Xu Beihong: practice with a purpose

徐悲鸿是一位以画马闻名的中国画家。

xú bēi hóng shì yí wèi yǐ huà mǎ wén míng de zhōng guó huà jiā。

Xu Beihong was a Chinese painter renowned for painting horses.

他反复修改作品，不满足于草率完成。

tā fǎn fù xiū gǎi zuò pǐn， bù mǎn zú yú cǎo shuài wán chéng。

He revises his works repeatedly rather than settling for a hurried finish.

学习绘画时，他常常临摹优秀作品。

xué xí huì huà shí， tā cháng cháng lín mó yōu xiù zuò pǐn。

While studying painting, he often copies accomplished artworks for practice.

画动物以前，要先了解骨骼和肌肉的结构。

huà dòng wù yǐ qián， yào xiān liǎo jiě gǔ gé hé jī ròu de jié gòu。

Before drawing an animal, one should understand the structure of its bones and muscles.

他长期观察马奔跑、停步和转身的动作。

tā cháng qī guān chá mǎ bēn pǎo、 tíng bù hé zhuǎn shēn de dòng zuò。

He spends a long time observing how horses run, stop and turn.

反复修改有助于让画面中的动作更加准确。

fǎn fù xiū gǎi yǒu zhù yú ràng huà miàn zhōng de dòng zuò gèng jiā zhǔn què。

Repeated revision can help make the movement in the picture more accurate.

徐悲鸿是一位中国画家，尤其以画马的作品为人熟悉。

xú bēi hóng shì yí wèi zhōng guó huà jiā， yóu qí yǐ huà mǎ de zuò pǐn wéi rén shú xī。

Xu Beihong is a Chinese painter particularly well known for his paintings of horses.

年轻时，他到法国学习，常走进美术馆，仔细观察名画的色彩、线条和人物姿态。

nián qīng shí， tā dào fǎ guó xué xí， cháng zǒu jìn měi shù guǎn， zǐ xì guān chá míng huà de sè cǎi、 xiàn tiáo hé rén wù zī tài。

When young, he studies in France and visits art museums to examine colours, lines and poses in great paintings.

站在一幅画前，他不是匆匆看过就走，而是思考画家怎样用明暗表现立体的形状。

zhàn zài yì fú huà qián， tā bú shì cōng cōng kàn guò jiù zǒu， ér shì sī kǎo huà jiā zěn yàng yòng míng àn biǎo xiàn lì tǐ de xíng zhuàng。

He does not hurry past a painting, but considers how light and shade create a sense of three-dimensional form.

临摹的时候，他先安排整体，再检查局部，画错一条线就耐心修改。

lín mó de shí hou， tā xiān ān pái zhěng tǐ， zài jiǎn chá jú bù， huà cuò yì tiáo xiàn jiù nài xīn xiū gǎi。

When copying, he plans the whole image before checking details and patiently revising a misplaced line.

美术馆里的光有时明亮，有时柔和，他换一个位置，发现同一幅画中的颜色也会呈现细微差别。他在本子上记下观察，再回到画布前尝试，不把一次看见的样子当成已经完全理解了画法。

měi shù guǎn lǐ de guāng yǒu shí míng liàng， yǒu shí róu hé， tā huàn yí ge wèi zhì， fā xiàn tóng yì fú huà zhōng de yán sè yě huì chéng xiàn xì wēi chā bié。 tā zài běn zi shàng jì xià guān chá， zài huí dào huà bù qián cháng shì， bù bǎ yí cì kàn jiàn de yàng zi dàng chéng yǐ jīng wán quán lǐ jiě le huà fǎ。

Changing position and lighting reveals subtle colour differences. He records them and returns to painting rather than treating one view as complete understanding.

有时，两幅作品看起来差别很小，他仍然比较，寻找比例和结构中的变化。

yǒu shí， liǎng fú zuò pǐn kàn qǐ lái chā bié hěn xiǎo， tā réng rán bǐ jiào， xún zhǎo bǐ lì hé jié gòu zhōng de biàn huà。

Even when two works seem similar, he compares them for differences in proportion and structure.

练习画马时，他留意马怎样站立、奔跑，怎样转头，又怎样使身体保持平衡。

liàn xí huà mǎ shí， tā liú yì mǎ zěn yàng zhàn lì、 bēn pǎo， zěn yàng zhuǎn tóu， yòu zěn yàng shǐ shēn tǐ bǎo chí píng héng。

When drawing horses, he notices how they stand, run, turn their heads and keep their balance.

画马时，腿的角度、背部的线条和头部的位置都要互相配合。只把一条腿画得漂亮，整匹马却可能站不稳；他便先检查整体，再调整细节，让动作与身体连成一件事。

huà mǎ shí， tuǐ de jiǎo dù、 bèi bù de xiàn tiáo hé tóu bù de wèi zhì dōu yào hù xiāng pèi hé。 zhǐ bǎ yì tiáo tuǐ huà de piào liàng， zhěng pǐ mǎ què kě néng zhàn bù wěn； tā biàn xiān jiǎn chá zhěng tǐ， zài tiáo zhěng xì jié， ràng dòng zuò yǔ shēn tǐ lián chéng yí jiàn shì。

Leg angles, back lines and head position must work together; a fine-looking leg is insufficient if the whole horse appears unbalanced. He checks the whole before adjusting details.

观察积累得多了，纸上的马便不只是一个轮廓，动作也渐渐有了力量。

guān chá jī lěi de duō le， zhǐ shàng de mǎ biàn bù zhǐ shì yí ge lún kuò， dòng zuò yě jiàn jiàn yǒu le lì liàng。

As his observations accumulate, the horse on paper becomes more than an outline, gaining force in its movement.

他把学习不同画法得到的经验带进自己的创作，继续用作品表达对生活的感受。

tā bǎ xué xí bù tóng huà fǎ dé dào de jīng yàn dài jìn zì jǐ de chuàng zuò， jì xù yòng zuò pǐn biǎo dá duì shēng huó de gǎn shòu。

He brings experience from different painting methods into his own work and continues expressing his response to life through art.

A 徐悲鸿常画什么动物？

xú bēi hóng cháng huà shén me dòng wù？

What animal is Xu Beihong especially known for painting?

B 马，他的画马作品很有名。

mǎ， tā de huà mǎ zuò pǐn hěn yǒu míng。

Horses; his horse paintings are well known.

A 画马时，需要检查哪些细节？

huà mǎ shí， xū yào jiǎn chá nǎ xiē xì jié？

Which details need checking when painting a horse?

B 马腿的位置和身体的比例。

mǎ tuǐ de wèi zhì hé shēn tǐ de bǐ lì。

The positions of the legs and the proportions of the body.

A 为什么只说很好看还不够？

wèi shén me zhǐ shuō hěn hǎo kàn hái bù gòu？

Why is saying it looks nice not enough?

B 它没有指出哪一个细节改进了。

tā méi yǒu zhǐ chū nǎ yí ge xì jié gǎi jìn le。

It does not identify which detail improved.