The true story behind a well-known piece of art：

　　Back in the fifteenth century， in a tiny village near Nuremberg， lived a family with eighteen children. Eighteen！ In order merely to keep food on the table for this mob， the father and head of the household， a goldsmith by profession， worked almost eighteen hours a day at his trade and any other paying chore he could find in the neighborhood. Despite their seemingly hopeless condition， two of Albrecht Durer the Elder's children had a dream. They both wanted to pursue their talent for art， but they knew full well that their father would never be financially able to send either of them to Nuremberg to study at the Academy.

　　After many long discussions at night in their crowded bed， the two boys finally worked out a pact. They would toss a coin. The loser would go down into the nearby mines and， with his earnings， support his brother while he attended the academy. Then， when that brother who won the toss completed his studies， in four years， he would support the other brother at the academy， either with sales of his artwork or， if necessary， also by laboring the mines.

　　They tossed a coin on a Sunday morning after church. Albrecht Durer won the toss and went off to Nuremberg. Albert went down into the dangerous mines and， for the next four years， financed his brother， whose work at the academy was almost an immediate sensation. Albrecht's etchings， his woodcuts， and his oils were far better than those of most of his professors， and by the time he graduated， he was beginning to earn considerable fees for his commissioned works.

　　When the young artist returned to his village， the Durer family held a festive dinner on their lawn to celebrate Albrecht's triumphant homecoming. After a long and memorable meal， punctuated with music and laughter， Albrecht rose from his honored position at the head of the table to drink a toast to his beloved brother for the years of sacrifice that had enabled Albrecht to fulfill his ambition. His closing words were， "And now， Albert， blessed brother of mine， now it is your turn. Now you can go to Nuremberg to pursue your dream， and I will take care of you."

　　All heads turned in eager expectation to the far end of the table where Albert sat， tears streaming down his pale face， shaking his lowered head from side to side while he sobbed and repeated， over and over， "No ……no ……no ……no."

　　Finally， Albert rose and wiped the tears from his cheeks. He glanced down the long table at the faces he loved， and then， holding his hands close to his right cheek， he said softly， "No， brother. I cannot go to Nuremberg. It is too late for me. Look…… look what four years in the mines has done to my hands！ The bones in every finger have been smashed at least once， and lately I have been suffering from arthritis so badly in my right hand that I cannot even hold a glass to return your toast， much less make delicate lines on parchment or canvas with a pen or a brush. No， brother …… for me it is too late."

　　More than 450 years have passed. By now， Albrecht Durer's hundreds of masterful portraits， pen and silver-point sketches， watercolors， charcoals， woodcuts， and copper engravings hang in every great museum， but the odds are great that you， like most people， are familiar with only one of Albrecht Durer's works. More than merely being familiar with it， you very well may have a reproduction hanging in your home or office.

　　One day， to pay homage to Albert for all that he had sacrificed， Albrecht Durer painstakingly drew his brother's abused hands with palms together and thin fingers stretched skyward. He called his powerful drawing simply "Hands，" but the entire world almost immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece and renamed his tribute of love "The Praying Hands."

　　The next time you see a copy of that touching creation， take a second look. Let it be your reminder， if you still need one， that no one -no one ever makes it alone！

　　德國藝術大師Albrecht Durer有一幅名畫“祈禱之手”，這幅畫的背后有一則愛與犧牲的故事。

　　十五世紀時，在德國的一個小村莊里，住了一個有十八個孩子的家庭。父親是一名冶金匠，為了維持一家生計，他每天工作十八個小時。

　　生活盡管窘迫逼人，然而這個家庭其中兩個孩子卻有一個同樣的夢想。他們兩人都希望可以發展自己在藝術方面的天份。不過他們也了解，父親無法在經濟上供他們倆到紐倫堡藝術學院讀書。

　　晚上，兩兄弟在床上經過多次討論后，得出結論：以擲銅板決定──勝者到藝術學院讀書，敗者則到附近的礦場工作賺錢；四年后，在礦場工作的那一個再到藝術學院讀書，由學成畢業那一個賺錢支持。如果需要，可能也要到礦場工作。

　　星期日早上做完禮拜，他們擲了銅板，結果，弟弟Albrecht Durer勝出，去了紐倫堡藝術學院。哥哥Albert則去了危險的礦場工作，四年來一直為弟弟提供經濟支持。Albrecht在藝術學院表現很突出，他的油畫簡直比教授的還要好。到畢業時，他的作品已經能賺不少錢了。

　　在這位年輕的藝術家返回家鄉的那一天，家人為他準備了盛宴，慶祝他學成歸來。當漫長而難忘的宴席快要結束時，伴隨著音樂和笑聲，亞爾伯起身答謝敬愛的哥哥幾年來對他的支持，他說：“現在輪到你了，親愛的哥哥，我會全力支持你到紐倫堡藝術學院攻讀，實現你的夢想！”

　　所有的目光都急切地轉移到桌子的另一端，坐在那里的Albert雙淚直流，只見他垂下頭，邊搖頭邊重復說著：“不……不……”

　　終于，Albert站了起來他，擦干臉頰上的淚水，看了看長桌兩邊他所愛的親友們的臉，把雙手移近右臉頰，說：“不，弟弟，我上不了紐倫堡藝術學院了。太遲了。看看我的雙手──四年來在礦場工作，毀了我的手，關節動彈不得，現在我的手連舉杯為你慶賀也不可能，何況是揮動畫筆或雕刻刀呢？不，弟弟……已經太遲了……”

　　四百五十多年過去了，Albrecht Durer有成千上百部的杰作流傳下來，他的速寫、素描、水彩畫、木刻、銅刻等可以在世界各地博物館找到；然而，大多數人最為熟悉的，卻是其中的一件作品。也許，你的家里或者辦公室里就懸掛著一件它的復制品。

　　為了補償哥哥所做的犧牲，表達對哥哥的敬意，一天，Albrecht Durer下了很大的工夫把哥哥合起的粗糙的雙手刻了下來。他把這幅偉大的作品簡單地稱為“雙手”，然而，全世界的人都立刻敞開心扉，瞻仰這幅杰作，把這幅愛的作品重新命名為“祈禱之手”。

　　下次當你看到這幅感人的作品，仔細看一下。如果你也需要這么一幅畫，就讓它成為你的提醒，沒有──它是世上獨一無二的事物。

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