Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
en contre-jour
English translation:
in strong / stark / marked contrast [fig.]
Added to glossary by
Tony M
Feb 27, 2007 06:17
17 yrs ago
3 viewers *
French term
En contre-jour
French to English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
stage / scène
« Le saut de l’ange a véritablement amorcé les pratiques de collaboration entre les disciplines artistiques en France. En contre-jour, il crée de fantaisistes Petites pièces de Berlin ».
Is it simply the author's poetic way of saying "simultaneously"? "In the shadows" or "en filigrane" doesn't seem to correspond to the situation of two equally-important projects.
Is it simply the author's poetic way of saying "simultaneously"? "In the shadows" or "en filigrane" doesn't seem to correspond to the situation of two equally-important projects.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +3 | in strong / stark contrast |
Tony M
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| 4 +4 | backlit, silhouette |
Thais Maria Lips
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| 4 | against this background |
Carol Gullidge
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| 3 | In cameo to / Against the backdrop of |
Rebecca Parker - Into English Ltd. (X)
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| 3 | offset by... |
ormiston
|
Proposed translations
+3
5 hrs
Selected
in strong / stark contrast
It is often used in this extended sort of sense even in the more literal phptographic context.
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Note added at 10 hrs (2007-02-27 16:28:56 GMT)
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"contre-jour" very much conveys the idea of a high degree of contrast; could it be said that there was a marked contrast between the works he created in France and the ones he created in Berlin?
In fact, "marked contrast" might be an even better suggestion, come to think of it!
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Note added at 10 hrs (2007-02-27 16:28:56 GMT)
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"contre-jour" very much conveys the idea of a high degree of contrast; could it be said that there was a marked contrast between the works he created in France and the ones he created in Berlin?
In fact, "marked contrast" might be an even better suggestion, come to think of it!
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Miranda Joubioux (X)
4 hrs
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Thanks, Miranda! :-)
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| agree |
ormiston
: I like marked contrast too
6 hrs
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Thanks, Ormiston!
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| agree |
Martin Cassell
12 hrs
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Thanks, Martin!
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
+4
22 mins
Thais Maria Lips
United States
United States
Native in English
Works in field
United States
Translations Decoder LLC
Native in: Portuguese 
, English
Works in: English to Portuguese, Portuguese to English, French to English, and 3 more.
backlit, silhouette
none
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Diane de Cicco
: backlit is perhaps more descriptive of what's actually being done here
2 hrs
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Tks :-)Diane
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| agree |
Odette Grille (X)
3 hrs
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Tks Odette :-)
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| agree |
Vicky Papaprodromou
3 hrs
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Thanks :-) Vicky
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| agree |
Raymonde Gagnier
: Maybe a bit like shadow theatre...
21 hrs
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Yes, tks rousselures.
|
4 hrs
In cameo to / Against the backdrop of
I had trouble working out exactly what was meant here, but I think it is a comparison of the two pieces, right? This is the entry for your term in my dictionary (Oxford-Hachette) "à contre-jour against ou into
the light"
So my reading of the extract provided is that one idea is superimposed on the brilliance of the other. The translations I've suggested are not literal but I hope they compensate for the theatrical connotation of the ST phrase. ('contre-jour' as a stage lighting effect vs cameo as in 'cameo role', or 'backdrop' as a theatrical term)
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Note added at 4 hrs (2007-02-27 11:00:30 GMT)
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Or 'against the limelight of' (limelight - intense white light produced from heating lime, formerly used in theatres (Oxford english dic)
the light"
So my reading of the extract provided is that one idea is superimposed on the brilliance of the other. The translations I've suggested are not literal but I hope they compensate for the theatrical connotation of the ST phrase. ('contre-jour' as a stage lighting effect vs cameo as in 'cameo role', or 'backdrop' as a theatrical term)
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Note added at 4 hrs (2007-02-27 11:00:30 GMT)
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Or 'against the limelight of' (limelight - intense white light produced from heating lime, formerly used in theatres (Oxford english dic)
7 hrs
Carol Gullidge
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
Specializes in field
United Kingdom
poetically precise prose with... panache
Native in: English 
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
80
against this background
eg, "It was against this background that he created..."
12 hrs
offset by...
to reflect what seems to be a contrasting type of production ?
Discussion
The complete text speaks of other works; this paragraph is the complete text concerning the work "Petites pièces de Berlin".