Portrait of Victor Chocquet《維克多·肖凱肖像》

愛藝

A kind of fame belongs to this otherwise obscure customs office clerk： he was friend and sitter to some of the greatest artists of his time. Passionately devoted to progressive art， Victor Chocquet had seen Renoirs work at the historic Impressionist sale at the Hotel Drouot in 1875. He immediately wrote， begging him to do a portrait with one of Delacroixs pictures in the background. “I want the two of you together， you and Eugene Delacroix.” Subsequently Renoir painted Victor Chocquet twice. That the painter was touched by the mans eagerness， sensitivity and gentleness is obvious in this affectionate portrait， painted at a time when Renoir was sorely in need of a patron， and beset by financial problems.

A fine， high-keyed tonality and a lightness of brushing mark Renoirs authentic manner of this period， differing from the tighter rendering of his society portrait commissions. In this relaxed portrait， there is a wonderful combination of sympathetic understanding of the sitters personality and a graceful skill that harmonizes perfectly with it.

Cezanne painted Chocquet， too; in his version one is struck immediately by Cezannes rugged modeling， his preoccupation with structure， the bones beneath the flesh. Renoir， captivated by his sitters personality， reveals how much more important to him was the projection of the spirit of the man （in the last analysis， when portraitists are at their best， they are painting themselves as well as their sitters）.

One sees here， in the casual， almost untidy painting of the hair and shirt， still more of that interest in the informal that produced Renoirs most intimate portraits. In the delicate， free painting of the fingers， whose outlines are inexact， there is much of the instinctive and tentative; Renoirs true interest was in things as experienced and felt.

Out of meager financial resources， Chocquet bought canvases from Renoir， Cezanne， and the other Impressionists before their work was widely appreciated. He strenuously fought for the recognition of the young painters， and managed to build a magnificent collection of their works. The collection was dispersed after his death.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ■

這位原本默默無聞的海關職員如今也有了些名氣：他那個時代最偉大的一些畫家與他成了朋友，他還是他們多幅作品的模特。1875年，巴黎德魯奧拍賣行舉辦了頗具歷史意義的印象派作品拍賣會，熱衷于前衛藝術的維克多·肖凱在那里看到了雷諾阿的作品。他立刻寫信請求雷諾阿畫一幅肖像，并希望背景放上一張德拉克羅瓦的畫。他表示：“我希望把您和歐仁·德拉克羅瓦放在一起。”后來，雷諾阿為維克多·肖凱畫過兩次肖像。從這幅飽含感情的肖像畫中可以明顯看出，肖凱的熱情、敏感和溫柔打動了雷諾阿。創作此畫時，雷諾阿正逢經濟困窘，急需有人資助。

此畫色調細膩明亮、筆觸輕盈放松，充分體現了雷諾阿這一時期繪畫的真實風格，不同于他接受商業委托創作肖像畫時那種較受束縛的呈現。這幅肖像賞心悅目，是協調一致的情感與技巧的美妙融合——用優雅畫技完美體現了畫家與模特的惺惺相惜。

塞尚也為肖凱畫過肖像。看到塞尚的版本，人們會立即被他粗獷的人物造型、對構圖的專注及對人物的骨感呈現所震撼。雷諾阿則是受到肖凱個性的吸引，他的版本所揭示的是，對他來說，反映人物的精神面貌更加重要（說到底，創作狀態最佳時的肖像畫家畫的不僅僅是模特，還是在畫他們自己）。

這幅畫中，對人物頭發和襯衫的描繪隨意且近乎凌亂，仍然體現出雷諾阿對非正式創作的興趣，正是這種興趣讓他創作出最感性的肖像畫。對人物手指的描繪柔和而寫意，輪廓并不分明，很大程度上體現的是直覺和設想。雷諾阿真正感興趣的是他對事物的體驗和感受。

肖凱本人財力微薄，但他還是購買了雷諾阿、塞尚和其他印象派畫家的多幅作品，當時他們的畫作尚未被社會廣泛接納。他為這些年輕畫家得到認可而盡心盡力，并大量收藏了他們的作品。這些藏品在他去世后四下分散。? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? □