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brodo esausto
assente
Apr 12, 2015 21:39
9 yrs ago
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Italian term

al fermo

Italian to English Art/Literary Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting
The text I am working on contains a quotation from a 16th century treatise on painting. I've included a link to the actual page with the excerpt below (chapter V).

The sentence in question is:

"Egli è antico e molto laudabile costume de gli ecellenti pittori che, quando si sentono avere carrico di dover far alcune opere onorate e di momento, trovate ch’essi hanno l’invenzioni, al fermo si mettono da sé a fabricar di molte figure di tondo rilievo e, talvolta, ancora delle istorie intiere. "

Apart from generally struggling with the 'period' language, I'm bemused by the "al fermo" in the middle...

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=_OlZAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA103&o...
Proposed translations (English)
4 resolutely

Discussion

James Stuart (asker) Apr 13, 2015:
@Tom You're right about the work. I have tried to locate a copy here in Glasgow, to no avail. There is a copy in Edinburgh University Library... Seems a lot of bother for a two-word phrase, but there are other quotations from the book, so I'm going to keep working on that angle.
James Stuart (asker) Apr 13, 2015:
Editions @Marco - you're right, of course. It seems most of the editions available freely on line omit the phrase - if only my author had quoted one of those!
The same citation is contained in the following link:
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=jgBVR_Q8PZMC&lpg=PA300&o...
Tom in London Apr 13, 2015:
Armenini The work from which the quotation comes is, I think, Giovan Battista Armenini, "De veri precetti della pittura" (1587), which has been published in English translation. It would be wise to find this, and to use an "official" translation
Marco Solinas Apr 12, 2015:
To: Asker I do not see the incriminated phrase ("al fermo") in the page of the book that you posted as reference; however, the rest of the sentence is there. Is your source document different from the reference?

Proposed translations

1 hr

resolutely

According to the reference below, I think it was used as an adverb (avv.) a long time ago (century XIII) to mean "resolutely", "steadfastly" (avv. fermamente, in modo fermo).
Reference:

http://dizionari.corriere.it/dizionario_italiano/F/fermo_1.shtml

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