapestry of autumnal plants and gathers grapes from an abundant vine.

[8] Draped from head to toe in a pale green cape, the figure of Winter stands next to a snow-capped bush to shelter from the cold. In her hands she warms a small bird as three other birds look on in envy. The simplicity and flatness of the composition is reminiscent of traditional Japanese woodcuts and reveals Mucha’s debt to Japanese art. ■

[7]秋被呈現為一個頑皮的女子，紅棕色長發上戴著菊花花環。葡萄藤上果實累累，她坐在那里采摘葡萄，四周環繞豐富多彩的秋季植物。

[8]冬之女站立在白雪覆蓋的灌木旁避寒，從頭到腳包裹在淡綠色斗篷中。她手捧一只小鳥為其取暖，另外三只鳥兒則在一旁羨慕地觀望。構圖的簡潔和平實讓人想起傳統的日本木刻，也揭示出穆夏作品對日本藝術的借鑒。 □