We tend to think of public relations as a modern invention, but the desire for self-promotion is hardly new. In the days before the news release and the photo call, the most effective means of image control was the painted portrait.

In the early 16th century, a format of portraiture developed that was stunning in its impact, showing subjects life-size, full-length and standing. The scale was unprecedented in secular art, being previously reserved for depictions of God and the saints. It was also the most expensive form of self-promotion that money could buy. Such a portrait conferred instant status.

我們常以為搞公共關係是現代的發明，實則自我宣傳的欲望難謂新鮮。在記者會和「媒體拍照時間」尚未出現的年代，最有效的形象控管工具就是肖像畫。

16世紀初，一種肖像畫的形式發展起來，衝擊力驚人，呈現的人像與真人同大、全身入畫，而且人是站著的。這種呈現比例在世俗藝術中前所未有，先前專門用來描繪上帝與聖徒。這種肖像畫也是金錢能買到最昂貴的自我宣傳形式，讓畫中人立馬顯得地位不俗。

Originally the preserve of monarchy and of the high nobility, the full-length portrait was later adopted by those a little lower down the social scale. But they all used the format to communicate who they were — or who they would like to be.

In the exhibition “High Society,” running through June 3, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has gathered almost 40 magnificent full-length portraits from the 16th to the 20th centuries by the leading artists of their day. The paintings offer a fascinating insight into the messages that the great and the good sought to convey about themselves.

全身肖像畫原本專屬於王室和高階貴族，後來被社會地位稍低者採用。不過，這些人全都用這種形式來表達他們是誰，或者想要是誰。

荷蘭阿姆斯特丹國家博物館在「上流社會」展覽中，展示了16到20世紀近40幅壯麗的全身肖像畫，畫家都是當時的一時之選，展期到6月3日止。這些畫提供了有趣的洞見，讓人一窺這些大人物想傳達自己的哪些面向。

The Habsburg emperor Charles V popularized the full-length portrait for the Europe’s ruling elites in the 16th century. Fully aware of its religious origins, he was effectively declaring himself God’s representative on Earth. He had five such portraits made during the 1530s to be hung in palaces across his vast territories, which included the Holy Roman Empire in Europe and the Spanish Empire that stretched to Asia and the Americas. He was evidently eager to make sure his subjects absorbed the powerful message.

“It was all about propaganda and PR,” said Jonathan Bikker, the curator of the Rijksmuseum exhibition. “I think that’s why the monarchy and the high nobility had such a strong hold on that format. They made it associated with them and them alone.”

哈布斯堡家族的皇帝查理五世讓全身肖像畫在16世紀歐洲統治菁英間風行。他完全明白這種肖像畫的宗教起源，形同宣告自己是上帝在人間的代表。他總共有五幅這種肖像畫，都繪於1530年代，懸掛在他廣闊領土上的各個宮殿裡，領土包括歐洲的神聖羅馬帝國，和一直延伸到亞洲和美洲的西班牙帝國。他顯然很想確保他的臣民充分領會畫中強而有力的訊息。

國家博物館這場展覽的策展人畢克說：「全身肖像畫完全就是宣傳和公關，我想這就是皇室和高階貴族牢牢掌控這種形式的原因，他們讓全身肖像畫跟他們有關，而且只跟他們有關。」

The nobility would often use the full-length portrait to celebrate the union of two influential families. Such was the case with Henry IV, duke of Saxony, and his bride, Catherine of Mecklenburg, whose 1514 portraits by German artist Lucas Cranach the Elder were opulently adorned in the colors of their coats of arms. The continuation of a powerful dynasty could also be emphasized by the inclusion of children.

The association of the nobility attracted the Dutch bourgeoisie to the format in the 17th century. Having gained wealth and power, they used their portraits to claim a comparable importance.

貴族常用全身肖像畫慶祝兩個勢力龐大家族的聯姻。薩克森公爵亨利四世與梅克倫堡的凱瑟琳結婚即為一例，1514年，他倆的肖像畫出自德國畫家盧卡斯．克拉納赫一世之手，畫中大量使用兩個家族紋章的顏色來裝飾。若要強調強大的王朝得以延續，通常是在畫中加入小孩。

全身肖像畫跟貴族的關係，吸引了17世紀荷蘭資本家階級採用這種形式。他們得到了財富和權力，便用肖像來表達自己跟貴族同等重要。

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肖像畫（portrait painting或portraiture）是繪畫的一個類型（genre），原本主要以大人物（the great and the good）為描繪對象，後來有越來越多中產階級委託人（client）央請畫家為家人或同儕繪製。

肖像畫人物的呈現方式包括：全身入畫（full length）、半身（half length）、頭部與肩膀（bust）、僅描繪頭部、臉部略偏向一側（three-quarter view）或臉部正面（full face）。被描繪者可以穿衣或裸體，站著、坐著、斜倚著（recline）甚至騎在馬背上。

繪製肖像畫相當費時，通常畫家要分好幾次（sitting，被畫者sitter擺姿勢讓人畫像的一次時間）才能畫完。法國畫家塞尚比較極端，堅持要一百多次。西班牙畫家哥雅則偏好用一整天一氣呵成畫完。

偶爾會有委託人或其家人對成品不滿意，要求畫家修飾（retouch）或重畫（do it over）或根本不付酬勞。

要畫出成功的肖像畫，必須掌握人體解剖學（human anatomy），熟知骨骼與組織結構。熟練的畫家知道人臉左右不對稱（asymmetrical ），畫出來的左右臉會有些微不同，達文西著名的肖像畫「蒙娜麗莎」即為一例。

It may seem a paradox that one of the most influential composers of modern sung theater completed only one opera. “Pelléas et Mélisande” brought French composer Claude Debussy instant fame in 1902, but the stage work achieved such a perfection of his artistic ideals that he never managed to repeat the success.

Skeptical of the theater establishment, relentlessly self-critical and plagued by illness in his final years, Debussy left behind a legacy that musicologists are, to some extent, still working to reconstruct. Even after a premiere performance, he would continue making adjustments, sometimes to more than one copy of a given score. And he left the majority of his stage works unorchestrated before dying at age 55.

這似乎顯得矛盾，現代歌唱劇場中影響力最大的作曲家之一，生平卻僅完成一部歌劇。法國作曲家克勞德．德布西因歌劇「佩利亞與梅麗桑」而在1902年一夕成名，但也因他的藝術理想在這部舞台作品中如此臻於完美，以致他從未能再複製那種成就。

對劇場舊勢力懷有疑慮，自我批判一絲不苟，最後幾年病痛纏身，德布西身後遺留的作品，就某種程度而言，至今音樂學家仍在設法重現。即使在首演後，他仍會不斷調整，有時一個既有的樂譜可能再出現不止一個版本。他55歲辭世時，絕大多數舞台作品並未完成管弦樂譜的編寫。

The centennial of the composer’s death this year provides an occasion to revisit the lesser-known corners of his oeuvre. The label Warner Classics in January released the first compilation of Debussy’s complete works, a 33-CD set that includes four premiere recordings of vocal music.

On May 1, the Staatskapelle Berlin, under its music director, Daniel Barenboim, will perform “La Damoiselle Élue,” which Debussy called a “little oratorio,” and the “Trois Ballades de François Villon,” among the few songs he orchestrated himself.

這位作曲家今年逝世百年，讓我們有機會重溫他作品世界中一些較鮮為人知的角落。今年1月，華納經典唱片公司推出德布西的作品全集，一套33張CD，內有四首聲樂首演錄音。

5月1日，柏林國家歌劇院將在音樂總監丹尼爾．巴倫波因領軍下演奏德布西稱為「小型清唱劇」的「絕代才女」，以及「法蘭斯瓦．維永的三首敘事曲」，這也是他自己配樂的少數歌曲中的兩個。

The légende dansée (danced legend) “Khamma,” which had its premiere posthumously in an orchestration by Fauré protégé Charles Koechlin, will be heard at the Philharmonie de Paris on June 9 in a program of the Orchestre de Paris under Fabien Gabel. “Pelléas” also remains in repertoire on the world’s stages, with a new production by Norwegian-German director Stefan Herheim coming up at the Glyndebourne Festival on June 30 and a revival of Ruth Berghaus’ 1991 production at the Staatsoper Berlin from May 27 to June 14.

Barenboim said Debussy, despite being “one of the most important composers in the history of music,” had “yet to really achieve his place in musical life.” He emphasized the composer’s deep connection to both literature and nature: “I think he was fascinated by nature not in the sense of what nature inspires the human being to think about but what nature in itself is.

“Pelléas” represents the culmination of years of exploring the possibilities of vocal music. Debussy wrote about 100 songs, half of which he produced from 1880 to 1886, before he turned 30. The composer was the first to set the poetry of Paul Verlaine, in 1882, while involved in a passionate affair with amateur soprano Marie Vasnier, the wife of a building clerk.

德布西的舞蹈傳奇「卡瑪」， 將在6月9日於巴黎愛樂廳演出，為巴黎管弦樂團音樂會的曲目之一，由費比恩．蓋柏指揮。「卡瑪」在德布西死後才首次公演，由作曲家佛瑞的門生夏爾．凱什蘭配上管弦樂。「佩利亞與梅麗桑」在世界舞台上仍不時演出，挪威裔德國歌劇導演史帝芬．赫海姆的一個新製作，定6月30日在英國的格林德波恩歌劇音樂節推出，另外，歌劇導演露絲．伯格豪斯1991年的製作，亦將於5月27日到6月14日在柏林國家歌劇院重登舞台。

巴倫波因說，德布西雖貴為「音樂史上最重要的作曲家之一」，但在「音樂生涯中，從未真正實現他應有的地位。」巴倫波因強調德布西與文學和大自然的深度連結 ：「我認為他對大自然著迷之處，不在於大自然能發人深省，而是大自然的本身。」

「佩利亞與梅麗桑」是德布西多年探索聲樂可能性的登峰造極之作。德布西寫了約莫百首歌曲，半數誕生於1880年至1886年，他30歲之前。1882年，這位作曲家成為將保羅．魏崙的詩作編曲配樂的第一人，當時他和一名公家機關建築文員的妻子，業餘女高音瑪麗．瓦斯尼耶傳出熱戀緋聞。