Plural query Thread poster: Jennifer Forbes
|
|---|
What to do when you want to refer to several paintings known individually as "Madonna and Chilld"?
Surely not: Bellini's "Madonnas and Children" or "Madonnas and Child", let alone "Madonna and Childs"?
I suppose the only solution is to say "Bellini's paintings of the Madonna and Child".
What to Prozies think?
Jenny
| | | |
Niraja Nanjundan (X) 
Local time: 12:05
German to English
| Could you add "series?" | Oct 3, 2008 |
Jenny Forbes wrote:
I suppose the only solution is to say "Bellini's paintings of the Madonna and Child".
I basically agree with the above. Could you also say "Bellini's series of Madonna and Child paintings?"
| | | |
| Our friend the hyphen | Oct 3, 2008 |
In my opinion the solution would be something like "...his Madonna-and-Child paintings were...".
| | | |
Quoth the Chicago Manual of Style:
"The plural of a word or phrase in quotation marks may be formed by the addition of an apostrophe before the s, with the closing quotation marks following the s (though rewording is usually a better option).
How many more "To be continued's" can we expect?
So: "Madonna and Child's", or else recast the sentence.
| | |
|
|
|
Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 07:35
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| It's the paintings that are plural | Oct 3, 2008 |
Can you not simply say:
Bellini's "Madonna and Child" paintings?
| | | |
Peter Manda (X)
Local time: 02:35
German to English
+ ...
I think Sheila has the better of it.
| | | |
Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 08:35
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Jenny Forbes wrote:
What to do when you want to refer to several paintings known individually as "Madonna and Chilld"?
Not a native speaker of English myself, but would you consider "Madonnas and child"? I realise that in most of these paintings the child (being God) is the main figure, but from a purely linguistic point of view the main item of all these paintings (based on the names of the paintings) is the mother, not the child.
For surely if someone says "mountains with castle" it is obvious that there is one castle for every mountain (and not just one castle for all the mountains).
| | | |
Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 07:35
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| It all depends on the picture | Oct 3, 2008 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
Not a native speaker of English myself, but would you consider "Madonnas and child"?
For surely if someone says "mountains with castle" it is obvious that there is one castle for every mountain (and not just one castle for all the mountains).
I believe there is only ever one Madonna per painting - you can only use the plural if the picture shows 2 or more. Most mountainous landscapes show more than one mountain, but there is usually just one castle as the main point of focus. A painting could quite legitimately be called "mountain with castles".
Equally, Madonna surrounded by a class of schoolchildren could be entitled "Madonna with children"
| | |
|
|
|
| Bellini's "Madonna and Child" paintings | Oct 3, 2008 |
Sheila is right.
Bellini's "Madonna and Child" paintings --- would be the best way to put it.
| | | |
Textklick
Local time: 07:35
German to English
+ ...
In memoriam | Lady Madonna, children at your feet... | Oct 4, 2008 |
Sheila Wilson wrote:
I believe there is only ever one Madonna per painting - you can only use the plural if the picture shows 2 or more.
Equally, Madonna surrounded by a class of schoolchildren could be entitled "Madonna with children"
Logic wins. Of course. With Sheila and Virginia. And AFAIK, the good lady did not have twins.
Funnily enough though, look at the title of this Chinese page: http://www.fineart-china.com/germany/htmlopus/painting-38429.html
I must say that is the first time I have ever seen this work by Leonardo, but maybe I have been looking in the wrong places. However, I can count up to two.
Madam - I humbly submit that were you to use such an excrutiatingly execrable expression as 'Madonna and Childs', I fear that poor Brian Sewell would suffer from a terminal fit of the vapours.
Chris
| | | |
| Pop artist with the children? | Oct 5, 2008 |
No, I am not talking about Michael Jackson. The Spanish page of the link you pasted says "La Madona con los Niños". In Spanish, a "Madonna" would be a "virgen María", so this should be called "La virgen María y el niño".
In Spain, "Madona" is just the pop artist really....
| | | |
Jennifer Forbes
Local time: 07:35
French to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER In memoriam | Thank you, everyone | Oct 5, 2008 |
Textklick wrote: Sheila Wilson wrote:
I believe there is only ever one Madonna per painting - you can only use the plural if the picture shows 2 or more.
Equally, Madonna surrounded by a class of schoolchildren could be entitled "Madonna with children" Logic wins. Of course. With Sheila and Virginia. And AFAIK, the good lady did not have twins. Funnily enough though, look at the title of this Chinese page: http://www.fineart-china.com/germany/htmlopus/painting-38429.html I must say that is the first time I have ever seen this work by Leonardo, but maybe I have been looking in the wrong places. However, I can count up to two. Madam - I humbly submit that were you to use such an excrutiatingly execrable expression as 'Madonna and Childs', I fear that poor Brian Sewell would suffer from a terminal fit of the vapours. Chris
Chris, I looked at the Chinese web site (which says in German Madonna and Children") but can see only one Child. Perhaps Dan Brown should consider a new mega-hit novel based on the supposition that the Virgin Mary had twin boys - shades of the Man in the Iron Mask (Dumas) - but now I'm getting carried away. I didn't suggest that "Madonnas and Childs" was a possibility - I said surely not ... let alone. I do hope Mr Sewell has recovered from the vapours by now ...
Best wishes,
Jenny.
| | | |
Login to reply/comment 
