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bryon de mes yeux

Glossary entry

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
Proposed translations (English)
3 +2 opening up (of space)
Change log

Mar 6, 2011 16:09: Tony M changed "From Test" from "Not Checked" to "Checked"

Discussion

BradP (asker) Mar 7, 2011:
@ Helen That's a great help, thanks again for your expertise!
Helen Shiner Mar 7, 2011:
Articulation of space is really about how a composition is ordered, during this period, mostly by use of perspectival effects. Often there are specific architectural elements used to frame the image, but even if there are not, elements of landscape in the foreground (say rocks or trees) are used to create a realistic impression of spatial depth.
Helen Shiner Mar 7, 2011:
Hi BradP I'm an art historian myself and I would definitely say that translating it as 'the articulation and opening up of space' would make complete sense, particularly within the context of the influences coming from Italian Renaissance art. I don't think the opened up space would have been seen as negative space, though I know what you mean. It would probably have been equated in Witz's art with something like the light of God or illumination of the Renaissance mind, or something similar. Some of the articles I have read about him talk about this magical/heightened aspect of his work.
BradP (asker) Mar 7, 2011:
Thanks, all, for your insights. You are, of course, right.. There's not much to go on, but all thoughts have been interesting.

@ 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.
damselfly Mar 6, 2011:
space and depth
cc in nyc Mar 6, 2011:
dimensionality? "Konrad Witz (ca. 1410-1446) was the first German painter to depict a fully developed three-dimensional space and landscape that is topographically recognizable. His figures have a hieratic monumentality and power."
Source: http://www.answers.com/topic/witz-conrad
Helen Shiner Mar 6, 2011:
aération I wonder if one might go down the route of aération in its sense of 'exposing', i.e. articulation of space, on the one hand, and 'revealing'. In other words he uses these techniques to open up space on the canvas. He is not afraid of gaps between objects, unlike, say, an International Gothic painter who covers the canvas almost entirely with objects (flowers, decoration, etc.) between the key figures/buildings.
Helen Shiner Mar 6, 2011:
@ Kirsten The Asker's text indicates that he draws his use of light and shade from Flemish art, but that he takes this aération from Italian art, so it seems to suggest that it is another element.
Helen Shiner Mar 6, 2011:
Conrad Witz This text mentions a little about his use of shadows to create depth and underline spatial relationships:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32357038@N08/4311449717/
Kirsten Bodart Mar 6, 2011:
It could also have to do, though, with light and the artist's use of it. As 'aérer' can also mean 'éclaircir' in French. It would be logical as the paragraph above is about objects defined by light and shadow. As such 'l'aération' could be 'brightness'?
Helen Shiner Mar 6, 2011:
@ BradP 2 Without knowing how he deals with space specifically, it is difficult to suggest a translation. Some artists might do this 'aération', say, by leaving blank passages on the canvas, others, even, by perspectival distortions so that spaces seem to open up counterintuitively. Do you have the opportunity to go back to the museum or look at his works and see what is meant precisely?
Helen Shiner Mar 6, 2011:
BradP I don't think this is any kind of technique as such. It feels like a metaphor to do with the handling of form and space within the painting. Literally inserting air into the painting, but clearly that won't do.

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.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[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!
Peer comment(s):
agree emiledgar
12 mins
Thanks, emiledgar - good to have confirmation from you!
agree Rachel Fell
44 mins
Thanks, Rachel
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
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