April Love

April Love

April Love (oil on canvas, 89cm×50cm) is a painting by the Pre-Raphaelite painter Arthur Hughes (1832–1915) which was created between 1855 and 1856. It was first exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1856.

[2]At its first showing Hughes accompanied the painting with an extract from Tennyson’s poem “The Miller’s Daughter”:

Love is hurt with jar and fret, Love is made a vague regret, Eyes with idle tears are set, Idle habit links us yet; What is Love? For we forget. Ah no, no.

[3]The painting depicts a young couple at a moment of emotional crisis. The male figure is barely visible, his head bent over the young woman’s left hand. The woman, in a blue dress and blue scarf, is looking down at fallen blossoms, suggesting the end of spring, and of early and young love.

[4]John Ruskin (1819–1900) was an English art critic and social thinker. He, like Hughes, supported the pre-Raphaelite movement. After seeing the painting unfinished, he suggested Hughes name the piece “Hide and Seek”. Hughes wrote to friend William Allingham that the fictitious girl in the painting was “rejoicing in the more graceful title of ‘April Love’.”Ruskin later wrote of the finished one,“Exquisite in every way; lovely in colour, most subtle in the quivering expression of the lips, and the sweetness of the tender face…” The model for the principal figure was Tryphena Ford, whom Hughes married in 1855.

《四月之恋》（布面油画，89厘米×50厘米）是拉斐尔前派画家阿瑟·休斯（1832—1915）的作品，创作于1855至1856年间，1856年在皇家美术学院首次展出。

[2]该画首展时，休斯在画旁配了几行文字，节选自丁尼生的诗作《磨坊主的女儿》：

爱到心伤懊恼生，

如今爱已悔朦增。

不觉双眼泪涔涔，

趣意恬习连爱绳。

何为爱？已成忘。

啊不不。莫相忘！1此段译文为英国威尔士班戈大学英语文学院在读博士许景城应约助译，特此致谢。

[3]画作描绘了一对感情陡遇危机的恋人。男子模样依稀难辨，头垂向年轻女子的左手。女子身着蓝裙，肩披蓝色围巾，低头望向落花，寓意春将去，早恋逝。

[4]约翰·拉斯金（1819—1900）是英国艺术评论家和思想家。他和休斯一样支持拉斐尔前派运动。这幅画尚未完成时他便看到了，还建议休斯将画命名为“捉迷藏”。休斯后来写信给朋友威廉·阿林厄姆说，画中虚构的那个女孩“会喜欢‘四月之恋’

[5] It shows a distinctly Pre-Raphaelite style in which a soft approach to nature and femininity is found. Bright colors and red-haired women as well as an emphasis on nature and symbolism characterize this style which can be found in the late 1800s as a response to industrialization.

[6] Originally acquired by William Morris, the painting was purchased by the Tate Gallery, London (now Tate Britain) in 1909 and has remained in the Tate collection to the present day. ■

这个更雅致的名字”。拉斯金后来看到成画，评论道：“（此画）无论从哪方面看都很精致，色彩悦目，颤抖的嘴唇尤为精细，温柔的面庞如此甜美……”为该画主角做模特的是特丽费娜·福特，休斯1855年娶其为妻。

[5]全画展现出明显的拉斐尔前派风格，对自然和女性的刻画笔触轻柔。明亮的色彩、红发的女子，以及对自然和象征的突出表达，都是这一风格的体现。19世纪末，拉斐尔前派的作品被当作对工业化的一种回应。

[6]此画最初为威廉·莫里斯所获，1909年由英国伦敦的泰特美术馆购得，收藏至今。 □

《四月之恋》

译/爱艺