To my mindthe most interesting thing in art is the personality of the artist; and if thatis singular, I am willing to excuse a thousand faults. I suppose Velasquez wasa better painter than El Greco, but custom stales one's admiration for him: theCretan, /ˈsenʃuəl/ and tragic, proffers the mystery of his soul like a standingsacrifice. The artist, painter, poet, or musician, by his decoration, sublimeor beautiful, satisfies the aesthetic sense; but that is akin to the sexualinstinct, and shares its barbarity: he lays before you also the greater gift ofhimself. To pursue his secret has something of the fascination of a detectivestory. It is a riddle which shares with the universe the merit of having noanswer. The most insignificant of Strickland's works suggests a personalitywhich is strange, tormented, and complex; and it is this surely which preventseven those who do not like his pictures from being indifferent to them; it isthis which has excited so curious an interest in his life and character.

在我看来，艺术中最令人感兴趣的就是艺术家的个性；如果艺术家赋有独特的性格，尽管他有一千个缺点，我也可以原谅。我料想，委拉斯凯兹①是个比埃尔·格列柯②更高超的画家，可是由于所见过多，却使我们感到他的绘画有些乏味。而那位克里特岛画家的作品却有一种肉欲和悲剧性的美，仿佛作为永恒的牺牲似地把自己灵魂的秘密呈献出来。一个艺术家——画家也好，诗人也好，音乐家也好，用他的崇高的或者美丽的作品把世界装点起来，满足了人们的审美意识，但这也同人类的性本能不无相似的地方，都有其粗野狂暴的一面。在把作品奉献给世人的同时，艺术家也把他个人的伟大才能呈现到你眼前。探索一个艺术家的秘密颇有些阅读侦探小说的迷人劲儿。这个奥秘同大自然极相似，其妙处就在于无法找到答案。思特里克兰德的最不足道的作品也使你模糊看到他的奇特、复杂、受着折磨的性格；那些不喜欢他的绘画的人之所以不能对他漠不关心，肯定是因为这个原因。也正是这一点，使得那么多人对他的生活和性格充满了好奇心和浓厚的兴趣。

①迪埃戈·罗德里盖斯·德·西尔瓦·委拉斯凯兹（1599—1660），西班牙画家。

②埃尔·格列柯（1541—1614？），西班牙画家，生于克里特岛。