sparely

French translation: simplifié, épuré

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

English term or phrase:	sparely
French translation:	simplifié, épuré

08:44 Jan 15, 2012

The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2012-01-18 10:54:09 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)

English to French translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting

English term or phrase: sparely

a website talking about a retrospective of de Kooning's paintings says "...and concluding with his final, sparely abstract paintings of the late 1980's". I don't have to translate the actual sentence but I need to be 100% sure about what "sparely" means when referring to Kooning's abstract paintings. Thanks in advance.

Leslie Marcus KudoZ activity Questions: 3 (none open) (1 closed without grading) Answers: 73 France
Local time: 07:57

simplifié, épuré

Explanation:
see discussion

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Note added at 12 mins (2012-01-15 08:57:04 GMT)
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_de_Kooning
There is much debate over the significance of his 1980s paintings, which became clean, sparse, and almost graphic, while alluding to the biomorphic lines of his early works.

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Note added at 36 mins (2012-01-15 09:21:03 GMT)
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http://www.ryoung-art.com/Art terminology.htm

Minimalism - A style of painting and sculpture in the mid 20th century in which the art elements are rendered with a minimum of lines, shapes, and sometimes color. The works may look and feel sparse, spare, restricted or empty.

Selected response from:

SJLD
Local time: 07:57

Grading comment

In addition to SJLD's suggested translation, the answer was full of helpful information. Alain Marsol's suggestion which specified "lignes épurées" made it clear that "sparely" was referring to the artist's style and not the number of paintings. Everyon
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +2

simplifié, épuré

SJLD

aux lignes épurées

Alain Marsol

abstraction moins prononcée

florent40

Summary of reference entries provided

MOMA documentation:

kashew

Discussion entries: 13

SJLD	22:25 Jan 15, 2012 sparely = in a spare manner http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sparely

Jean-Claude Gouin

Canada

I'VE NEVER SEEN 'SPARELY' BEFORE ...

13:44 Jan 15, 2012

I thought it was a typo for 'sparsely' ... a missing 'S' ...
'Sparsely' would mean clairsemé, peu, moins densément, chichement, rare, etc.

EX: sparse vegetation, traffic was sparse on the highway ...

SJLD	09:40 Jan 15, 2012 You're welcome. Have a nice Sunday and don't work too hard!

Leslie Marcus

France

ASKER

09:38 Jan 15, 2012

Thanks for all the info - it has been very helpful. And your last comment reassures me!

SJLD	09:36 Jan 15, 2012 The "sparely" was a journo getting carried away I think.

Leslie Marcus

France

ASKER

09:32 Jan 15, 2012

In any case, "spare" and "sparse" are easier to deal with than "sparely" which sounds like an adverb rather than an adjective. The reference for art terminology you just added looks quite good. Thanks!

SJLD

09:22 Jan 15, 2012

Crops up regularly in art blabla, I can assure you. You learn to live with it ;-)

http://www.ryoung-art.com/Art terminology.htm
Minimalism - A style of painting and sculpture in the mid 20th century in which the art elements are rendered with a minimum of lines, shapes, and sometimes color. The works may look and feel sparse, spare, restricted or empty.

Leslie Marcus

France

ASKER

09:21 Jan 15, 2012

I'm happy to see that polyglot, like me, thinks it is an odd choice of words.

Leslie Marcus

France

ASKER

09:20 Jan 15, 2012

I had the same question as polyglot45. I had considered "sparse" instead of "sparely" but both made it sound like he had done fewer paintings. Thanks to SJLD's explanation and Alain's suggestion of "lignes épurées", it is now clear that we are talking about his style.

polyglot45

odd choice of words

09:19 Jan 15, 2012

then

SJLD	09:16 Jan 15, 2012 No, it's referring to his technique. He had Alzheimer's disease later in life. Compared to his earlier works, these later paintings were much less complex, fewer brush strokes, etc.

polyglot45

if it's sparse

09:11 Jan 15, 2012

wouldn't that mean "peu nombreux" ?

SJLD

08:53 Jan 15, 2012

Check the internet - in fact the phrase is "sparse abstract paintings" = épuré

De Kooning at MOMA
www.outofordermag.com/blog/2011/09/de-kooning-at-moma/
18 Sep 2011 – ... made in Holland before he moved to the United States in 1926, and concluding with his final sparse abstract paintings of the late 1980s.

De Kooning: A Retrospective - Flavorpill New York
flavorpill.com/newyork/events/2011/9/.../de-kooning-a-retrospective
18 Sep 2011 – ... concluding with his final, sparely abstract paintings of the late 1980s. ... to America to the artist's sublime, sparse canvases of the late 1980s.”

Answers

9 mins confidence:

aux lignes épurées

Explanation:
peintures abstraites aux lignes épurées

I suggest you search "de Kooning late 1980s" on Google Images to see what they look like.

Alain Marsol
Local time: 07:57
Native speaker of: French
PRO pts in category: 4

Notes to answerer

Asker: Thanks. By adding "lignes", you make it clear the sentence is talking about his style and not the number of paintings he did towards the end of his career.

11 mins confidence:

abstraction moins prononcée

Explanation:
cela correspond, je pense, dans l´évolution de sa peinture.

florent40
Czech Republic
Local time: 07:57
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

French

11 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

sparely = sparse

simplifié, épuré

SJLD
Local time: 07:57
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 26

Grading comment

Notes to answerer

Asker: "Sparse" is clearer for me than "sparely" - but I was mainly having trouble determining whether they were talking about his paintings being few and far between, or his style being sparse. With the sentence from Wikipedia, it is clearly his style. Thanks.

Reference comments

2 days 3 hrs

Reference: MOMA documentation:

Reference information:
http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2011/dekooning/...

kashew
France
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 18

Note to reference poster

Asker: Thanks. Your reference clearly describes de Kooning's work with respect to its "spareness".

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sparely

French translation: simplifié, épuré

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