Peinture de circonstance

English translation: modern genre OR narrative art

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:Peinture de circonstance
English translation:modern genre OR narrative art
Entered by: Yvonne Gallagher

17:55 Nov 27, 2019
French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting
French term or phrase: Peinture de circonstance
I'm wanting to know whether this is a specific art genre – it would seem to be, in French at least – or whether I can choose to translate it as I see fit. Here's the sentence and the one before it for more context. It's part of a long interview with the artist and one of two texts in a monograph of his work.

Dans un portrait, il y a très peu de récit, mais tu finis quand même par raconter quelque chose sur l’être humain. Sans parler d’une peinture historique, ou de circonstance, comme par exemple la peinture de Balthus.

I've have been unable to find an equivalent in English, despite searching with every synonym I can think of!
Anne McDowall
France
Local time: 10:37
not a genre as such...
Explanation:
Interesting! I don't believe it is a genre in English, and not sure it is in French either? I've never heard or seen of it (nor of "circumstantial painting" /"occasional painting" either).

Here the text is about the (lack of) "récit" of a portrait being contrasted with historical painting (i.e. that depicts some historical occasion and thus is a récit) or a peinture de circonstance, (showcasing/depicting the circumstances) as in "la peinture de Balthus".

So certainly Baltus' painting are not portraits with very little récit but rather incite all sorts of questions and controversies about the models (especially the adolescent girls depicted in very erotic ways) and the stories or récits portrayed.

So I think that is the angle to take here. I really don't think you can come up with a 2 word equivalent in English that will work.

So I'd suggest going with the récit/story aspect. Some thing like

"Dans un portrait, il y a très peu de récit, mais tu finis quand même par raconter quelque chose sur l’être humain,... comme par exemple la peinture de Balthus"

There is very little narrative/story-telling in portrait painting but nevertheless you finish by saying something about the human being (portrayed), like in a historical painting or the occasions and stories that a Balthus painting may showcase/depict/give rise to

WordReference has a few threads on the term (including one started by you I see) but I like the "showcase" of the film one though I wouldn't say "showcase art" either.
https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/film-de-circonstance...

I thought of "commemorative" as well and certainly portraits are often commisioned and painted to commemorate occasions but I don't think this can be associated with Balthus though of course the portrait in question may well be!

I thought of "opportunistic art" too, i.e. the artist seizing the opportunity to paint what they see, but again, I don't really see how this would relate to Balthus who certainly "staged" his work

so, difficult to say but I have a feeling the Balthus ref. is a bit of a red herring. After all, this is an artist who refused to give any biographical details or allow these details or descriptions of his works to be shown! It was up to the spectator to decide on the narrative/récit to take from each painting

Hope my thinking aloud has helped!



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2019-11-27 19:50:46 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

oops! I meant to highlight/bold some words that may be useful like the occasions and stories that a Balthus painting may showcase/depict/give rise to
or other words like narrate, showcase, commemorative (commissioned and painted to commemorate occasions), opportunistic

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2019-11-27 19:54:40 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

BTW it's important to have a look at a definition of "circumstantial" to see why it won't work https://www.dictionary.com/browse/circumstantial

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 17 hrs (2019-11-29 11:21:42 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Glad to have helped. I think it's very difficult to categorise Balthus or try to pigeonhole him. Certainly, he can be seen as a modern genre painter but his paintings also fit into the modern genre or narrative art category which seems to be what the context is about here.
I'd normally agree with Helen but personally I would not see his works as "satirical" and also would not slot him into a "moral painter" pigeonhole.
So, I'd probably work around it rather than settling on one category as I suggested earlier

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 17 hrs (2019-11-29 11:25:30 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

But for the purposes of the glossary I'll change the header
Selected response from:

Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 09:37
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +2not a genre as such...
Yvonne Gallagher
4Commissioned painting
Nicolas Gambardella
2 +2situational painting
SafeTex
3Circumstantial painting
Lorraine Dubuc
3genre painting
Helen Shiner
2occasional painting
Marco Solinas


Discussion entries: 9





  

Answers


19 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
occasional painting


Explanation:
In the sense of a work painted to mark a specific occasion. I am going by analogy with "occasional music", which is widely used in this sense: https://www.britannica.com/art/choral-music/Occasional-music...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 29 mins (2019-11-27 18:25:55 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"paintings for special occasions" (as a phrase) gets a substantial number of hits. You may want to consider it.

Marco Solinas
Local time: 02:37
Does not meet criteria
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in ItalianItalian
PRO pts in category: 8
Notes to answerer
Asker: That's how I understand it but really want to know whether there's a generally accepted 'genre name' for this. Not sure about the use of 'occasional' because it has another more obvious meaning.

Asker: OK, thanks, I'll bear that in mind. I should have noted in my original post that I did check out the artist mentioned. It wasn't much help and can't see how his work relates to painting for special occasions (or any other similar definition, mind you).


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  SafeTex: From a bit of reading, I can see that Balthus was famous for painting young girls who I asume posed for him. i therefore doubt that the speaker meant paintings for "great occasions" as in this answer
15 mins
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

33 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
Circumstantial painting


Explanation:
A painting that represents an event, a moment in time.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 34 minutes (2019-11-27 18:30:06 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

*such (typo)

Example sentence(s):
  • One tomb has suche a detailed and circumstantial painting that it is thought to represent an actual historic event...'
  • http://www.robertsonproductions.ca/autumn/authentication.html

    https://books.google.ca/books?id=V-PhBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA58&lpg=PA58&dq=circumstantial+painting&source=bl&ots=0NFJK3IALU&sig=ACfU3U1HaLBzX2vMECkjG
Lorraine Dubuc
Canada
Local time: 05:37
Does not meet criteria
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 4
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks. I see that you specialise in this area so I assume this means you've come across 'circumstantial painting' elsewhere, i.e. as a recognised genre, rather than that it's a (good) solution?!


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  SafeTex: From a bit of reading, I can see that Balthus was famous for painting young girls who I asume posed for him. i therefore doubt that the speaker meant paintings for "great occasions" as in this answer
4 mins
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Commissioned painting


Explanation:
IMHO, what is meant here is a painting that was ordered to cover a given event, or people.


    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commission_(art)
    https://kevinmccainstudios.com/commission-painting/
Nicolas Gambardella
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:37
Does not meet criteria
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  philgoddard: I'm not convinced by this, but French references might persuade me.
16 mins

neutral  Lorraine Dubuc: This is 'peinture sur commande ou demande' and is not 'de circonstance' in my opinion. Peinture sur commande would fit this description.
30 mins

neutral  SafeTex: i doubt very much that the young girls ordered paintings of themselves and had the money to pay for it afterwards
3 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +2
situational painting


Explanation:
Hello
I've come to this tenuous conclusion based on the reference.
However, when you look at examples of situational art on the Internet, they vary greatly. I've seen Arabic situational paintings nothing like Balthus' paintings (the Arabic paintings are far more pudic) and comic characters in comic situations.
So it doesn't seem to be a style of painting but more an idea of depicting characters in situations (de circonstance ?)



    https://www.artandeducation.net/announcements/231188/situational-the-body-in-contemporary-painting
SafeTex
France
Local time: 10:37
Does not meet criteria
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Yolanda Broad
1 hr
  -> Thanks. Happy to get any agrees on this one as it's so uncertain.

agree  Lorraine Dubuc: Truly like and agree with this option. I think this broadens the concept of 'peinture de circonstance'.
2 hrs
  -> Thanks. Happy to get any agrees on this one as it's so uncertain.

neutral  Helen Shiner: No, it is the equivalent of “peinture de moeurs”./That’s actually not what I’m suggesting as a translation. My post a bit of a mess with links not working too well, but I hope Asker can find the argumentation.
9 hrs
  -> Hello Helen. You have an interesting idea. "Genre painting" depicts everyday scenes but most of Balthus' paintings are of young girls with sexual overtones so I'm simply not sure if "genre painting" is better or not

neutral  Yvonne Gallagher: "based on the reference" How? I don't see any definition or explanation in this link? And very few examples on Google?
12 hrs
  -> Hello Yvonne. I completely agree with you and i said as much in the post which I only gave a 2 level of confidence
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
genre painting


Explanation:
I think this is a synonym for ‘peinture de moeurs’ (see https://books.google.com/books/about/Paris.html?id=yQ7qAwAAQ... In English this is referred to as ‘moral painting’ (see Tate’s definition in reference to Hogarth: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/m/modern-moral-subject... It is effectively a satirical ‘genre scene’, portraying and sending up the mores of a society or set of people, which may arguably be a way of viewing Balthus’s painting.

An equivalent of this term in drama may perhaps be the ‘comedy of manners’ (see https://www.britannica.com/art/comedy-of-manners). Though that term is not used in painting. Satirical, narrative painting.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 hrs (2019-11-28 01:13:14 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I meant to add ‘moral painting’ or ‘painting of morals and manners’ to the headline as a sub-set of ‘genre painting’. Apologies.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 8 hrs (2019-11-28 02:07:54 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

‘Modern moral painting’ https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/m/modern-moral-subject... I think I would either use this term or ‘satirical genre painting’, which is less specific to Hogarth, though not used exclusively by him.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 13 hrs (2019-11-28 07:37:51 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Posting the first link again (no idea why it’s not functioning): https://books.google.com/books/about/Paris.html?id=yQ7qAwAAQ...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 13 hrs (2019-11-28 07:44:28 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The link still isn’t showing what I’m seeing. If you search in this book using “peinture de moeurs” and “circonstance”, it should bring up the relevant passage, which explains the terms as equivalent.

Helen Shiner
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:37
Meets criteria
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 348

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  SafeTex: Genre painting depicts common everyday life so I'm just not sure if it is the right term for the erotic paintings of young girls that he often painted. But the suggestion is certainly valid
9 hrs
  -> That’s not what I’m suggesting. I made a mistake in the headline suggestion, failing to add key elements, but if you read my post, you’ll see what I’m suggesting.
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
not a genre as such...


Explanation:
Interesting! I don't believe it is a genre in English, and not sure it is in French either? I've never heard or seen of it (nor of "circumstantial painting" /"occasional painting" either).

Here the text is about the (lack of) "récit" of a portrait being contrasted with historical painting (i.e. that depicts some historical occasion and thus is a récit) or a peinture de circonstance, (showcasing/depicting the circumstances) as in "la peinture de Balthus".

So certainly Baltus' painting are not portraits with very little récit but rather incite all sorts of questions and controversies about the models (especially the adolescent girls depicted in very erotic ways) and the stories or récits portrayed.

So I think that is the angle to take here. I really don't think you can come up with a 2 word equivalent in English that will work.

So I'd suggest going with the récit/story aspect. Some thing like

"Dans un portrait, il y a très peu de récit, mais tu finis quand même par raconter quelque chose sur l’être humain,... comme par exemple la peinture de Balthus"

There is very little narrative/story-telling in portrait painting but nevertheless you finish by saying something about the human being (portrayed), like in a historical painting or the occasions and stories that a Balthus painting may showcase/depict/give rise to

WordReference has a few threads on the term (including one started by you I see) but I like the "showcase" of the film one though I wouldn't say "showcase art" either.
https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/film-de-circonstance...

I thought of "commemorative" as well and certainly portraits are often commisioned and painted to commemorate occasions but I don't think this can be associated with Balthus though of course the portrait in question may well be!

I thought of "opportunistic art" too, i.e. the artist seizing the opportunity to paint what they see, but again, I don't really see how this would relate to Balthus who certainly "staged" his work

so, difficult to say but I have a feeling the Balthus ref. is a bit of a red herring. After all, this is an artist who refused to give any biographical details or allow these details or descriptions of his works to be shown! It was up to the spectator to decide on the narrative/récit to take from each painting

Hope my thinking aloud has helped!



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2019-11-27 19:50:46 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

oops! I meant to highlight/bold some words that may be useful like the occasions and stories that a Balthus painting may showcase/depict/give rise to
or other words like narrate, showcase, commemorative (commissioned and painted to commemorate occasions), opportunistic

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2019-11-27 19:54:40 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

BTW it's important to have a look at a definition of "circumstantial" to see why it won't work https://www.dictionary.com/browse/circumstantial

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 17 hrs (2019-11-29 11:21:42 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Glad to have helped. I think it's very difficult to categorise Balthus or try to pigeonhole him. Certainly, he can be seen as a modern genre painter but his paintings also fit into the modern genre or narrative art category which seems to be what the context is about here.
I'd normally agree with Helen but personally I would not see his works as "satirical" and also would not slot him into a "moral painter" pigeonhole.
So, I'd probably work around it rather than settling on one category as I suggested earlier

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 17 hrs (2019-11-29 11:25:30 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

But for the purposes of the glossary I'll change the header

Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 09:37
Meets criteria
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 24

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  ormiston: Agree with your reasoning and was wondering if it can be likened to the 'narrative' genre, i.e. related to specific moments/ circulstances
11 mins
  -> Many thanks. Yes, was in a rush last night. (And busy today) So, "modern genre painting" or "narrative art". https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/n/narrative

agree  Ph_B (X): with your reasoning (but I think it's a genre in itself) and with ormiston
10 hrs
  -> Many thanks:-) So "modern genre painting" or "narrative art". https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/n/narrative

neutral  Helen Shiner: It is the equivalent of ‘peinture de moeurs’, a satirical sub-set of ‘genre painting’. Satirising mores/manners of a particular societal group or society as a whole./Please see my post for an explanation of what ‘modern moral painting’ is about.
11 hrs
  -> Is that what Balthus is doing? He offers moral conumdrums to the viewer in some works it's true but not at all sure I'd call them "moral paintings"? Or "satirical" for that matter//Please don't talk down to me. I'm aware of the term
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.


See also:
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search