Thalurania venusta
Thalurania venusta
Veraguan Wood-Nymph
- 学名
- Thalurania venusta
- 合集
- 古尔德蜂鸟图谱
- 绘者
- John Gould（约翰·古尔德）
- 年代
- 1850
- 图版号
- Pl. 105, Vol. II
- 原书页码
- p.105
- 授权
- CC0 1.0 Universal (Public domain)
十观
- 纵幅 1.37∶1
第一眼
竖划三寸，当千仞之高；横墨数尺，体百里之迥。
—— 南朝宋·宗炳《画山水序》
三寸的竖线可当千仞高山，几尺横墨能容百里之远。尺幅从来不是障碍，取舍才是本事。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
学名 Thalurania venusta：前一词是属，管它归在哪一类；后一词是种加词，管它在这一类里凭什么与众不同。名字是通行证，也是懒办法——记住两个词，就抓住了一整个物种。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
蜂鸟为美洲最小之鸟，喙细长如针，舌分叉成管，可伸入花心吸蜜；翼小而振频极高，能悬停、能倒飞。此幅未作色相归档，只能就形制论。看形制不必求全：记住喙形、翼式与栖姿，这一类的骨架就立住了。
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”。试着用拇指遮住空白处——画面立刻变闷；放开，它才重新“喘上气”。留白，是给主体让出的气口。
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。拿放大镜（或手机微距）看三处：喙缘、覆羽、题名。线若连续不断，是刻的；色若越过轮廓半毫米，是手涂的。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 1850 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
把这三件事带走：先整体后细节；先线后色；先看画再翻书。任何一张老图版，都可以用这三条读。1850 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
《古尔德蜂鸟图谱》（Gould's Hummingbirds）由约翰·古尔德绘制，1849—1887 年间印行，本图即其中一幅。画面主体为 Thalurania venusta，在分类体系中列于蜂鸟科（Trochilidae）。
该合集全编共 421 幅图版，此图为其中之一，图版编号 Pl. 105, Vol. II，对应原书第 105 页，版式为纵幅。扫描件取自公有领域原件，经高分辨率修复与色彩校正，可按原大放大查看线条与设色。
原书文字（英文 / 法文）
Chiriqui in Costa Rica
The discovery of this new species by the celebrated traveller Warszewicz near the volcano of Chiriqui in Veragua is of twofold interest; first, as adding an additional species to the well-defined genus Thalurania, and, secondly, as affording still further evidence that most of the forms at one time considered to be peculiar to the continent of South America proper, have their representatives in the countries lying to the northward at the Isthmus of Panama, generally known as Central America.
Besides the specimens procured by M. Warszewicz, I have received others from the same district through M. Verreaux; these latter, although sufficiently perfect for the purpose of figuring, were not in very good condition. M. Warszewicz describes the living bird to be an object of the greatest beauty, and one can readily believe the truth of his assertion, as, unlike every other member of the genus, not only is the crown, but the greater part of the back of the neck, the entire mantle and the shoulders are clothed in a rich livery of purplish blue; in size it is about the same as T. furcata, but its rich bluish-black tail is still more deeply forked. No one member of the genus is more scarce in our collections than the T. venusta; it is to be hoped therefore that explorers will at no distant date procure us a further supply of this lovely species.
By some accident the name of puella, which I originally intended to apply to this species, but for which I substituted that of venusta, has found its way into Dr. Reichenbach’s and other lists of the Trochilidæ, which I regret, as it tends to produce confusion; I therefore take this opportunity of saying that the two names are synonymous, and that the one here retained—venusta—is the one to be adopted.
The entire crown, back of the neck and upper part of the back, shoulders, abdomen and under tailcoverts beautiful shining ultramarine blue; throat and fore part of the neck rich metallic green; wings purplish black; tail blackish blue; bill black.
The figures are of the natural size. The plant is the Odontoglossum hastilabrum.
References
- Trochilus (Thalurama) venusta, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part xvi. p. 163.
- Trochilus (Thalurama) puella, Gould MSS. 1853.
- Thalurania venusta, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part xx. p. 9.—Bonap. Rey. et Mag. de Zool. 1854, p. 254.—Reichenb. Aufz. der Colibris, p: 7.
- Thalurania puella, Bonap. Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 1854, p.254.—Reichenb. Aufz. der Colibris, Dat.
