Five Artistic Politicians

Fiona Macdonald

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印尼总统苏西洛

美国总统吉米·卡特

乔治·布什的画展

Former US president George W. Bush has unveiled portraits of 24 world leaders he met while in of fice, as part of an exhibition of his paintings that opens in April in Dallas. Talking to his daughter Jenna Bush Hager on NBC’sTodayshow, Bush said that he was inspired to take up painting after reading a Winston Churchill essay,Painting as a Pastime.

He embraced his artistic side after leaving of fice in 2009, and says he told his instructor: “There’s a Rembrandt trapped in this body. Your job is to unleash him.”1. 在2009年离任后，他（小布什）积极地开发了自己艺术的一面，节目中提到他对自己的指导老师说：“我身体里困着一个伦勃朗，你的工作就是去释放他。” Rembrandt: 伦勃朗·莱茵（1606—1669），欧洲巴洛克艺术的代表画家之一，被称为荷兰历史上最伟大的画家。

Can any other politicians rival him for artistic talent? Here are five contenders.

Winston Churchill

He won the 1953 Nobel Prize in Literature “for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values”—but Churchill’s real passion lay in painting.2. 他因“历史性、传记性的通达描述，及对崇高人类价值的精湛雄辩”获得1953年诺贝尔文学奖——但丘吉尔真正的热情却在绘画上。oratory: 雄辩；演讲术；exalted: 高尚的，尊贵的。The former British Prime Minister won an amateur prize in 1925, and submitted canvases to exhibitions in Paris under the pseudonym3. pseudonym: 笔名，假名，下文出现的assumed name 意思相同。Charles Morin. Over the course of 45 years, he completed more than 500 works. In 1948, he used another assumed name, Mr Winter, when offering paintings to the Royal Academy; two were accepted, but when asked if he would hold an exhibition, he responded: “They are not worth it.”

各国的总统，常常是政治舞台上最夺目的明星。但除了在政坛游刃有余，独占鳌头外，他们也可能身怀绝技，多才多艺——可以笔写春秋，可以描物作画，还可以引吭高歌……在他们政治家的外表下深藏着低调谦逊的文艺范。

Jimmy Carter4. Jimmy Carter: 吉米·卡特（1924－ ），美国第39任总统。

While running for of fice, Jimmy Carter—US president between 1977 and 1981—admitted: “I’ve looked on a lot of women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times.” The former peanut farmer did not always use the words of a politician. Alongside his engineering and nuclear physics studies, Carter dabbled in5. dabble in:（作为兴趣爱好）尝试一下，涉猎。poetry—but it was only after he left the White Of fice that he felt con fident enough to publish his verse. “I went public in a very cautious way,” he toldThe New York Timesin 1995,when his book of poems,Always a Reckoning, came out.He claimed he was encouraged when his early attempts were accepted by literary journals: “I asked them not to take note of the fact that I had been president,” he said,“and they agreed.” Carter is also a painter, selling his artworks through his human rights organisation. In 2012,one sold at auction for $250,000.

丘吉尔在作画

艾森豪威尔在作画

普京在慈善活动上演奏

Dwight D. Eisenhower6. Dwight D. Eisenhower: 艾森豪威尔（1890－1969），是美国陆军五星上将和第34任总统（1953－1961）。

The former US president took up painting in 1948 when he was almost 60, inspired by his friend Churchill. But by his death 21 years later he had completed over 250 works. No fan of modern art, he painted landscapes and patriotic portraits—he was as humble as Churchill about his talents. Unlike Churchill,he managed to paint while in of fice, claiming he had more time to paint when he was president than he did as a private citizen because his day was better organised. He told a reporter from theWashington Postthat he painted in a small closet under the White House stairs.

Vladimir Putin7. Vladimir Putin: 弗拉基米尔·普京（1952－ ），现任俄罗斯总统，被认为是俄罗斯自2000年以来的实际最高领导人。

Not happy simply to project an image of outdoorsy machismo8. machismo:〈西〉男子汉。, the Russian president has a softer side. After shooting a tiger with a tranquiliser dart and firing a crossbow at a whale from a speedboat, Putin rounded off 2010 by singing a rendition of Louis Armstrong’s “Blueberry Hill”.9. 在用镇静飞镖打老虎和在快艇上用弓弩射鲸鱼之后，普金演唱了一曲路易斯·阿姆斯特朗的《蓝莓山》为2010年完美收官。tranquiliser dart: 镇静剂飞镖；crossbow: 弩，十字弓；round off: 使完美，圆满结束；rendition: 表演；Louis Armstrong: 路易斯·阿姆斯特朗（1901－1971），美国爵士乐音乐家，被称为“爵士乐之父”。He played the melody on the piano at a charity auction, and then took to the stage to sing with a full backing band. Film stars in the audience—including Kevin Costner and Goldie Hawn—clapped and sang along.10. Kevin Costner: 凯文·科斯特纳，好莱坞著名影星，代表作包括《与狼共舞》、《完美世界》、《保镖》等；Goldie Hawn: 戈尔迪·霍恩，美国著名女影星，代表作《仙人掌花》。Putin is also partial to daubing oil on canvas:a painting he allegedly ‘dashed off’ in a day sold at a charity auction in 2009 for more than ￡750,000.11. partial to: 偏爱，癖好；daub: 涂抹，乱画；dash off: 匆忙完成。

Susilo BambangYudhoyono12. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono: 苏西洛·班邦·尤多约诺将军（1949－ ），印度尼西亚第六任总统。

The Indonesian president serenaded Putin with a birthday song at the Apec summit in October 2013.13. serenade: 为……唱小夜曲；Apec summit:Asia-Paci fic Economic Cooperation Summit，亚太经济合作组织峰会。But Yudhoyono has musical talents that extend beyond impromptu singalongs14. impromptu singalong: 即兴伴唱。: he was in a band in his youth, and has released three pop albums in of fice. While he has sung onstage during election rallies15. election rally: 选举集会。,his voice does not feature on his latest album: he just wrote the lyrics, which are sung by artists including a former winner ofIndonesian Idol.