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Dutch to English translations [PRO] Art/Literary - Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting / art book
Dutch term or phrase:fijnschilder
I´m translating a book about a contemporary figurative painter X. The Dutch sentence I have to translate (into American English) is:
´X noemt zich fijnschilder, en dat klopt precies. Fijner dan hij (a), (b) en (c) schildert, kan het niet.´
The target audience are Americans interested in contemporary Dutch figurative art. A translation I´m considering is precision painter, analogous to precision tools. Or: finepainter (fine as in fineliner).
Explanation: I would follow the Wikipedia article:
The Fijnschilders (literally "fine-painters"), also called the Leiden Fijnschilders ('Leidse Fijnschilders'), were Dutch Golden Age painters who, from about 1630 to 1710, strove to create as natural a reproduction of reality as possible in their meticulously executed, often small-scale works. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fijnschilder )
Okay, but this should be clear and generally we are not supposed to 'write our own story'.
'Surely we also have to 'localise' as well as translating?'
We need to put across the original meaning in a way that makes sense to our audience. We are not supposed to keep them in the dark. So localising may be, and often is, required.
Ah, but you see, I am a creative translator. Above all, I prefer not to create the claim that it is literally impossible. I considered 'finely' but according to my OED, it is the same as 'fine', and I wanted to keep the 'fine' play going anyway. I too like 'finely' more.
Yes, it was discussed but we still don't know for sure about the target audience. The text sounds more popular than learned to me. In any case, 'fine' without the Dutch art history context remains vague.
Surely we also have to 'localise' as well as translate?
Yes, I see what you mean, it depends on the context. However, the word 'fine-painter' comes first and this explains in what sense the word 'fine' is used here. It was already discussed that the audience probably was familiar with the concept of 'fijnschilder / fine-painter'
I need to point out that the text does not say, not explicitly say, that nobody can paint more finely than him but that it is impossible to paint more finely than the way he painted A, B and C.
I used the words 'more finely' not the word 'finer'. I think there is a difference.
Having said that, if you assume that the audience is not familiar with the concept of 'fijnschilder', then the first part of your suggestion may be useful.
What's fine in Dutch is not always fine in English (here fine means OK). You can say "it's a fine painting" but the meaning ranges from 'nicely painted' to "I like this painting". . Yes, your chosen list of terms are correct but a 'fine meal' is not necessarily a 'refined meal', it can also be one you enjoyed. We had a fine time (a great time). It depends on the context. The OED has 18 different meanings for 'fine'! So in this context, in English, 'fine' can be rather vague. That's why I think that the Dutch context has to be clear in the translation. As for your option, the Dutch meaning of 'fijnschilder' (meticulous) is absent. My version, with not enough context to go on: X calls himself a 'fijnschilder', a 'fine' or meticulous painter (in the tradition of the eponymous 17th century genre), and no other could have painted a, b, or c 'finer' than he/she.
By the way, would this, or something similar, be an option in English?
X calls himself a 'fine-painter' and this is exactly what he is. It is absolutely impossible to paint more 'finely' than the way he painted A, B and C.
finely:
in a very careful, delicate, or exact way
Saunders' finely crafted drawings These instruments are very finely tuned
That point is that you can't say..."But finer than (c) ...". Well, you can but it's odd. Or 'finer' should be in inverted commas to maintain the connection with the original in word and meaning. "More meticulously /precisely rendered than (a) ..." would be more faithful to the meaning but then you lose the possible word play and it sounds so serious and heavy.
Yes, the painter call himself a 'fijnschilder', presumably in the 17thC. genre, but the writer then says "Fijner dan hij (a), (b) en (c) schildert, kan het niet." This is the possible word play. The question is whether it is indeed so and not just ignorance of the meaning of 'fijnschilder'. Just thought of classical art/painting (art predating modern and contemporary art) and post-modern classical; see http://www.parnasse.com/artifice.html. One would need to see examples of the artist's work to be sure.
I agree that the term should be literally translated [fine painter] with the explanation that this is reference to a 17th century Dutch genre. In English, a 'fine artist' is a value judgement, not a practitioner of the fine arts. Today it is called photo-realism but of course in the 17C they were not painting from a photo, just being as accurate and precise as possible. IMHO the problem arises from a rather loose use of the term by the author who would seem to be writing in a popular style (opleuken!) rather than one aimed at an informed public. It seems that the author was playing on the word. In any case, I would check to see if the artist is indeed a photo-realist painter. It has been always amazing to see the idiotic texts written by journalists and 'writers' on art (history) or art conservation when trying to make things accessible to a broad public. This text may be in the same category.
Let's not overlook the obvious, also cited in the Wikipedia article: "in the seventeenth century, as in modern Dutch, the term fijnschilder was used to differentiate between a painter practicing classic techniques and one who, for instance, is a house painter".
Dat wil toch niet zeggen dat je niet moet proberen zo dicht mogelijk bij het origineel te blijven; dat zo goed mogelijk proberen te verklaren/vertalen...? Juist omdat de doelgroep hoogstwaarschijnlijk "geïnteresseerden" zijn, zal je met een redelijk specifieke omschrijving moeten komen!
En zo wordt een korte zin een heel verhaal met verklaringen en is de 'flow' van de tekst verloren. Die uitleg is niet nodig, ook omdat een geïntereseerd wel degelijk van de verschillende connotaties op de hoogte is. Hou het simpel.
Who is the artist (you're not giving away any confidences, unless he is your client), what are (a), (b) and (c), and what does it say before and after this sentence?
As Barend's Wikipedia article says, it has two meanings: a fine arts painter (as opposed to, say, someone who paints houses), and someone who paints in extremely fine detail. The latter appears to be the case here, but we don't have much text to go on. It may be appropriate to use the Dutch word, followed by a few words of explanation - though it sounds like the readership is pretty erudite and may not need it.
De schilder in kwestie is 'a practitioner of the fine arts'. Hij is ook een 'fine artist', een goeie kunstenaar, die werkt in een 'fine medium', met een 'fine line' en in 'fine detail'. Maak er maar van wat je will.
Het lijkt me heel goed mogelijk - ik denk dat het zo is - dat degene die zichzelf een 'fijnschilder' noemt, verwijst naar de groep schilders die in het wikipedia artikel worden genoemd.
In dat geval zou je ervoor kunnen kiezen om te vertalen met
'fine-painter'
tussen aanhalingstekens
@Alexander, ik noemde 'still life painters' slechts als voorbeeld
waarom het gaat is dat het werk van 'fijnschilders' is characterized by meticulous detail.
Alexander Schleber (X)
Belgium
Jawél
13:37 Mar 6, 2013
"still life painters" zijn een gedeelte van de fijne kunsten (fine arts). Ik denk dat "fine-painters" een iets te direkte vertaling is.
peer agreement (net): -1
