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16 116 173 UM
This question was closed without grading. Reason: No acceptable answer
Feb 7, 2015 02:16
9 yrs ago
3 viewers *
French term

être en matière

French to English Art/Literary Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting
This appears in the description of a painting.

Le tableau est en matière. Il y a de la profondeur avec la barque et les rivages.
Proposed translations (English)
4 is an accurate representation
3 Focused
2 has substance to it

Discussion

Philippa Smith Feb 7, 2015:
@Jeanne But you have clue, in the "barque et les rivages", you should be able to have a good guess at which one it is and then which interpretation would work best. This might help you:
http://www.artble.com/artists/pierre-auguste_renoir/more_inf...
Jeanne Zang (asker) Feb 7, 2015:
Unfortunately I do not know which painting. I am translating emails between a dealer and a possible buyer and the painting is referred to only as "the one they saw in California."
Philippa Smith Feb 7, 2015:
And which of his paintings is it?
Jeanne Zang (asker) Feb 7, 2015:
The painter is Renoir. Sorry I did not include this information initially.
Charles Davis Feb 7, 2015:
Matière In Spanish art writing "materia" nearly always refers to the medium, the paint or whatever that is applied to the support. Matter painting became a "school" (of sorts) in the 1950s and 1960s, but the use of thick impasto to produce a textured surface was not invented then. Think of Rembrandt, especially later Rembrandt.

Jeanne: can you possibly tell us the name of the artist?
Charles Davis Feb 7, 2015:
@Helene I was thinking along the same lines, actually. I wonder if it could it mean that this is a matter painting (matiériste): i.e. thick impasto, mixed with sand and things, in the manner of someone like Tàpies, for example? I'd need a bit more context before I'd venture to suggest it.
Jocelyne Cuenin Feb 7, 2015:
à mon avis, matière s'oppose à forme dans le sens de substance (ce qu'on applique sur le support). Peut-être même support + tout ce qu'on applique sur le support. Je rejoins donc Helene, mais en incluant 'paint'.
Helene Tammik Feb 7, 2015:
The reference to depth makes me wonder whether it isn't something to do with the actual medium used to paint with, e.g. a material that is thicker, more "layerable", than simply paint.

Proposed translations

28 mins

Focused

Pas spécialiste en Anglais, mais une idée.
Attendons.
Something went wrong...
1 hr

is an accurate representation

"être en matière" means the painting evinces the object the painter set out to represent

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Note added at 2 hrs (2015-02-07 04:32:52 GMT)
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My interpretation above comes from the expression "l'entrée en matière", which means "l'introduction" in French, that is, the entry into a subject or a matter.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Yvonne Gallagher : very high confidence level for a guess. Highly unlikely imo
3 days 6 hrs
Something went wrong...
12 hrs

has substance to it

I agree with the opinions expressed in the discussion. I think it could refer to matter in terms of substance, almost in terms of bulk, as produced by the technique and medium.
Knowing who the painter is might of course make all the difference to this interpretation!
And François' alternative interpretation could also be right...
Peer comment(s):
neutral Yvonne Gallagher : Not really artspeak. Maybe to do with impasto but impossible to say without knowing which painting it is or having more context.
2 days 19 hrs
Something went wrong...
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