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  2. French to English
  3. Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting

la douleur et le mal-être de l'artiste

English translation: the pain and suffering of the artist

11:19 Jun 9, 2012
French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting / sculpture
French term or phrase: la douleur et le mal-être de l'artiste
Le travail de XXX a souvent exprimé la douleur et le mal-être de l'artiste.
I can do it, but I'd appreciate some variants from all you art buffs out there.
(Let's assume the person is physically/psychologically affected)
kashew
France
Local time: 06:17
English translation:the pain and suffering of the artist
Explanation:
This is very nearly a literal translation, but works OK and would be perfectly acceptable in an art book or magazine. Since the text is fairly formal, "of the artist" seems a better fit than "artist's". Although we speak of "well being", "ill being" sounds rather odd. Another old favourite for describing artists (Beethoven, Schubert, Van Gogh, Giacometti, you name it) is angst, though perhaps a translation step too far...

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Note added at 9 hrs (2012-06-09 20:34:23 GMT)
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The problem with "angst" is that the modern take on it makes it hard to take seriously (angst-ridden artists/students...), though sprinkling an artistic text with a bit of German (or any foreign language) would probably go down quite well. "Anguish" is just as good, though.
Selected response from:

chris collister
France
Local time: 06:17
Grading comment
Thanks to everybody.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +9the pain and angst of the artist
jmleger
2 +4tortured soul
JMcKechnie
4The artists' suffering and their being ill at ease on Earth
Fabio Barbieri
3 +1the pain and suffering of the artist
chris collister
3 -1the artist's pain and ill-being
polyglot45


Discussion entries: 6





  

Answers


12 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +4
tortured soul


Explanation:
Just a suggestion, this may be too strong.

JMcKechnie
Local time: 05:17
Native speaker of: English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Fabio Barbieri: It's not too strong
2 mins
  -> thank you
agree  MoiraB: sounds appropriate for an artist!
2 hrs
  -> thank you
agree  Rasha Ali Hassan: Agree. Renders the meaning and provides a new choice of words.
21 hrs
  -> thank you
agree  Karen Vincent-Jones (X): I like this!
1 day 51 mins
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13 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
The artists' suffering and their being ill at ease on Earth


Explanation:
This is the old, old story of the romantic artist as a beautiful blighted being, cursed with superior sensitivities, ill at ease in this Philistine world. I don't think much of it, as you will have noticed, but if I had to express it, that is how I would

Fabio Barbieri
Italy
Local time: 06:17
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in ItalianItalian
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28 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): -1
the artist's pain and ill-being


Explanation:
straightforward

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Note added at 28 mins (2012-06-09 11:48:50 GMT)
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discomfort

polyglot45
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 11

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Karen Vincent-Jones (X): Well being is common, ill-being is not
1 day 36 mins
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +9
the pain and angst of the artist


Explanation:
Oh my God! Oh my God! That's exactly it! Hehe

jmleger
Local time: 23:17
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 15

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  MoiraB: I don't think this is a translation step too far - sounds more psychological than 'pain and suffering'
1 hr
  -> Thx!
agree  SafeTex: I'd go for this one
2 hrs
  -> Thx!
agree  Yolanda Broad
3 hrs
  -> Thx!
agree  S Kelly
4 hrs
  -> Thx!
agree  Kate Collyer
4 hrs
  -> Thx!
agree  B D Finch: Absolutely
5 hrs
  -> Thx!
agree  Gavin Jack
16 hrs
neutral  chris collister: Maybe, but "anguish" might be seen as more direct than "angst", which risks being associated with psychobabble
20 hrs
  -> Your doubts fill me with,,, angst. Cheers!
agree  Rasha Ali Hassan: Agree. The drawback: overuse of the phrase "pain and angst" in relation to artists.
20 hrs
  -> Tu enfanteras dans la douleur. I guess there is no way around that.
agree  JMcKechnie: angst sounds nice
23 hrs
  -> It sounds nicer that it feels, I guess. Thanks.
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
the pain and suffering of the artist


Explanation:
This is very nearly a literal translation, but works OK and would be perfectly acceptable in an art book or magazine. Since the text is fairly formal, "of the artist" seems a better fit than "artist's". Although we speak of "well being", "ill being" sounds rather odd. Another old favourite for describing artists (Beethoven, Schubert, Van Gogh, Giacometti, you name it) is angst, though perhaps a translation step too far...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 9 hrs (2012-06-09 20:34:23 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The problem with "angst" is that the modern take on it makes it hard to take seriously (angst-ridden artists/students...), though sprinkling an artistic text with a bit of German (or any foreign language) would probably go down quite well. "Anguish" is just as good, though.

chris collister
France
Local time: 06:17
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thanks to everybody.
Notes to answerer
Asker: Yes Chris - this seems the natural way to go. Thanks.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Rasha Ali Hassan: agree
19 hrs
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