tableau vivant
1
9.9
- noun
- /tæˈbloʊ viˈvɑ̃/
- Literature
- The annual presentation of tableaux vivants, or "living pictures," started in 1933.
Examples
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It was a bubble of metropolitan, semipublic space sent out into the wide world, and from the confines of which its inmates could regard the uncouth spectacle of nature as a kind of tableau vivant.
Fiction book (2001) -
The final scene in Carlos V en Francia is a tableau vivant, which simultaneously appears with the transactional scene between the two kings described earlier.
Academic text (2004) -
Instead, the talk suddenly veers to the theater and its new tableaux vivants.
Academic text (1993) -
They offer a tableau vivant—truly vivant—for your inspection and self-instruction.
Blog text (24) -
Envious of the attention that his host had received when acting out scenes based on Hogarth, the prince tries to stage three "tableaux vivants" that are inspired by Fragonard's canvases.
Academic text (1991) -
Typically, the tableau vivant represented commonplace and sentimental moments, such as the reading of a letter of import, which were also the subject of genre paintings, and which, as well, formed the core (in the British tradition).
Academic text (2007) -
In these carefully orchestrated tableaux vivants, the statues articulate a spatial tension in Mies's open yet inflexible plans.
Fiction book (1992) -
The students arranged a tableau vivant to depict a famous painting during the art exhibit.
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During the festival, they presented a stunning tableau vivant that showcased a historical event.
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At the gala, the guests were treated to a beautiful tableau vivant that captured the essence of spring.
Synonyms
17
8.4
A strong scene with people or things arranged to look dramatic
How Dramatic
Surface Forms
Morphology
tableau + vivant
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'tableau' (an arranged scene) with 'vivant' (living), yielding the idea of a 'living scene' or posed, motionless representation. Although the phrase is a French loan, its constituents compose transparently and a learner who knows both words would readily infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Tableau vivant comes from French words tableau meaning 'picture' and vivant meaning 'living', so it literally means 'living picture'. In old stage shows people would pose and stay perfectly still to copy a painting, and that's why the phrase now means a group of people arranged like a picture.