Venice: The Dogana and San Giorgio Maggiore《威尼斯：海關和圣喬治教堂》

Venice： The Dogana and San Giorgio Maggiore is a captivating painting by the British artist J.M.W. Turner， created in 1834. The painting depicts a vibrant and bustling scene in Venice， capturing the grandeur and serenity of the Dogana di Mare， the old customs house， and the church of San Giorgio Maggiore， located on the island of the same name.

《威尼斯：海關和圣喬治教堂》是英國畫家J. M. W. 透納1834年的作品。這幅迷人的畫作描繪了威尼斯充滿活力的繁忙場景，呈現了舊海關大樓和位于同名島嶼上的圣喬治馬喬雷教堂的宏偉與靜謐。

We look across a glittering waterway lined with long， low boats and sailboats at an ivory-white church in the distance to our right in this horizontal landscape painting. The horizon line comes about a third of the way up the composition， and wispy white clouds sweep across the brilliant azure-blue sky above.

在這幅橫幅風景畫中，可以看到一條波光粼粼的水道，水道兩旁排滿細長低矮的小船和帆船，右側遠處有一座乳白色的教堂。地平線顯現在畫面大約三分之一處，絲絲縷縷的白云橫布畫面上方湛藍的天空。

A row of buildings comes into view lining the canal to our right， with a terracotta-orange building followed by a cream-white building beyond， both angled toward the church. The church has a high dome rising over the temple-like front， which has columns supporting a triangular pediment. A tall bell tower rises to the left of the church.

畫面右側，運河邊矗立著一排建筑，有一座土橙色建筑，緊挨著一座奶白色建筑，它們斜斜朝向教堂。教堂有一個高高的穹頂，下方的教堂正臉好似神廟大門，有幾根柱子支撐著三角墻。教堂左邊聳立著一座高高的鐘樓。

The low boats， gondolas， to our left are packed with people while a few gondolas floating in the center of the canal appear occupied only by their gondoliers who stand holding their poles. Painted in tones of ivory and peach， the sails of boats behind the gondolas to our left billow in the breeze while the sails of vessels docked to our right are furled.

畫面左側，低矮的小船貢多拉上擠滿了人，漂浮在運河中央的幾艘貢多拉上卻似乎只有手持船篙站立的船夫。左側貢多拉后方，那些船只的帆被涂成了乳白色和桃紅色，在微風中鼓起；右側所泊船只的帆則都被收起。

The structures， boats， and people cast shimmering reflections on the gently rippling surface of the water in the canal. Rows of boats and buildings lining the canal extend into the deep， hazy distance to our left.

建筑物、船只和人們在運河輕漾的水面上投下閃著微光的倒影。運河岸邊成排的船只和建筑向著左側深邃、朦朧的遠方延伸而去。

Turner was known for his deep fascination with Venice， a city he visited multiple times throughout his life. During these visits， he would often paint or sketch from dawn till dusk， attempting to capture the city’s ephemeral light and atmosphere. It is said that he was so captivated by the changing light and reflections on the water that he would frequently take a gondola out into the lagoon to observe the play of light on the buildings and water， a practice that directly influenced the luminous quality seen in this painting.

透納一生中多次到過威尼斯，世人皆知他為這座城市深深著迷。造訪威尼斯時，他常常會整日作畫或練習速寫，試圖捕捉這座城市稍縱即逝的光線和氛圍。據說，他癡迷于水面上變化的光線和反光，經常乘坐貢多拉到潟湖去觀察光線照射在各種建筑和水上產生的效果，這種專研的成果直接反映在了此畫呈現的光效中。

This painting is a prime example of Turner’s engagement with the Romantic style， which emphasized emotion， light， and atmosphere. Unlike the precise detail characteristic of earlier landscape artists， Turner’s depiction of Venice is more impressionistic， with a softness of form and loose brushwork that foreshadowed the techniques of later artists， such as the French Impressionists.

這幅畫是透納浪漫主義畫風的范例，強調情感、光線和氣氛。與早期風景畫家強調精準細節的特色不同，透納對威尼斯的描繪更具印象派特征，框架柔和、筆觸松散，為后世畫家（諸如法國的印象派）的畫技奠定了基礎。