On May 2, 1519, Leonardo da Vinci passed away in France. Three years ago, the Renaissance man, 65, left Italy — and never to return — for France upon King Francis I's invitation.500年前的5月2日，达•芬奇在法国去世。在那的三年前，已经65岁的达•芬奇离开意大利，应法国国王弗朗索瓦一世的邀请来到法兰西。此后直到去世，这位文艺复兴巨匠再未回到家乡。

Today, people in Europe are marking the 500th anniversary of Leonardo's death by staging a series of events throughout the year.
今年，欧洲在用一整年的时间、举办一系列的活动来纪念达•芬奇逝世500周年。

In Leonardo's birth town of Vinci, a lock of hair that historians claimed could belong to the genius is on display.

达•芬奇出生在位于意大利中部、托斯卡尼地区的小镇芬奇。达•芬奇的名字在意大利语里的意思就是“来自芬奇的莱昂纳多”。此刻在这里举办的纪念活动中，有一缕头发在各种展示品中显得那么特别——据说，这是达•芬奇的一撮头发。

Two Italian historians, Alessandro Vezzosi and Agnese Sabato, said they discovered the hair strand in a private collection in the United States, and they expected to soon perform DNA tests on it.
两位意大利的历史学家亚历桑德罗•韦佐西和安尼斯•萨巴托声称他们在一个美国的私人收藏中发现了这缕头发，他们希望能尽快对头发开展DNA测试。

They said they would compare the analysis to that of the living descendants of Leonardo's half brother they identified in 2016. (Leonardo didn't marry, nor did he father a child.)达•芬奇一生没有结婚、没有留下子嗣。在2016年，这两位史学家说他们找到了达•芬奇同父异母弟弟的后代，因此他们可以将头发的DNA分析结果和这些后裔的进行比对。

Also, they would compare to Leonardo's presumed remains buried in Amboise, France.
在法国的昂布瓦斯有一座据说是达•芬奇的墓地；所以他们也会和墓穴中的遗骨进行比对。

But other historians and scientists are skeptical, saying it is difficult to trace Leonardo's unbroken family tree and the DNA might have been contaminated.
但其他历史学家和科学家对此表示怀疑。他们认为首先很难保证达•芬奇家族的谱系在这500多年中没有发生中断，而且头发的DNA也有可能遭到破坏。

Also, Leonardo's original burial place was destroyed during the French Revolution, and his bones being removed to the current tomb are more of a presumption.
还有就是达•芬奇死后，他最初被埋葬的地方在法国大革命期间遭到了破坏，据说他的遗骨被移到了现在的墓地，但这更多的被认为是一种假设。

Whatever the result will be, the alleged discovery of hair simply makes an addition to the never-stopping craze for Leonardo.
无论结果如何，这缕被打上了达•芬奇标签的头发再次证明了世人对于这位大师未曾停止的狂热。

If you plan for a journey to Europe, make sure you don't miss these remembrance activities and exhibitions. The Louvre will hold a grand exhibition, Leonardo da Vinci, from Oct 24 to Feb 24, 2020.
如果你今年有计划去欧洲，别错过了这些丰富多彩的纪念活动和展览哦。比如卢浮宫已经宣布了他们的《莱昂纳多•达•芬奇》大展，从10月24号持续到明年的2月24号。

Or, you may now visit Central Academy of Fine Arts where 17 high-definition reproductions of Leonardo's oil paintings are shown inside a gallery.
或者你也可以先到中央美院的《不可能的相遇》展廊里，一睹17件高清晰的达•芬奇油画复制品。这是意大利使馆为配合纪念活动在中国推出的一个公共教育项目。

No more than 20 paintings in existence are attributed to Leonardo. The Louvre owns five and one believed a co-work by Leonardo and his students。
目前已知是达•芬奇的画作不超过20件，而卢浮宫就拥有其中的5幅，还有一幅认为是达•芬奇和弟子合作的作品。

The reproductions of all these six pieces are on show at CAFA.
在央美展出的复制品就囊括了这6件画作。

 《圣母子与圣安妮》卢浮宫藏 You may wonder why and how the Louvre becomes the largest holding of Leonardo's paintings, as well as 22 drawings.
你可能会问，卢浮宫如何得到的这6幅画、从而成为收藏达•芬奇画作最多的机构呢？此外他们还收藏了达•芬奇的22件素描。

During his service at the French court, Leonardo was treated with esteem, honor and freedom to creation by the young French king, an avid sponsor of art and admirer of Italian Renaissance artists. He resided at a chateau called Cloux (now Clos Lucé), not far from the king's summer palace. He enjoyed the title of "First Painter, Architect, and Engineer to the King".
在达•芬奇开始他为法国宫廷的服务后，这位大师感受到的是来自他年轻的雇主、法国国王极大的礼遇。弗朗索瓦一世本人对艺术和收藏充满热情，他尤其是意大利文艺复兴时期艺术家的大“迷弟”。他给予达•芬奇崇高的荣誉和自由创作的空间。他安排自己的“爱豆”住在离他的夏宫不远的克鲁城堡（今天已改名为克洛-吕斯城堡），他授予达•芬奇“国王的首席画家、建筑家和工程师”的头衔。

It is said that Leonardo went across the mountains of Alps, on mule, to reach central France, bringing with him unfinished artworks. At Cloux the artist spent the last years of his life drawing inventions on his sketchbooks, designing the king's gardens and adding finishing strokes to some of his great pieces of work, including the Mona Lisa.
据说当年达•芬奇骑着骡子、翻越阿尔卑斯山抵达法国中部，他随身携带了自己未完成的画作。达•芬奇在克鲁城堡度过了生命最后的时光，他在素描本上描绘那些超越时代的发明设计稿，为国王设计宫殿花园，完成之前拖延已久的画，包括《蒙娜丽莎》。

The friendship between Leonardo and King Francis I was later hailed in The Death of Leonardo da Vinci in the Arms of Francis I, an 1818 painting by French painter Jean-August-Dominique Ingres.
弗朗索瓦一世比达•芬奇小42岁，后来，安格尔在这幅《达•芬奇在弗朗索瓦一世怀中去世》里就尽情刻画了二者间的这段忘年交。

 现藏于巴黎小皇宫 Ingres envisaged in a poetic and romanticized way the scene of the master artist's last moment and the king collecting his last words.
安格尔用一种充满诗意和浪漫的想象，描绘了巨匠最后的时刻、国王倾身凝听他的遗言。

In fact, Francis I was at the front lines when Leonardo died.
之所以说安格尔添油加醋完成了这幅作品，是因为达•芬奇去世的时候，弗朗索瓦一世还在前线指挥战事。

After Leonardo's death, the king purchased from Salai, the painter's assistant and heir to his legacies, the paintings which now become the Louvre's collections.
达•芬奇去世后，他最亲密的助手沙莱成为遗产继承人；弗朗索瓦一世就向他买下了达•芬奇的遗作，这些画作后来就成为卢浮宫的馆藏。