Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
aération
English translation:
opening up (of space)
- The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2011-03-10 10:54:15 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)
Mar 6, 2011 12:21
13 yrs ago
2 viewers *
French term
aération
Homework / test
French to English
Art/Literary
Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting
I'm currently translating a French museum piece (as work experience for an MA) describing the works of painter Conrad Witz and have stumbled across this term, which I can't seem to find a definition for in the appropriate context.
The term is 'l'articulation et l'aération des espaces' in the last sentence of the following paragraph:
"... il [the artist] s’attache à représenter un espace réel, grâce à la technique flamande de la peinture à l’huile : corps et objets sont modelés par la lumière et les ombres, une attention particulière est portée au rendu des matières. Dans ses dernières œuvres, l’articulation et l’aération des espaces pourraient être dues à son hypothétique voyage italien."
Can anybody offer any suggestions?
Many thanks in advance
The term is 'l'articulation et l'aération des espaces' in the last sentence of the following paragraph:
"... il [the artist] s’attache à représenter un espace réel, grâce à la technique flamande de la peinture à l’huile : corps et objets sont modelés par la lumière et les ombres, une attention particulière est portée au rendu des matières. Dans ses dernières œuvres, l’articulation et l’aération des espaces pourraient être dues à son hypothétique voyage italien."
Can anybody offer any suggestions?
Many thanks in advance
Proposed translations
(English)
3 +2 | opening up (of space) | Helen Shiner |
Change log
Mar 6, 2011 16:09: Tony M changed "From Test" from "Not Checked" to "Checked"
Proposed translations
+2
33 mins
Selected
opening up (of space)
I think this might be a possible way of dealing with this, based on the idea of 'exposing' space more literally. See my discussion posts. But I would definitely check with the museum.
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Note added at 36 mins (2011-03-06 12:57:32 GMT)
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Wrong period, but nonetheless:
Like Mark Rothko (American, 1903-1970), Tomaschoff uses a blocking of rectangles as the basic composition of his paintings. However, in many instances, Tomaschoff bisects the mural surface with a horizon line dividing the painting into two rectangles. There is a weightiness to the shapes, often the heavier more massive shape sits within the lower portion of the painting. This horizon line leads to a reading of the surface as an opening up of space or in many cases, the apparition of a new architecture within the illusionary depth of the painting. Suddenly, the complex and aggressively worked surface clarifies new appearances, revealing a landscape that invites the viewer to intellectually penetrate the object of the painting.
http://www.odonwagnergallery.com/dynamic/exhibit_artist.asp?...
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Note added at 41 mins (2011-03-06 13:03:07 GMT)
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Despite these similarities, there is a marked difference between the St Francis and Botticelli's earliest style. This may be perceived most obviously in the vividly and vigorously characterised figure of the saint. A spare, sinewysin·ew·y
adj.
1.
a. Consisting of or resembling sinews.
b. Having many sinews; stringy and tough: a sinewy cut of beef.
2. Lean and muscular. See Synonyms at muscular.
..... Click the link for more information. ascetic, he gazes at the crucifix with an emotional intensity unseen in paintings of the early 1470s. (32) The most compelling stylistic comparisons with the St Francis are to be found in works dating from the second half of the 1470s, when Botticelli painted the versions of the Adoration of the MagiThe Adoration of the Magi is the name traditionally given to a Christian religious scene in which the three Magi, often represented as kings, especially in the West, having found Jesus by following a star, lay before him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh: in the church
..... Click the link for more information. now in the Uffizi and the Kress Collection in Washington, together with the large tondo ton·do
n. pl. ton·dos also ton·di
A round painting, relief, or similar work of art.
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[Italian, short for rotondo, round, from Latin rotundus; see rotund.] of the same subject in the National Gallery. (33) The same attitude towards the opening up of space informs the Uffizi painting, with the secondary figures falling into two groups on either side of a central axis. Although the gilded background of the St Francis makes it harder for us to apprehend its three-dimensional qualities, Botticelli seems to be attempting to create an illusion of spatial recession, with the angels positioned as if curving around the figure of the saint. At the same time, there is a sense of them being stacked up on top of one another, with the heads of some angels peeping over the shoulders of their fellows, almost as if jostling for position. A similar aesthetic pervades the crowd scenes in the backgrounds to Botticelli's Adorations, which are populated with rows of small, often sharply characterised heads (Fig. 8).
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/A St Francis by Botticelli in ...
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Note added at 43 mins (2011-03-06 13:04:41 GMT)
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Apologies for the first half of the last quote - don't know where that came from!
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 36 mins (2011-03-06 12:57:32 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Wrong period, but nonetheless:
Like Mark Rothko (American, 1903-1970), Tomaschoff uses a blocking of rectangles as the basic composition of his paintings. However, in many instances, Tomaschoff bisects the mural surface with a horizon line dividing the painting into two rectangles. There is a weightiness to the shapes, often the heavier more massive shape sits within the lower portion of the painting. This horizon line leads to a reading of the surface as an opening up of space or in many cases, the apparition of a new architecture within the illusionary depth of the painting. Suddenly, the complex and aggressively worked surface clarifies new appearances, revealing a landscape that invites the viewer to intellectually penetrate the object of the painting.
http://www.odonwagnergallery.com/dynamic/exhibit_artist.asp?...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 41 mins (2011-03-06 13:03:07 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Despite these similarities, there is a marked difference between the St Francis and Botticelli's earliest style. This may be perceived most obviously in the vividly and vigorously characterised figure of the saint. A spare, sinewysin·ew·y
adj.
1.
a. Consisting of or resembling sinews.
b. Having many sinews; stringy and tough: a sinewy cut of beef.
2. Lean and muscular. See Synonyms at muscular.
..... Click the link for more information. ascetic, he gazes at the crucifix with an emotional intensity unseen in paintings of the early 1470s. (32) The most compelling stylistic comparisons with the St Francis are to be found in works dating from the second half of the 1470s, when Botticelli painted the versions of the Adoration of the MagiThe Adoration of the Magi is the name traditionally given to a Christian religious scene in which the three Magi, often represented as kings, especially in the West, having found Jesus by following a star, lay before him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh: in the church
..... Click the link for more information. now in the Uffizi and the Kress Collection in Washington, together with the large tondo ton·do
n. pl. ton·dos also ton·di
A round painting, relief, or similar work of art.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Italian, short for rotondo, round, from Latin rotundus; see rotund.] of the same subject in the National Gallery. (33) The same attitude towards the opening up of space informs the Uffizi painting, with the secondary figures falling into two groups on either side of a central axis. Although the gilded background of the St Francis makes it harder for us to apprehend its three-dimensional qualities, Botticelli seems to be attempting to create an illusion of spatial recession, with the angels positioned as if curving around the figure of the saint. At the same time, there is a sense of them being stacked up on top of one another, with the heads of some angels peeping over the shoulders of their fellows, almost as if jostling for position. A similar aesthetic pervades the crowd scenes in the backgrounds to Botticelli's Adorations, which are populated with rows of small, often sharply characterised heads (Fig. 8).
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/A St Francis by Botticelli in ...
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Note added at 43 mins (2011-03-06 13:04:41 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Apologies for the first half of the last quote - don't know where that came from!
Peer comment(s):
agree |
emiledgar
12 mins
|
Thanks, emiledgar - good to have confirmation from you!
|
|
agree |
Rachel Fell
44 mins
|
Thanks, Rachel
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
Discussion
@ Helen, I think you are right that the author is very much referring to the 'opening up' of space. Whereas many representations at that time focussed on a 'close up' style with little background, I think what is being conveyed here is the openness and sheer amount of what I suppose would be called negative space. Much less focus on the figures of the painting and a much greater detail in the surroundings.
I am still wondering how this could be translated with 'articulation et aération' in mind..
I think 'articulation' is used in architectural art, so maybe could be applied here.. But as for 'aération'??
... Many thanks again to all of you for your suggestions.
Source: http://www.answers.com/topic/witz-conrad
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32357038@N08/4311449717/