source of consolation. It is what we should turn to in our very worst moments.

慰藉的源泉。這是我們在最糟糕的時刻應該求助的東西。

Here are seven of the most calming works of art ever produced.

以下是七件最讓人平靜的藝術作品。

We are very poor at retaining perspective. Art can help by carrying us out of present

我們非常不善於保留視角。藝術可以幫助我們從現在的

circumstances and reframing events against a more imposing or vast backdrop.

情況，並在一個更宏偉或更廣闊的背景下重塑事件。

This is a move being made by the Japanese photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto through his

這是日本攝影家杉本博司通過他的。

gigantic empty photographs of the Atlantic ocean in a variety of moods. What is most

巨大的空照片，大西洋的各種心情。什麼是最

notable in these sublime scenes is that humanity is nowhere in the frame. We are afforded a

在這些崇高的場景中，值得注意的是，人類根本不在畫面中。我們得到了一個

glimpse of what the planet looked like before the first creatures emerged from the seas.

在第一批生物從海洋中出現之前，地球的面貌一覽無餘。

Viewed against such an immemorial scene, the precise discontents of our times matter ever

從這樣一個古老的場景來看，我們這個時代的確切的不滿情緒永遠是重要的。

so slightly less. We regain composure not by being made to feel more important, but

所以稍微少了一點。我們恢復冷靜不是因為讓我們覺得自己更重要，而是因為

by being reminded of the miniscule and momentary nature of everyone and everything.

通過被提醒每個人和每件事的微不足道和瞬間性。

In Ansel Adams's photograph, a row of aspens have been surprised by the photographer's

在安塞爾-亞當斯的照片中，一排白楊樹已經被攝影師驚為天人。

light and stand out as strands of silver against the blackness of night. The mood is sombre,

光，在黑夜的襯托下，如縷縷銀絲般突出。情緒是沉悶的。

but elegant. There is a consoling message within the artistry that can appease our raw

但優雅。在藝術創作中，有一種安慰性的資訊，可以安撫我們原始的

grief and anxiety about our mortality and the fleetingness of time. The image invites

悲傷和對我們的死亡和時間的短暫性的焦慮。畫面邀請

us to see ourselves as part of the mesmerising spectacle of nature. Nature's rules apply

我們把自己看作是大自然迷人景象的一部分。大自然的規則適用於

to us as much as they do to the trees of the forest. It's not personal.

對我們來說，就像他們對森林裡的樹木一樣。這不是針對我們的。

Leaves always wither and fall. Autumn necessarily follows from spring and summer. The photograph

葉子總是會枯萎和落下。秋天必然是春夏之後。照片

is a reframe device. It invites us to think of our own deaths, is having a natural order,

是一種重構的手段。它請我們思考自己的死亡，是有一個自然的秩序。

nothing to do with individual justice . The photograph tries to take the personal stink

與個人正義無關 。這張照片試圖把個人的臭味。

out of what is happening to us.

出發生在我們身上的事情。

3. Ludolf Bakhuysen, Warships in a Heavy Storm, 1695

3.Ludolf Bakhuysen，《暴風雨中的軍艦》，1695年。

In the 17th century, the Dutch developed a tradition of painting that depicted ships

在17世紀，荷蘭人發展了一種描繪船隻的繪畫傳統。

in violent storms. These works, which hung in private homes and in municipal buildings

在狂風暴雨中。這些作品，掛在私人住宅和市政建築中。

around the Dutch republic, had an explicitly therapeutic purpose to them: they were delivering

圍繞著荷蘭共和國，他們有一個明確的治療目的：他們提供了一種新的治療方法。

a moral to their viewers, who lived in a nation critically dependent on maritime trade, a

對生活在一個嚴重依賴海上貿易的國家的觀眾來說，這是一個寓意。

message about confidence in seafaring and life more broadly. The sight of a tall sailing

關於對航海和更廣泛的生活的信心的資訊。看到高大的帆船

ship being tossed to a twenty degree angle in a rough sea looks - to an inexperienced

在波濤洶湧的海面上，船被翻轉到20度角，在一個沒有經驗的人看來，這是個很大的問題。

person - like a catastrophe. But there are many situations that look and feel much more

人--像一場災難。但是，有許多情況看起來和感覺更多的

dangerous than they really are, especially when the crew is prepared and the ship internally

特別是當船員們做好了準備，而船的內部也有一定的危險性的時候。

sound.

聲音：

Bakhuysen's Warships in a Heavy Storm looks chaotic in the extreme: how could the people

巴克懷森的《暴風雨中的戰艦》看起來混亂至極：人怎麼會？

in the picture possibly survive? But the ships were well-designed for just such situations.

照片中的人可能活下來嗎？但這些船是為這種情況精心設計的。

Their hulls had been minutely adapted through long experience to withstand the tempests

它們的船體經過長期的經驗調整，以抵禦暴風雨的侵襲

of the northern oceans. Bakhuysen wanted us to feel proud of humanity's resilience in

北部海洋的變化巴克懷森想讓我們為人類的復原力感到驕傲。

the face of apparently dreadful challenges. His painting enthuses us with the message

面對顯然是可怕的挑戰。他的畫給我們帶來的資訊是

that we can all cope far better than we think; what appears immensely threatening may be

我們都能比我們想象的更好地應對；看似巨大的威脅，可能是...

highly survivable.

高度的生存能力。

The highest selling postcard of art in France is Poppies by Claude Monet.

法國銷量最高的藝術明信片是克勞德-莫奈的《罌粟花》。

Sophisticated people could be tempted to scorn. They are afraid that such enthusiasms might

複雜的人可能會被誘惑到蔑視。他們害怕這樣的熱情會

be evidence of a failure to acknowledge or understand the awful dimensions of the world.

證明你不承認或不瞭解世界的可怕之處。

But there is another way to interpret this taste of pretty things: that it doesn't

但是，對於這種漂亮事物的味道，還有另一種解釋：那就是它並不

arise from an unfamiliarity with suffering, but from an all too close and pervasive involvement

源於對苦難的不熟悉，而是源於對苦難太過密切和普遍的參與。

with it – from which we are impelled occasionally to seek relief if we are not to fall into

我們不得不偶爾尋求解脫，以避免陷入

despair. Far from naivety, it is precisely the background of suffering that lends such

絕望。遠非天真，恰恰是苦難的背景讓這種

beauty and dignity to this work of art. Claude Monet hasn't just made a pretty picture;

這幅藝術作品的美感和尊嚴。克勞德-莫奈不僅僅是畫了一幅漂亮的畫。

he has bottled hope.

他已經把希望裝進了瓶中。

Caspar David Friedrich shows us a striking, jagged rock formation, a spare stretch of

卡斯帕-戴維-弗里德里希向我們展示了一個引人注目的鋸齒狀岩層，一個空閒的路段。

coast, the bright horizon, far away clouds and a pale sky, all carefully designed to

海岸、明亮的地平線、遠處的雲彩和蒼茫的天空，所有的一切都經過精心設計，以達到以下目的

induce us into a mood.

誘導我們進入一種情緒。

The picture does not refer directly to the stresses of our day to day lives. Its function

這幅畫並不直指我們日常生活中的壓力。它的功能

is to give us access to a state of mind in which we are acutely conscious of the largeness

是讓我們進入一種心境，在這種心境中，我們敏銳地意識到了自己的偉大。

of time and space. The work is sombre, but not despairing. And in that condition of mind,

的時間和空間。作品是陰鬱的，但不是絕望的。而在這種心境下。

we are left, as so often with works of art, better equipped to deal with the intense,

就像藝術作品一樣，我們經常會離開，更好地處理激烈的問題。

intractable and particular griefs that lie before us.

擺在我們面前的棘手而特殊的悲傷。

The Japanese have an artistic tradition, known as kintsugi, wherein the broken pieces of

日本人有一個藝術傳統，被稱為 "Kintsugi"，即用破碎的碎塊來代替。

an accidentally-smashed pot are carefully picked up, reassembled and then glued together

小心翼翼地撿起不小心打碎的罐子，重新組裝，然後粘合在一起。

with lacquer inflected with a luxuriant gold powder - to create a beautiful ode to the

漆與華麗的金粉交織在一起，創造了一個美麗的頌歌。

art of repair. In kintsugi, there is no attempt to disguise the damage, the point is to render

修復的藝術。在kintsugi，沒有試圖掩蓋損壞，重點是使

the fault-lines obvious and elegant. The precious veins of gold are there to emphasise that

錯線明顯而優雅。珍貴的黃金脈絡是為了強調這一點

things falling apart isn't unexpected or panic-inducing: it creates an opportunity

事不關己高高掛起，高處不勝寒。

for us to mend - and mend redemptively.

讓我們去修補--而且是救贖性的修補。

'Fernando Pessoa' is a beautifully dark monumental work by Richard Serra, named after a Portuguese

費爾南多-佩索阿》是理查德-塞拉以葡萄牙人的名字命名的一部精美黑暗的紀念性作品。

poet with a turn for lamentation.

詩人，轉而感嘆。

The work does not tell us to cheer up or point us in a brighter direction (what people often

作品並沒有告訴我們要振作起來，也沒有給我們指出一個光明的方向（人們常說的

do when we tell them our troubles). The large scale and monumental character of this intensely

當我們向他們訴說我們的煩惱時，他們就會這樣做）。)規模大、紀念性強的特點，這種強烈的

sombre sculpture implicitly declares the normality and universality of difficulty. It is confident

陰鬱的雕塑含蓄地宣告了困難的常態性和普遍性。它是自信的

that we will recognise the legitimate place of solemn emotions in an ordinary life. Rather

我們將認識到莊嚴的情感在普通生活中的合法地位。相反

than leaving us alone with our darker moods, the work proclaims them as central features

作品不是讓我們獨自面對黑暗的情緒，而是將它們作為核心特徵加以宣揚。

of life. In its stark gravity, Richard Serra's 'Fernando Pessoa' creates a dignified home

的生命。理查德-塞拉（Richard Serra）的《費爾南多-佩索阿》（Fernando Pessoa）以其鮮明的凝重感，創造了一個有尊嚴的家。

for sorrow.

為悲哀。

Too many books have been written trying to explain what art might be for. In moments

已經有太多的書籍試圖解釋藝術可能是為了什麼。在某些時候

of great crisis, the answer becomes only too obvious: art is there to help keep us alive.

在巨大的危機中，答案變得非常明顯：藝術是為了幫助我們生存。

Our book, "What is Culture for?" , helps us find passion, hope and perspective in the arts.

我們的《文化是為了什麼》一書，幫助我們找到了藝術的激情、希望和視角。，幫助我們在藝術中找到激情、希望和視角。