The Holy Mount Athos

译/爱艺

Mount Athos was the centre of the Greek Orthodox Church and from the 10th to the 15th century it also held great significance for southern Slavs.Mucha held the Orthodox Church in great esteem, believing it to have had a unifying influence on the Slav people.When he visited the monastery in 1924 he was moved by its timeless spirituality.

[2]Filled with icons and symbols,Mucha’s composition(egg tempera on canvas, 405cm × 480cm, 1926)depicts a procession of Russian pilgrims proceeding in a semi-circle towards four high priests at the rear of the sanctuary.Each of the priests holds a relic out for the pilgrims to embrace.A beam of sunshine filters through the apse from the left, lighting up the figures of angels,four of which hold models of Slavic monasteries in the Mount Athos area.The fi gure of the Virgin painted on the ceiling has an earthly quality that sets her apart from the angels.In the foreground, a young boy props up a blind old man.

[3]With theSlav EpicMucha wished to unite all the Slavs through their common history and their mutual reverence for peace and learning and eventually to inspire them to work for humanity using their experience and virtue.In 1928, Mucha officially presented the complete series of theSlav Epic to the City of Prague as a gift to the nation,coinciding with the 10th Anniversary of its independence.■

阿陀斯山在希腊东正教中占据着中心地位，10到15世纪，它对南部斯拉夫人也有着重要意义。穆夏对东正教非常尊崇，认为它帮助凝聚了斯拉夫民族广大民众的人心。1 924年参观阿陀斯山修道院时，他为其永恒的精神所感动。

[2]穆夏此画（布面蛋彩画，405厘米×480厘米，1926）描绘了一队俄罗斯朝圣者，他们的队伍呈半圆形，向着圣殿后方的四位主教行进，画中满是圣像和宗教图标。每位主教都手持一件圣物让朝圣者亲触。左侧，一束阳光穿过半圆壁龛，照亮了众天使的雕像，其中四对两两捧着阿陀斯山地区四座斯拉夫修道院的模型。天花板上的圣母画像带有一丝世俗烟火气，令她与众天使迥然不同。前景中，一个男孩撑扶着一位失明老伯。

[3]在组画《斯拉夫史诗》中，穆夏展示了斯拉夫人共同的历史及对和平与学习的同一份尊重，他希望借此团结起所有斯拉夫人，并最终激励他们利用自己的经验和美德造福人类。1928年，穆夏将整套组画《斯拉夫史诗》作为赠送给国家的礼物正式呈交布拉格市，当年恰逢国家独立10周年。□