Oxypogon cyanolæmus
Oxypogon cyanolæmus
Blue-throated Helmet-crest
- 合集
- 古尔德蜂鸟图谱
- 绘者
- John Gould(约翰·古尔德)
- 年代
- 1887
- 图版号
- Pl. 401, Suppl. Vol.
- 原书页码
- p.401
- 授权
- CC0 1.0 Universal (Public domain)
十观
- 纵幅 1.52∶1
第一眼
江馆清秋,晨起看竹,烟光日影露气,皆浮动于疏枝密叶之间。
—— 清·郑板桥《题画竹》
郑板桥说他画竹,是先看见“烟光日影露气”在枝叶间浮动,才动手。看画时找这一层空气,比记住花的名字更要紧。这一幅是竖的:眼睛从下往上走,落点在中段那只鸟身上。先别急着看羽毛,让姿态先立起来。第二步凑近一寸:看线与色的交界,色有没有压住线,线有没有断。第三步,把视线放到最深的那一小块:整幅的用色秩序,都是从那里排开的。
名与实
图上只标属名 Oxypogon,未定种;这一时期的图谱常以一属数种合绘,种名要等后来的专著补齐。此幅尚无通行中文名,姑以学名相称;在没有本地名字的地方,学名就是它唯一的身份证。
形与色
翼小而振频极高,能悬停、能倒飞;羽色非颜料所致,是羽枝结构折射的光,随角度而变。此幅未作色相归档,只能就形制论。没有解剖图,就靠主株一处一处看过去:叶怎么排,花怎么着生,果在哪里。
构图与呼吸
画幅高而窄,鸟栖在枝的中段,上下留白多——十九世纪鸟谱的标准版式,留给它飞走的余地。全幅只画一只,不作解剖附图——这类图更近于“观赏”,而非“鉴定”。老图谱爱把主株摆在偏中线的位置,左右留得不一样多:这一点偏心,正是画面活起来的原因。
一刀一色
十九世纪后半叶,石版与彩色石印渐成主流:颜色可以直接印出,不再依赖手工,线条反倒退居其次。图像的“准确”提高了,手性却淡了。工艺留下的破绽比题跋更诚实:刻工不会撒谎,上色的人赶时间的时候会。想动笔临它的人记住一句:先铺大块的形与色,干后再收细部;石印的柔和层次来自薄涂与网点,水彩分两三遍淡铺即可逼近。
诗境
夫列子御风而行,泠然善也,旬有五日而后反。
—— 《庄子·逍遥游》
蜂鸟悬停于空,不落不飞,最近于“御风”。庄子说的是一种自由的姿态,蜂鸟把它做成了生理事实。诗以气行,画以形立;两种“看”叠在一起,才是看画的意思。
花语
阿兹特克以蜂鸟为战神与太阳的化身;欧洲维多利亚时代则以蜂鸟为收藏与装饰的极致,百万只羽毛被做成胸饰。中国旧籍无此鸟,故无象征——这空白本身,就是一部博物学交流史。象征会随世道改口:同一只鸟,在一个世纪里可以说完全相反的话。
时与地
温带种类的蜂鸟则随花北迁,一年往返数千公里。仅产美洲,自阿拉斯加南部至火地岛,以安第斯山最为繁盛。中土无蜂鸟,汉籍不载,晚清海外游记始见其名。图上所记的 1887 年是刊行之年,不是采到那只鸟的年份;真正的观察记录通常比出版早一两年。看叶的老嫩、花与果是否同在枝上,季节便八九不离十;看题名里藏着的地名,来路也猜得出七分。
书与人
《古尔德蜂鸟图谱》只署了约翰·古尔德一个人的名字。从画稿到成图要过好几双手:转刻的人求准,上色的人求快——快与准之间,就是各幅之间深浅不一的来历。
带走一双眼睛
鉴赏力不是知识,是习惯:每次多看一眼,十年之后你看什么都和别人不一样。1887 年的那只鸟早已化作尘土,它留在纸上的样子,却比任何一只活着的同类都长寿。
关于本图版
这幅图版出自《古尔德蜂鸟图谱》(Gould's Hummingbirds),由约翰·古尔德绘制,1849—1887 年间出版。图中描绘的是 Oxypogon cyanolæmus,归入蜂鸟科(Trochilidae)。
全编共收录 421 幅图版,本图是其中一幅,原书将其列为 Pl. 401, Suppl. Vol.,见第 401 页,版式为纵幅。图为公有领域原件的修复扫描,构图与设色未经改动。
原书文字(英文 / 法文)
This may be considered one of the finest of the Humming-birds described since the conclusion of my ‘Monograph,’ and it forms an interesting addition to the genus Oxypogon.
It was found by Mr. Simons on the 18th and 19th of July 1879, on the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, in Colombia, at an altitude of from 10,000 to 14,000 feet above the sea.
Messrs. Salvin and Godman remark that the present bird is like Oxypogon guerini, but may be distinguished at a glance by the long plumes of the throat being blue instead of green, and by its having the inner web of the lateral tail-feathers entirely creamy-white except at the tips. They write:—
The species is perfectly distinct from O. guerini of the high mountain-ranges of Colombia, and also from O. lindeni from the high lands of Merida. Besides other differences, the colouring of the middle of the throat at once distinguishes these beautiful birds, that of O. lindeni being white, of O. guerini green, and of our new species blue. In having a large amount of white in the tail, O. cyanolæmus approaches more nearly O. guerini.
The following is a translation of the original description given by Messrs. Salvin and Godman:—
Above dull green, the sides of the neck and the nape white, the whole of the head black, washed with green; an elongated black crest, with a central streak of white, divided into two towards the nostrils; underneath whitish, the middle of the throat ornamented with elongated blue plumes, the sides of the body spotted with dull green; tail bronzy-green, the three outer tail-feathers on each side creamy white excepting the tips and the outer web (the outermost excepted).
The female is similar to the male, but the head uniform with the back, the elongated crest and blue throat being absent; bill and feet black. Total length 4·5 inches, wing 2·7, outer tail-feather 3·2, centre tail-feather 2·9, bill from gape 0·6.
The figures in the Plate are drawn from the typical specimens lent to me by Messrs. Salvin and Godman, and represent two adult males and a female.
References
- Oxypogon cyanolæmus, O. Salvin & F. D. Godman, Ibis, 1880, p. 172, pl. iv. fig. 2.