[一边翻译一边学习。 英语medal一词，在汉语里可以找到多种指代的东西：奖章、勋章、纪念章、奖牌、证章、圣章(指铸有宗教人物像、图案的硬币状金属牌, 通常为天主教徒佩带)等等。材质上，有金、银、铜等。所以在这里我给他一个组合词：章牌，当然也可以做：牌章。]

01

The Development of the Art Medal

艺术章牌的发展   

by Peter Preston-Morley

彼得 普莱斯顿 莫雷   

As a miniature tangible art form, the medal has existed for over 700 years. But it was not until the early 19th century, when medallic art was degenerating into dull and dated conservatism, that the seeds were sown in France for a revival that encompassed the international art nouveau and art deco styles. That revival continues into the 21st century and the freedom of form taken by the best of today's contemporary medals.

作为一种小型的实物艺术形式，章牌已经存在了700多年。直到十九世纪初期章牌艺术退化到单调乏味和过时陈旧的因循保守的时候，包含着国际新艺术派和装饰派艺术的复兴的种子才在法兰西播种。复兴一直持续到二十一世纪，表现在当代最好的章牌所获得的形式的自由。

One man is generally credited as being the prime mover in the revival of medallic art in the early 19th century - Pierre-Jean David d'Angers (1788-1856). A passionate revolutionary and sculptor from Angers, David d'Angers executed his first medal in 1814, although it was not until the late 1820s that he seriously turned his hand to the art, producing hundreds of cast portrait medals of contemporary personalities from virtually all walks of life, right up to his death. His easily recognisable style can be seen in the medal of his hero Robespierre (1759-94), executed in 1835.

有一个人通常被确认为是十九世纪初期章牌艺术的倡导者——皮埃尔-让 戴维 德 安格尔（Pierre-Jean David d'Angers 1788-1856）。一个来自（法国西部）翁热充满热情的革命者和雕刻家，尽管他直到十九世纪二十年代后期才真正着手于这门艺术，并实际上在有生之年制作了数以百计的同时代的名人的肖像模铸章牌。但戴维-德-安格尔的第一枚章牌制作于1814年。在他为心目中的英雄罗伯斯庇尔（Robespierre 1759-94）于1835年制作的章牌上，可以看到他初期公认的风格。

The success of d'Angers' work inspired other sculptors to try their hand at medallic portraiture, ensuring a continuing revival in the cast medal. One such was Henri Chapu (1833-91), whose medal of the landscape artist Gilbert, executed in Rome in 1860, attracted wide acclaim from contemporary art critics. One of them was moved to judge it among the two best medallic works of the century.

德-安格尔工作的成就促使了其他的雕刻家将手艺用于章牌肖像上，确保了模铸章牌持续崛起。其中就有亨利-查普（Henri Chapu 1833-91），他在1860年罗马制作的风景画家吉尔伯特的章牌，获得了同时代的艺术评论家广泛的赞誉。其中一个评论家被请来对它作为那个世纪最好的两个章牌作品之一进行评判。

England remained aloof from this new form of continental art until yet another Frenchman, the painter Alphonse Legros (1837-1911), who was Slade Professor of Art at the University of London and who lived at Brook Green, Hammersmith, started to cast his own medals in 1881. Influenced by the work of Pisanello, Legros' perception of the character of the sitter can be seen in his 1881 medal of the poet Tennyson, cast, like his other early work, in France.

Changes in medal-making technique, in particular the development of the reducing machine, meant that the distinction between the modeller of cast medals and the engraver of struck medals ceased to be of traditional importance in the second half of the 19th century. The technical freedom permitted by the reducing machine, which allowed artists to model on a large scale while still achieving the effect of fine detail when their work was reduced, led in turn to an enormous rise of interest in medallic art.

英国一直与这种大陆的新的艺术形式保持着距离，直到1881年另一个居住在翰莫史密斯的布鲁克格林的法国人开始铸造他自己的章牌为止，他是伦敦大学SLADE艺术教授、画家阿尔方斯-莱格罗斯（Alphonse Legros 1837-1911）。在1881年他像在法国铸造他的早期作品一样，铸造了诗人坦尼森的章牌，在这个章牌里可以看到莱格罗斯对模特人物的性格的理解，而这种理解又是深受皮萨奈罗的作品的影响。在19世纪的后半叶章牌制造技术的改变，特别是粉碎机的发展，意味着模型模铸章牌和雕刻压制章牌的区别不再具有传统的重要性了。由粉碎机所提供的技术上的自由，使得艺术家可以在大的尺度上制模完成精巧的细部效果，并同时能够减少他们的工作量，这导致了对章牌艺术的兴趣的巨大提升。

In the vanguard of this renaissance was Hubert Ponscarme (1827-1903), who began his career as a medallist in 1847. Ponscarme's medal of Joseph Naudet, struck in 1867, broke with tradition in that the medal had no rim or beading; his lead was soon followed by the first great artist to take full advantage of the new technology, Jules-Clément Chaplain (1839-1909). An exceptional portraitist, Chaplain brought animation and realism to his compositions, evidenced by his 1873 medal of President MacMahon. In other work, relief fused with background, as in the charming maquette for the 'Cheap Homes' medal, executed for the Société Fran鏰ise des Habitations à Bon Marché in 1891.

这次复兴的领导者是赫伯特-蓬斯卡尔姆（Hubert Ponscarme 1827-1903），他作为章牌设计师的职业开始于1847年。蓬斯卡尔姆铸造于1867年的约瑟夫-诺德的章牌没有凸起的边缘和装饰珠圈，以此打破了传统。第一个采用完美的新技术优势的伟大的艺术家朱尔斯-克莱蒙特-查普兰（Jules-Clément Chaplain 1839-1909）跟随了他的指引。作为一位独特的肖像制作家，查普兰将活力和现实主义注入他的作品中，显著的例子是他制于1873年的麦克马洪总统的章牌。在其它的作品中，浮雕和背景地张融合在一起，比如像他为法国住房和。。。协会制作的“廉家”章牌的可爱的初稿模型。

The other major exponent of French medallic art at this time was Oscar Roty (1846-1911), who trained as a painter. In contrast to Chaplain, Roty's work demonstrates more imagination and sensitivity. In 1879 he revived the rectangular plaquette, neglected since the Renaissance, in Femme à sa Toilette and other pieces. At the same time Roty transformed inscriptions and legends with clever use of decorative foliage so that they became part of the overall design, rather than an appendage.

这一时期法国章牌艺术的另外一个代表者是奥斯卡-洛迪（Oscar Roty 1846-1911），一个训练有素的画家。与查普兰不同，洛迪的作品展示出了更多的想象力和敏感性。在1879年他恢复了自文艺复兴以来被忽视的方形匾章，如“朝着梳妆台的女人”（Femme à sa Toilette）章和另外一些。同时，洛迪通过植物装饰纹样的巧妙运用，使得题词和铭文变形成为整体设计构图的一部分，而不是额外的附属。