Carlos Morell Orlandis ｜卡洛斯·莫瑞·奥兰迪斯

Carlos Morell Orlandis, a Spanish artist descended from the European Habsburg and Borbón Families, was born in the family of Marquis of Sollerich in Mallorca, Spain. He studied Archaeology Photography and Art History, but at the age of 30, he decided to turn his eyes back to his family tradition and become a professional painter. Surreal colors and distinctive curves made his works wildly popular in Spanish art circles. In 1997, former US President Bill Clinton and his wife, accompanied by the king of Spain, visited his studio and collected one of his works. In 2009, he moved to Shanghai, where he held exhibitions at Liu Haisu Art Museum and Shanghai Art Museum. Some of his paintings were collected by Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai Natural History Museum and Ningbo Museum.

西班牙艺术家、欧洲哈布斯堡贵族后裔，出生于马略卡的侯爵家庭。他青年时投入历史研究和纪录片拍摄，30岁决心回归家族，成为职业画家。他笔下超现实的色彩和独特的曲线表达，深受西班牙艺术界追捧。1997年，美国前总统比尔·克林顿夫妇在西班牙国王陪同下参观了画室，并收藏其作品。2009年他来到上海后，油画先后被上海美术馆、上海自然博物馆、宁波博物馆珍藏。

A descendant of European nobility now living in Shanghai and a Spanish painter whose works are sought after by China's art museums, this person right in front of me seems to transcend time and space. As I was trying to figure out his story, Orlandis, probably aware of my confusion, chuckled and said: "No Chinese can sort out my family tree." The surname of a European holds the key to their genealogy, sometimes growing into an intricate web of connected bloodlines. The surname Orlandis is related to the surnames of all European royal families. The Empress Elisabeth of Austria, whose nickname of Sisi is widely known in China, was one of his distant relatives.

一位生活在上海的欧洲贵族后裔，一位作品被中国美术馆收藏的西班牙画家，这交错的时空标签让我对眼前这个人充满了好奇。我尝试着整理头绪，卡洛斯·莫瑞估计看出了我的局促，笑着说：“我的家族关系，在中国还没人理明白过。”欧洲人的姓氏就是族谱，层层追溯就会形成一个树状血缘网，从他这辈往上数，可以关联到整个欧洲皇室姓氏，中国人耳熟能详的奥地利茜茜公主也是他的远房亲戚。

Orlandis' grandmother and her family

卡洛斯的外祖母和家人在奥地利

His story with China began in childhood. The young Orlandis first heard about Shanghai from Margaret Habsburg Borbon, the sister of his grandmother and the Archduchess of Austria. She married Marchese Francesco Maria Taliani de Marchio, an Italian diplomat, in 1937. Marchese Taliani de Marchio collected a large number of photos of Shanghai from the late Qing dynasty to World War II during his stay in China as the Italian ambassador. In 1951, Marchese Taliani de Marchio was appointed the Italian ambassador to Spain. He returned to Europe and published the book Shanghai After World War II. After he passed away, his wife would often come to Orlandis' home and tell him stories from the distant land of China. She said to a young Orlandis, "You must go to China and Shanghai in the future." The seed of curiosity about oriental civilization was thus sowed in the little boy's heart.

他与中国的缘分，始于童年。小卡洛斯第一次听到对上海的描述，来自于姨祖母玛格丽特·哈布斯堡·波波恩（Margaret Habsburg Borbón），她曾是奥地利女大公爵，1937年嫁给了意大利外交官马尔基奥侯爵（Francesco Maria Taliani）。姨祖父马尔基奥侯爵作为意大利驻华大使被派往中国期间，出于热爱收集了大量清朝末年至二战期间关于上海的照片。二战后的1951年，姨祖父出任意大利驻西班牙大使，返回欧洲并整理出版《战后的上海》一书。在他去世后，姨祖母还会经常来到卡洛斯家，讲述那些遥远的中国故事。她对卡洛斯说：“将来你一定要去中国，去上海。”这使年幼的卡洛斯对东方文明埋下了好奇的种子。

The palace where Orlandis was born｜卡洛斯出生的宫殿

In 2006, the Balearic Islands province of Spain and the National Art Museum of China began their cooperation, and Orlandis set foot in Shanghai for the first time as an envoy of cultural exchange to assist the delegation of the Shanghai Museum in its Europe visit. He was instantly captivated by China's ancient traditional culture and emerging art, realizing that the Chinese way of artistic expression resonated with his. Meanwhile, he was fascinated by the relationship between calligraphy and the evolution of Chinese traditional art.

2006年，西班牙巴利阿里群岛大区与中国美术馆博物馆开展合作，卡洛斯作为文化交流使者第一次来到上海，协助上海博物馆代表团访欧。他立刻被这个国家古老的传统文化以及新兴艺术迷住了，发现中国式的表现方法和他的观念很接近，同时也对书法和中国传统艺术演变间的关系痴迷。

The paintings are collected by the VIP Room of Shanghai Museum of Nature

上海自然博物馆VIP室收藏的卡洛斯画作

In 2007, he held a solo exhibition at Liu Haisu Art Museum in Shanghai. Two years later, he became an honorary professor at the Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts and settled in Shanghai. He is an exceptional painter and a good photographer focusing on urban and cultural subjects. Realizing that the photos collected by Marchese Taliani de Marchio are part of Shanghai's history, he spent fifteen years restoring and sorting them. He donated a collection of more than 1,200 photos to Shanghai Municipal Archives in June 2014. The surprising surfacing of those precious photos made headlines in local media. Each time he talks about it, Orlandis' eyes shine with pride.

2007年，他在上海刘海粟美术馆办个展，两年后受邀加入上海视觉艺术学院担任荣誉教授，定居上海。他不仅擅长绘画，还会摄影，专注记录城市与人文。他意识到姨祖父收集的照片也是这座城市历史的一部分，花了十五年的时间修复整理后，于2014年6月将1200余张珍贵的旧照片捐赠给上海档案馆。一时间，上海各大媒体纷纷报道，对这份来之不易的光影纪录又惊又喜。卡洛斯每谈起这件事，眼里不自觉地闪烁着自豪的光芒。

Hand-painted coats of arms of the Orlandis family.

家族族徽 纯手绘

Q:I learned that your latest exhibition, "Abstract Symphony," was held in Shanghai in 2022. I thought it was about music at first. Is your painting related to music? As your paintings are abstract to many people, how should people interpret them?

Q:我看到您最近一个展览是2022年在上海举办的，叫“抽象交响”。我的第一反应是音乐，您的绘画和音乐有关联吗？您的绘画对很多人来说是抽象的，那该怎么去理解呢？

A: Yes, the exhibition showcased my latest series of oil paintings, "Clouds" and "Starry Sky," which are pretty different from my previous works. I've been striving for sheer colors and balanced structures in my paintings, and I drew a lot of inspiration from Chinese art. As you know, Western pigments tend to have a roughness to them, and I prefer the more delicate and neat Chinese style. I'm a music enthusiast. I started to learn the piano and listen to classical music from an early age. My father was an excellent piano player. Later, I became interested in rock and roll and electric guitar and listened to all types of music. Music and painting are essentially alike. My brother graduated from an academy of fine arts and is now a musician. Painters should not only paint but extend their horizons. You see, music is abstract and intangible, but you can still feel it. As Picasso said, you hear birds twittering and like the sound without having to understand what they are chirping about.

卡洛斯：是的，这个展览中是我最新的“云”和“星空”两个系列油画，它们与之前的画不太一样。我一直在绘画中追求纯粹的色彩和结构的平衡，在这点上，我受到了很多中国艺术的启发。你知道，很多西方颜料处理粗旷，我更喜欢中式的细腻干净。我非常热爱音乐，从小就学习钢琴，听古典乐，我父亲钢琴弹得非常好。后来我喜欢摇滚和电吉他，听各种各样的音乐。其实音乐和绘画是一样的，我哥哥毕业于美术学院，现在是音乐家。画家不应该只是画画，要对更广阔的世界产生兴趣。你看，音乐本身是一种抽象，看不见摸不着，但是你能去感受，就像毕加索说的，你听到并且喜欢鸟叫，但不需要听懂它们在叫什么。

Q:You have been in Shanghai for 16 years. Did your painting style change during that time? Why do you think the change happened?

Q:您来上海有16年之久，绘画发生了什么样的变化呢？可以和我们聊聊这些变化和您认为背后的原因吗？

Orlandis: My paintings have become less Spanish (laugh). The environment has an imperceptible yet strong influence on people. When I showed my blue series to Spaniards, they said the painter must not be a Spaniard. But the color scheme inspired by the blue and white porcelain is familiar to Chinese people. With the changes in life and environment, everything has changed yet remains the same. My paintings have become another version of me, but they are still me, not someone else.

卡洛斯：它们变得不西班牙了（笑）。环境对人的影响是缓慢而巨大的，当我把蓝色系列的画拿给西班牙人看时，他们会说这不是西班牙人画的。那种青花瓷的色彩感，在中国人这里习以为常。随着生活与环境的变化，一切都变了，一切又都保持不变，我的绘画会变成另一个我，但也只能变成我，不可能是别人。

Q: Your works look like watercolors instead of oil paintings. Why did you choose oil painting? Is the illusion involving the canvas and the luster of oil paintings deliberate?

Q: 您的作品看起来像水彩而不是油画，您为什么选择画油画？这种平面和光泽带来的错觉，是刻意为之吗？

A: I like oil paintings because, unlike acrylic, which dries fast, it takes patience and waiting to finish an oil painting. So I can't complete a painting in one day. Actually, it took me 11 years to finish my most time-consuming work so far. Time is an important part of the painting process because I will examine the painting repeatedly until I figure out the best way to finish it. I need to apply the color layer by layer, and when the layers dry completely, they will look flush. But if you watch closely, the different color shades will lead to a perception of depth. It is called "scattered perspective" in Chinese painting.

卡洛斯：我喜欢油画，因为需要耐心和等待，不像丙烯干得快，所以我不可能一天完成一幅画，恰恰相反，目前最久的一幅画用了11年。时间的参与很重要，我会反复观察画，直到某天找到让它完成的办法。我需要一层一层地上色，等它们一层一层地干透，质感上是平面的。但如果你亲眼去观看，色彩的深浅会带来空间感，这种变化在中国画里叫“散点透视”。

A New Reality (oil painting) 

新现实（油画）

Q:As you were not a painter initially, do you think learning the techniques is essential to becoming a painter? What do you think is the most important thing for an aspirant painter?

Q:您最初的专业不是绘画，那您觉得成为画家，学习绘画重要吗？或者说，最重要的是什么？

A: Professional training is all about skills, but that's not a prerequisite for becoming a painter. My brother once told me that learning to paint is learning to observe. You learn to observe the shape and color of everything and see the magical combinations of nature. We were so lucky to be exposed to and learn from so many masterpieces at home when we were young. I don't think art can be taught. You can seek others' advice, but ultimately you need to find yourself and your own way of expression.

卡洛斯：专业的学习是一种技巧的学习，你需要但不是必要的。哥哥曾经告诉我：“学绘画是学会如何观看。”你去看万事万物的形和色，看大自然神奇的搭配组合。从小我们很幸运，能在家里看见很多大师作品，一切都是学习的过程。我认为艺术是不能教会的，你可以听别人的建议，但最终你需要找到自己，创造自己的表达。

The poster of the exhibition

《抽象交响》展览海报

Q: Who is the teacher your benefited most from in your creative career?

Q : 在您的艺术之路上，有谁是您认为很重要的老师吗？

A: Actually, there are many. I was born in Mallorca, a Spanish archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea, which attracted many artists with its enchanting light, colors and seascape. Juan Miro, a master of modern Spanish art, was one of them. I often went to the studio with his grandson. I didn't know what they were at the time, but those flowing lines and the wild imagination behind them left a lifelong impression on me. In 1984, I opened a gallery with a group of artists in the small town of Deia. I benefited a lot from talking with them. As Spaniards, we don't like to overthink but rely on our feelings to understand life. Life is also my teacher.

卡洛斯：实话说有很多。我出生在马略卡，是地中海上的一个西班牙群岛，因为光色和海景吸引了很多艺术家来此地。西班牙现代艺术大师胡安·米罗也在其中，我常常和他的孙子一起去画室，当时我不懂，但是那些流动的线条和自由的想象，到现在还是印象深刻。1984年，我在Deia小镇与一群艺术家开办过一家画廊，和每个人的交流都使我受益匪浅。作为西班牙人，我们不爱思考太多，更倾向于直接去感受，感受生活。生活也是我的老师。

Q: Finally, as an honorary professor at the Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts, do you have any advice for Chinese art students? Will you recommend a career in art to young Chinese?

Q:最后，您作为上海视觉艺术学院的荣誉教授，对于中国这些艺术学生，您有什么想法和建议吗？或者说，对于中国下一代的年轻人，您会建议他们追求艺术吗？

A: Art students should be bold and never stop looking for their inner selves due to external constraints. Hold your work to exacting standards and find and solve the problems so you can get closer to your true self step by step. Pursuing art is a highly personal thing. We had many dreams when we were young, but others would call them frivolous and say that we should learn more practical skills. Even if you want to give your dream another chance when you are older, it might be too late. Give yourself a chance if you are free to choose. I gave myself such a chance and stopped doing what I didn't like to commit myself to I'm most passionate about, which is painting.

卡洛斯：对于艺术学生，要大胆，不要因为太多的束缚而放弃寻求自己的过程。要对自己苛刻，从作品里挑毛病，解决它们，一点一点更接近内心真正样子。追求艺术是很个人的选择，年轻时，我们有过很多梦想，但周围的人告诉你，你的梦想不够严肃，他们会建议去学更实际的技能。随着年龄的增长，当你想重拾那时的梦想，却发现很难回头了。如果你是自由的，那就给自己一次机会。我便是给了自己一次机会——不再做我不喜欢的事情，只做自己最爱的事情，去画画。

Huell Art Salon for Artistic Exchanges.

HuellArt艺术分享沙龙

"Like Chinese, Spaniards attach great importance to their family." For Orlandis, family is more about carrying on the artistic tradition [1]. His great-grandfather Fausto Morell y Bellet (1851-1928) and his father Fausto Morell Orlandi (1821-1880) were both famous painters. The family's long history and artistic and cultural traditions have kept influencing its later generations. Twenty years later, he brought China these cultural heritage and artistic ideas in his DNA.

“家对西班牙人来说很重要，这点和中国很像。”当然对卡洛斯来说，家族留下了更多的传承意义。家族中诞生过两代知名画家，曾祖父Fausto Morell y Bellet（1851-1928）和他父亲Fausto Morell Orlandis(1821-1880)，悠久的历史和艺术文化传统深深滋养着一代又一代的人。二十年后，他把这些骨子里的“文化遗产”和艺术理念带到了中国。

In 2018, Orlandis founded the Huell Art Living Room Project in Shanghai with Natalia King, his work partner in China. The project aims to help Spanish-speaking artists, especially Spanish artists, to come to China for exchange, usher in new possibilities in art collection, indoor music and cultural salons, and share Western art with more Chinese people.

2018年，卡洛斯·莫瑞在上海与中国合作伙伴金奕伶创立了HuellArt艺术客厅项目，致力于帮助西班牙为主的西语系艺术家们来华交流，为艺术收藏、室内音乐、文化沙龙带来一种新的可能，更广泛地与中国朋友们分享西方艺术。

When asked about their original aspirations, Orlandis and King sat in a living room filled with artistic works, all treasures left behind by the Orlandis family. Ranging from antique oil paintings and precious collections from the 16th to the 20th century, such as parchments, stained glass and sketches, they have traveled with him all the way to China.

当我问起初衷时，他们正坐在一个挂满艺术作品的客厅里。这些作品都是卡洛斯家族留下来的，最早随他远渡来华的宝贝，从16世纪至20世纪的古董油画和珍贵的收藏品：羊皮卷、玻璃彩绘和素描手绘......

Orlandis said: "Shanghai is my home. Where there is a home, there is a living room. Painting is my true calling. My father once said, 'You can choose to do whatever you want, but you must do it wholeheartedly.' I want a wonderful life. How many lives could I spend in China, and how many in Spain?"

卡洛斯说：“上海是我的家，有家就有客厅。绘画是我要做的事，我父亲曾说：‘你可以选择做任何事，但一定要用心把它做到极致。’我想要生活格外精彩，有多少次生命可以在中国度过，又有多少次生命可以在西班牙度过？”

Natalia replied with a smile: "The past is the present, and the present is the future. As we only live once, we must find our passion shared by someone else to lead a wonderful life."

金奕伶也笑着回应：“过去也是现在，现在就是未来，一生只有一次的生命体验，至少有一种共同热爱，让我们足够精彩。”

 Everyone has freedom and dreams. The experience of Carlos Morell Orlandis is unique indeed, but everyone is unique, right? May you have the courage and confidence to persist on your journey to find yourself while inspiring others along the way.

每个人都拥有自由和梦想，卡洛斯·莫瑞的经历独一无二，但每个人不都是独一无二吗？愿你们拥有勇气和信心，坚定地走在找寻自我的路上，也点亮他人。

Text 文：

Chen Wanze 陈宛泽

Natalia Jin Yiling 金奕伶 

Yuan Hui 袁慧

Translator 翻译： 

Wei Jia 魏嘉

Editor 编辑：

Wang Yanru 王燕茹