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  3. Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting

du haut du puits de lumière

English translation: (others) with a broader point of view

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:du haut du puits de lumière
English translation:(others) with a broader point of view
Entered by: emiledgar

16:22 Jan 12, 2012
French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting
French term or phrase: du haut du puits de lumière
This is from an article about modern art. The preceding sentence and the end of the phrase in question are:

Quelques esprits chagrins se plurent alors à dresser la nomenclature des absents qui tendait à réduire cette histoire de l'art moderne à une vision essentiellement belge. D'autres, du haut du puits de lumière, y virent un signe.

I'm not sure what "du haut du puits de lumière" means in the context - looking at the matter from a different perspective?
Teresa Quinn
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:43
(others) with a broader point of view
Explanation:
seems to me
Selected response from:

emiledgar
Belgium
Local time: 06:43
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +3while the enlightened condescendingly noted this was a sign
Laurette Tassin
4 +1(others) with a broader point of view
emiledgar
4[blessed] with a more illuminating point of view
B D Finch


Discussion entries: 6





  

Answers


7 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
(others) with a broader point of view


Explanation:
seems to me

emiledgar
Belgium
Local time: 06:43
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 81
Notes to answerer
Asker: Many thanks for your help


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  JaneD: yes - this is about people with wider experience than the simply Belgian sphere or that relating to this town in particular recognising that this was the death knell of modern art and not just... whatever the document is about.
1 hr
  -> Thank you.
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27 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
[blessed] with a more illuminating point of view


Explanation:
Perhaps. "Blessed" is a bit of a leap (of faith ;) ), but would give the idea of height and closeness to the light source. "Lightwell" somehow just wouldn't work in English.

B D Finch
France
Local time: 06:43
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 123
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you for your comments, they were very helpful

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36 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
while the enlightened condescendingly noted this was a sign


Explanation:
this is how I hear it.
But withou much context ... I could be way off

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 59 mins (2012-01-12 17:22:18 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

so literally from the top of their shaft of light thought it was a sign, to me as in the previous sentence remarking on how some thaought moderna art was belgian sound very ironic as well...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2012-01-12 17:24:07 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

oops sorry for all the mistakes:
some thought
modern art
both sentences sound ironic

Laurette Tassin
France
Local time: 06:43
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 4
Notes to answerer
Asker: Many thanks for your help


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  B D Finch: Am I right in understanding that you read "puits de lumière" as a banal substitute for sun/source of illumination ... in French too and, hence, ironic?// Now you mention the other meaning of lumière, I agree.
13 mins
  -> La lumière being a metaphore for knowledge, le puits de lumière is litterally a shaft of light, but du haut de adds the irony, as if these people were gods of a sort // thanks
agree  David Vaughn: Obviously ironic, from up on above
4 hrs
  -> Thanks David
agree  Yvonne Gallagher: interesting viewpoint:-)
10 hrs
  -> Thanks ;-)
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