ISBN：9781941701645

书名：Letters to a Young Painter (ekphrasis) / 致一位年轻画家的信（艺格敷词系列）

作者：Rainer Maria Rilke

出版：David Zwirner Books，2017

装帧：平装，64页

语种：英文

开本：11.8 × 18.8 cm

内容提要：

勒内·马利亚·里尔克在生命尽头的1920至1926年常与一位年轻人进行通信，不过此事少有人知道。与之相应的是，早在1902至1908年间，他与一位年轻诗人有大量通信往来，当时，这些声名狼藉的信件轰动世界，被翻译为多种语言，被印刷数百万份销售。而本书则呈现了勒内被人忽视的那些信件。

在这8封写给青年巴尔蒂斯（后来成为一代艺术大师）的信件中，里尔克描述着他所面临的变动，同时他对巴尔蒂斯敞开大门并认真对待巴尔蒂斯和他的作品。从这些迷人又真诚的信件中，可以看到里尔克时常予人温暖，且具有提前感知出对方的困境与提出解决方案的能力，以及他作为一个人和一名艺术家的敏感度。

这些写于其晚年的信，描绘出一位诗人在面对死亡时的脆弱，以及他对于其它艺术创作者的开明态度。

Never before translated into English, Rainer Maria Rilke’s fascinating Letters to a Young Painter, written toward the end of his life between 1920 and 1926, is a surprising companion to his infamous Letters to a Young Poet, earlier correspondence from 1902 to 1908. While the latter has become a global phenomenon, with millions of copies sold in many different languages, the present volume has been largely overlooked.

In these eight intimate letters written to a teenage Balthus—who would go on to become one of the leading artists of his generation—Rilke describes the challenges he faced, while opening the door for the young painter to take himself and his work seriously. Rilke’s constant warmth, his ability to sense in advance his correspondent’s difficulties and propose solutions to them, and his sensitivity as a person and an artist come across in these charming and honest letters.

Writing during his aged years, this volume paints a picture of the venerable poet as he faced his mortality, through the perspective of hindsight, and continued to embrace his openness towards other creative individuals. With an introduction by Rachel Corbett, author of You Must Change Your Life: The Story of Rainer Maria Rilke and Auguste Rodin (2016), this book is a must-have for Rilke’s admirers, young and old, and all aspiring artists.