Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

feuille

English translation:

work on paper

Added to glossary by Laurette Tassin
Jul 20, 2013 09:27
11 yrs ago
French term

feuille

French to English Art/Literary Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting graphic arts
quelques-unes des plus belles ** feuilles ** du cabinet d'art graphique

I have already had to use pages.
And was wondering if "papers" could be used as "canvasses" is used for paintings. It concerns drawings and watercolours

Discussion

Laurette Tassin (asker) Jul 22, 2013:
@ Helen, as this is a line in the preface referring to a section of the museum guide I'll use works on paper, and whatever applies of course when in the text opposite the illustration. Thanks again.
Laurette Tassin (asker) Jul 22, 2013:
The drawings and water colours are on a sheet/leaf of paper referent to in the texts often as "dans cette feuille"; c'est la seule feuille qui....

J'ai aussi entendu un galeriste dire: "c'est un papier de XXX" as one could say "c'est une toile de XXX"

folio would have to be in a book "feuillet"
Helen Shiner Jul 22, 2013:
Glossary The very useful glossary on the subject by Philip Walker Jacobs refers to them as 'works on paper' or in its title as 'works of art on paper' - Glossary of Foreign Terms for the Study of Works of Art on Paper and Books, 2006.
Helen Shiner Jul 22, 2013:
@Laurette We're just so often more specific, or speak about 'prints and drawings' rather than graphic arts. But you would need to know exactly what was being referred to, of course.
Paul Hirsh Jul 22, 2013:
are you sure they are not talking about "folios"?
Laurette Tassin (asker) Jul 22, 2013:
First of all thank you all for your help and time.
This is a paragraph in the preface of a museum guide pertaining to a chapter dedicated to graphic arts, specifically works on paper, drawings, ink and wash, etc... But the authors have used* feuille * throughout and I just wondered if there was a technical term that I didn't know of... that I could use for this... so there isn't! Oh well. "Works" is so..... arrgh bland!
But
Josephine Cassar Jul 21, 2013:
do you need to be so literal? why not just put-some of the most beautiful works of graphic art?-leaving out paper, as works n paper of graphic art does not sound so well
Germaine Jul 20, 2013:
Il me faudrait un peu plus de contexte pour être certaine, mais il me semble que "feuille" est utilisé ici dans le sens de "quelques-unes des plus belles productions/réalisations/créations = works (peu importe le support).
Helen Shiner Jul 20, 2013:
@Paul The asker is asking for a more specific, technical term. If she needed something generic, I am quite sure she is perfectly capable of finding 'images' for herself. I questioned the purpose of providing an answer tending in the opposite direction to what the asker wanted.
Paul Hirsh Jul 20, 2013:
Explanation of my answer for Helen Helen, I will try to be plainer.The asker has already used paper or page and doesn't want to use it again. If in asker's judgement "feuilles' stands for pictures as "canvasses" stands for paintings, or "rubber" stands for condom (i.e. the material standing in for the object made from it - which is synecdoche), she is under no obligation to carry the figure of speech into her translation if the result is too laboured. My suggestion was made purely in this spirit.
Helen Shiner Jul 20, 2013:
@ LauretteT I think the best way is to translate them as 'wash drawings' or 'wash paintings', though they can also be described as drawings in pen and wash or ink and wash. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wash_(painting) Hope this helps.
Laurette Tassin (asker) Jul 20, 2013:
Works on paper is perfect, about watercolours and wash, I stand corrected!
Though in French the curator mentions un lavis de Goya... so I'd have to say watercolour in this case I guess.
Helen Shiner Jul 20, 2013:
Watercolours It should be noted that some watercolours are done on canvas, though it sounds as if the collection here is on paper. Some museum or other collections would make a distinction. BTW 'wash' is a technique and not the end product. It is not interchangeable with watercolour.
Laurette Tassin (asker) Jul 20, 2013:
Sorry Gallagy, these are 17th to 19th c. drawings or washes.
My question is: can I use papers as one would use canvas (to avoid repeating painting or to translate 'toile')

Proposed translations

+5
35 mins
Selected

works on paper

Generally, English requires you to be more specific in this arena. Typically, an EN text would say prints, drawings, watercolours or whatever. We don't speak about sheets, pages, or so on, in a museum collection. Although longer 'works on paper' is the generic term, including all of the above, and printed ephemera may also be included in some collections, though in others they would represent a different category.

The Art collection at the National Museum Cardiff houses 28,000 works on paper. These comprise watercolours, drawings, prints, sketchbooks and albums. It is a broad-based collection, ranging from prints by Rembrandt and Picasso to watercolours by Cézanne and Turner and drawings by Burne-Jones and David Nash. There are particularly extensive holdings of works by Augustus and Gwen John (over 2,000 works), Graham Sutherland, David Jones and Ray Howard-Jones. These give a unique insight into the working methods of these artists. We also have a large collection of topographical views of Wales.
http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/108/

An auction may describe works on paper in terms of 'sheet size' but I've never heard anyone refer to sheets in general.

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Note added at 45 mins (2013-07-20 10:13:01 GMT)
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Easily done; it's the same in German and I know my mind can get too close to the source terminology when I'm tired! I guess it is the nature of our work.
Note from asker:
Thanks, I didn't think so, and also I haven't used pages for these works but in reference to the guide itself. I have heard "papiers" in French but never in English, and sheets seemed strange. But silly me didn't think of works on paper.
Peer comment(s):

agree Laura Bennett
7 mins
Thanks, Laura
agree Yvonne Gallagher : well of course, context is key
9 mins
Thanks, gallagy2
agree Evans (X)
1 hr
Thanks, Gilla
agree emiledgar
1 hr
Thanks, emiledgar
agree B D Finch
1 day 9 hrs
Thanks, B D Finch
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you for all your helpful information"
19 mins

paper

yes, watercolour or drawing paper

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Note added at 21 mins (2013-07-20 09:48:43 GMT)
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is this paper for drawing or painting on?. It would be useful to see more context. Is this about materials or the finished work?

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Note added at 24 mins (2013-07-20 09:51:40 GMT)
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watercolor_painting

http://cregalart.net/watercolour-paper-c-1_23_147.html

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Note added at 24 mins (2013-07-20 09:52:19 GMT)
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"sheet" might also be used for "page"

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Note added at 49 mins (2013-07-20 10:17:27 GMT)
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you could also just say watercolours or drawings for individual works rather than the full collection of works on paper, but not "washes" as that is a technique as Helen has said

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Note added at 58 mins (2013-07-20 10:25:35 GMT)
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lavis ... wash drawings...pen/ink with a wash

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hi/hi_drwa.htm
Peer comment(s):

neutral Helen Shiner : This is about a museum collection./To be fair, Laurette did say it was associated with a cabinet d'arts graphique. But there wasn't much context, I agree.
17 mins
yes, now I know
Something went wrong...
5 hrs

images

If the rest of the piece is clear about what it is about, this is a lightweight possibility
Peer comment(s):

neutral Helen Shiner : It's about the support, not the content/subject matter./Difficult to see your reasoning - would have thought any translator would be well-versed in such terminology.
1 hr
well of course it is, Helen. I only suggested it in case this was a synecdoche for "pictures" which could be by-passed by the translator to get to the nub.
Something went wrong...
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