Five Artistic Politicians

Fiona Macdonald

∷橙子 選 黃湘淇 注

印尼總統(tǒng)蘇西洛

美國總統(tǒng)吉米·卡特

喬治·布什的畫展

Former US president George W. Bush has unveiled portraits of 24 world leaders he met while in of fice, as part of an exhibition of his paintings that opens in April in Dallas. Talking to his daughter Jenna Bush Hager on NBC’sTodayshow, Bush said that he was inspired to take up painting after reading a Winston Churchill essay,Painting as a Pastime.

He embraced his artistic side after leaving of fice in 2009, and says he told his instructor: “There’s a Rembrandt trapped in this body. Your job is to unleash him.”1. 在2009年離任后，他（小布什）積極地開發(fā)了自己藝術的一面，節(jié)目中提到他對自己的指導老師說：“我身體里困著一個倫勃朗，你的工作就是去釋放他?！?Rembrandt: 倫勃朗·萊茵（1606—1669），歐洲巴洛克藝術的代表畫家之一，被稱為荷蘭歷史上最偉大的畫家。

Can any other politicians rival him for artistic talent? Here are five contenders.

Winston Churchill

He won the 1953 Nobel Prize in Literature “for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values”—but Churchill’s real passion lay in painting.2. 他因“歷史性、傳記性的通達描述，及對崇高人類價值的精湛雄辯”獲得1953年諾貝爾文學獎——但丘吉爾真正的熱情卻在繪畫上。oratory: 雄辯；演講術；exalted: 高尚的，尊貴的。The former British Prime Minister won an amateur prize in 1925, and submitted canvases to exhibitions in Paris under the pseudonym3. pseudonym: 筆名，假名，下文出現(xiàn)的assumed name 意思相同。Charles Morin. Over the course of 45 years, he completed more than 500 works. In 1948, he used another assumed name, Mr Winter, when offering paintings to the Royal Academy; two were accepted, but when asked if he would hold an exhibition, he responded: “They are not worth it.”

各國的總統(tǒng)，常常是政治舞臺上最奪目的明星。但除了在政壇游刃有余，獨占鰲頭外，他們也可能身懷絕技，多才多藝——可以筆寫春秋，可以描物作畫，還可以引吭高歌……在他們政治家的外表下深藏著低調(diào)謙遜的文藝范。

Jimmy Carter4. Jimmy Carter: 吉米·卡特（1924－ ），美國第39任總統(tǒng)。

While running for of fice, Jimmy Carter—US president between 1977 and 1981—admitted: “I’ve looked on a lot of women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times.” The former peanut farmer did not always use the words of a politician. Alongside his engineering and nuclear physics studies, Carter dabbled in5. dabble in:（作為興趣愛好）嘗試一下，涉獵。poetry—but it was only after he left the White Of fice that he felt con fident enough to publish his verse. “I went public in a very cautious way,” he toldThe New York Timesin 1995,when his book of poems,Always a Reckoning, came out.He claimed he was encouraged when his early attempts were accepted by literary journals: “I asked them not to take note of the fact that I had been president,” he said,“and they agreed.” Carter is also a painter, selling his artworks through his human rights organisation. In 2012,one sold at auction for $250,000.

丘吉爾在作畫

艾森豪威爾在作畫

普京在慈善活動上演奏

Dwight D. Eisenhower6. Dwight D. Eisenhower: 艾森豪威爾（1890－1969），是美國陸軍五星上將和第34任總統(tǒng)（1953－1961）。

The former US president took up painting in 1948 when he was almost 60, inspired by his friend Churchill. But by his death 21 years later he had completed over 250 works. No fan of modern art, he painted landscapes and patriotic portraits—he was as humble as Churchill about his talents. Unlike Churchill,he managed to paint while in of fice, claiming he had more time to paint when he was president than he did as a private citizen because his day was better organised. He told a reporter from theWashington Postthat he painted in a small closet under the White House stairs.

Vladimir Putin7. Vladimir Putin: 弗拉基米爾·普京（1952－ ），現(xiàn)任俄羅斯總統(tǒng)，被認為是俄羅斯自2000年以來的實際最高領導人。

Not happy simply to project an image of outdoorsy machismo8. machismo:〈西〉男子漢。, the Russian president has a softer side. After shooting a tiger with a tranquiliser dart and firing a crossbow at a whale from a speedboat, Putin rounded off 2010 by singing a rendition of Louis Armstrong’s “Blueberry Hill”.9. 在用鎮(zhèn)靜飛鏢打老虎和在快艇上用弓弩射鯨魚之后，普金演唱了一曲路易斯·阿姆斯特朗的《藍莓山》為2010年完美收官。tranquiliser dart: 鎮(zhèn)靜劑飛鏢；crossbow: 弩，十字弓；round off: 使完美，圓滿結(jié)束；rendition: 表演；Louis Armstrong: 路易斯·阿姆斯特朗（1901－1971），美國爵士樂音樂家，被稱為“爵士樂之父”。He played the melody on the piano at a charity auction, and then took to the stage to sing with a full backing band. Film stars in the audience—including Kevin Costner and Goldie Hawn—clapped and sang along.10. Kevin Costner: 凱文·科斯特納，好萊塢著名影星，代表作包括《與狼共舞》、《完美世界》、《保鏢》等；Goldie Hawn: 戈爾迪·霍恩，美國著名女影星，代表作《仙人掌花》。Putin is also partial to daubing oil on canvas:a painting he allegedly ‘dashed off’ in a day sold at a charity auction in 2009 for more than ￡750,000.11. partial to: 偏愛，癖好；daub: 涂抹，亂畫；dash off: 匆忙完成。

Susilo BambangYudhoyono12. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono: 蘇西洛·班邦·尤多約諾將軍（1949－ ），印度尼西亞第六任總統(tǒng)。

The Indonesian president serenaded Putin with a birthday song at the Apec summit in October 2013.13. serenade: 為……唱小夜曲；Apec summit:Asia-Paci fic Economic Cooperation Summit，亞太經(jīng)濟合作組織峰會。But Yudhoyono has musical talents that extend beyond impromptu singalongs14. impromptu singalong: 即興伴唱。: he was in a band in his youth, and has released three pop albums in of fice. While he has sung onstage during election rallies15. election rally: 選舉集會。,his voice does not feature on his latest album: he just wrote the lyrics, which are sung by artists including a former winner ofIndonesian Idol.