Leonard was born at a small town near Florence, where he was apprenticed to2 a painter. But he soon surpassed his masters in uniting precision of line with rhythm of movement, and in finding new ways to show light and shade.

　　Although Leonard is generally known as a painter, his actual output was very small. In fact today only about twelve paintings are looked upon as3 having been done by him. This is because his diverse interest, his far-ranging curiosity in nature and his endless scientific experiments and designings. To understand the man one has therefore , to read the 5, 000 notebooks in which he put down his observations in life and his sketch4 drawings.

　　Nevertheless, Leonard had profound understandings of art, which exerted5 great influence among the painters of his own generation and generations to follow. In painting he stressed the expression of emotional states, which , to him were, the heart of painting:

　　“A good painter has two chief objects — to paint man and the intention of his soul. The former is easy, the latter hard, for it must be expressed by gestures and the movement of the limbs . .. A painting will only be wonderful for the beholder by making that which is not so raised and detached from the wall. ”

　　His major works: Last Supper, many European art masters have painted on the same subject. But none of their versions has been as impressive as da Vinci’s. And none has the enduring value in the art world as his.

　　Mona Lisa, if Last Supper is the most famous of religious pictures, then Mona Lisa probably is the world’s most famous portrait. Mona Lisa had as its model wife of a banker. The quietly folded hands, the gaze that is directed at the observer, the ambiguity of the“smile”together help to create a curious effect and a secret effect.

　　閱讀自測

　　Ⅰ. Read the passage and fill in the blanks with proper words :

　　Leonard da Vinci is first known as a________ , and he is also a________ , an________ , a ________ , an________ , and a ________ . The amount of da Vinci’s paintings is very small. There are only about________ paintings. For da Vinci, a good painter has two chief objects — to paint ________ and the ________ of his soul. In his famous work Mona Lisa , the quietly________ hands, the________ that is directed at the observer, the ambiguity of the“________ ”together help to create a curious effect and a secret effect.

　　Ⅱ. Question :

　　What are da Vinci's famous paintings?

　　參考答案

　　Ⅰ. painter / sculptor / architect / musician / engineer / scientist / 12 / man / intention / folded / gaze / smile Ⅱ. Last Supper and Mona Lisa .

　　參考譯文

　　達芬奇傳奇

　　列 奧納多· 達· 芬奇是一位畫家、一位雕刻家、一位建筑師、一位音樂家、一位工程師 和一位科學家。他多才多藝, 是一位真正的文藝復興新人。

　　列奧納多出生在佛羅倫薩附近的一個小城鎮上, 從小給一位畫家當學徒。但是, 很快 他就超越了老師。他將清晰的線條與繪畫的動態感和諧地結合在一起, 找到了顯示光與影 的新方式。

　　雖然通常列奧納多是作為畫家而聞名, 可他的畫作數量并不多。事實上, 今天也只有 12 幅畫被認為是他的作品。之所以這樣, 是因為他興趣廣泛, 對自然界充滿好奇, 還做了 無窮無盡的科學實驗及設計。因此, 要了解這個人, 就必須去讀那5 000 份筆記。在那些 筆記中, 達· 芬奇記錄了他在生活中的觀察結果與許多素描。

　　盡管如此, 列奧納多對藝術還是有著深刻的理解。這對與他同時代的人及后人都有著深 遠的影響。在繪畫方面, 他強調對人物情感的傳達。對他而言, 這是衡量繪畫優秀與否 的靈魂所在:

　　“ 優秀的畫家有兩大目標——— 畫人和畫魂。前者易而后者難, 因為后者必須通過人物姿 態及肢體語言來表達⋯ ⋯ 一幅掛在墻上的畫, 只有給人以呼之欲出之感, 才算得上是杰作。” 他的主要作品有:

　　《最后的晚餐》, 許多歐洲藝術大師都作了同樣的畫。但是, 沒有一幅能像達· 芬奇的 那樣給人留下深刻印象; 也沒有哪幅作品能像達· 芬奇的那樣在藝術界擁有持久的價值。 ⋯ ⋯

　　《蒙娜麗莎》, 如果說《最后的晚餐》是最有名的宗教畫, 那么《蒙娜麗莎》則算得上世界 上最著名的肖像畫。 《蒙娜麗莎》以一位銀行家的妻子為模特。她嫻靜地搭在一起的雙手, 凝視著欣賞者 的雙眼以及那含義不甚明了的“ 微笑”, 共同創造出一種奇特而神秘的效果。