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ordinaire conformiste

English translation: usually marked by conventions


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GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:ordinaire conformiste
English translation:usually marked by conventions
Entered by: Laura Bennett
Options:
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14:06 May 14, 2011
French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting / Description of a Portrait
French term or phrase: ordinaire conformiste
This comes from a description of a portrait of the Queen of Spain Maria Luisa by Francisco Goya. The phrase is:
"Dans ce portrait officiel (un genre d’ordinaire conformiste) Marie-Louise se présente....."
I'm not sure if I'm missing something obvious here but I'm struggling to work out the sense of what they're trying to get at.
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
Laura Bennett
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:04
usually marked by conventions
Explanation:
a genre usually marked by conventions
a genre generally known for its customary rules
It just implies that the portrait, being an official one, has been painted in a rather extravagant style as far as official royal portraits went in those times...
Selected response from:

Dieezah
Local time: 18:04
Grading comment
I certainly didn’t think this question would give rise to such vigorous debate! In the end I went with "usually a conventional genre". Just to add my two cents to the debate about the use of the word genre, I agree with Helen that it was really the only choice here. Art form might have been an alternative, but style would definitely not have worked. Thank you to everyone who submitted and answer or a discussion comment!
3 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +4usually marked by conventions
Dieezah
4ordinarily a conventional art formcc in nyc
4 -1usually in a conventional styleEuqinimod
4 -1a style usually conventional
silvester55


Discussion entries: 6





  

Answers


17 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +4
usually marked by conventions


Explanation:
a genre usually marked by conventions
a genre generally known for its customary rules
It just implies that the portrait, being an official one, has been painted in a rather extravagant style as far as official royal portraits went in those times...


    Reference: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/conformists
Dieezah
Local time: 18:04
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench, Native in Creoles & Pidgins (French-based Other)Creoles & Pidgins (French-based Other)
PRO pts in category: 3
Grading comment
I certainly didn’t think this question would give rise to such vigorous debate! In the end I went with "usually a conventional genre". Just to add my two cents to the debate about the use of the word genre, I agree with Helen that it was really the only choice here. Art form might have been an alternative, but style would definitely not have worked. Thank you to everyone who submitted and answer or a discussion comment!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Helen Shiner: usually a conventional genre
1 hr
  -> Thanks !
agree  gallagy2: prefer Helen's wording:-)
10 hrs
  -> So many ways to say the same one thing... Thanks !
agree  Gilla Evans: Prefer Helen's wording too
17 hrs
  -> Thanks !
agree  B D Finch: A genre that is usually conventional?//Yes, one of the rules was to flatter the sitter and Goya certainly managed to cleverly get away with breaking that one!
19 hrs
  -> well, there used to be a set of specific rules regarding those royal portraits so you could say that....
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18 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
usually in a conventional style


Explanation:
You should read "d'ordinaire"=généralement, ordinairement, habituellement as a single phrase.

Euqinimod
Local time: 18:04
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 20

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  cc in nyc: I agree with your parsing, but not with "style"
8 hrs
disagree  B D Finch: Not "style".
19 hrs
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53 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
a style usually conventional


Explanation:
two different meanings :
1- d'un genre ordinaire conformiste
2-un genre d'ordinaire conformiste

silvester55
Local time: 19:04
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  cc in nyc: Interesting how placement affects meaning. But "style" doesn't sound right here IMO.
7 hrs
disagree  B D Finch: Official portraits come in many styles e.g. according to country and period. The correct translation of the French is "genre".
18 hrs
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20 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
un genre d'ordinaire conformiste
ordinarily a conventional art form


Explanation:
For "un genre d'ordinaire conformiste," my suggestion is "ordinarily a conventional art form."

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Note added at 25 mins (2011-05-14 14:32:06 GMT)
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The Wiki for "portait painting" describes it as a "genre in painting." Some artists followed the conventions and didn't add much; "Spanish painter Francisco de Goya painted some of the most searching and provocative images of the period..."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_painting#19th_century

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 27 mins (2011-05-14 14:34:04 GMT)
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Or "usually a conventional art form.

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Note added at 2 days10 mins (2011-05-16 14:17:09 GMT)
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Additional references for "art form":

• "By the mid-eighteenth century, portraiture was firmly fixed as the predominant art form in the American colonies." http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/amwing/html/el_amwing_intro...

• "Portraiture was by far the most prevalent art form among itinerant painters in the American northeast." https://www.metmuseum.org/explore/AmericanFolk/Folk13.htm

• "...portraiture was mainly a public art form"
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/genres/portrait-art.htm

• "Gian Lorenzo Bernini [...] transformed the portrait bust into a groundbreaking art form." http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/bernini/

• "Types of Art Form: Portrait [...] Portraiture [...]" http://www.fm.coe.uh.edu/resources/portrait_detectives/pd_vo...

• "Portraiture, an equally ancient art form, has recently stirred renewed interest."
http://brugesfineart.com/-_genre__portraiture

cc in nyc
Local time: 12:04
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 12

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  B D Finch: Not really an "art form", that would rather be e.g. painting, sculpture, installation, video.
19 hrs
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