tableau vivant

[ ta-bloh vee-vahn ]

noun

, French.

, plural ta·bleaux vi·vants [t, a, -bloh vee-, vahn].

1. tableau ( def 3 ).

tableau vivant

/ tablo vivɑ̃ /

noun

1. a representation of a scene, painting, sculpture, etc, by a person or group posed silent and motionless

Word History and Origins

Origin of tableau vivant¹

Literally, “living picture”

Word History and Origins

Origin of tableau vivant¹

C19: literally: living picture

Example Sentences

In the 1990s — that retrospectively innocent time of self-expression — my parents would host crazy tableau vivant parties each New Year’s Eve.

From New York Times

The typical Harding song is not a legible narrative so much as a tableau vivant, with strange, unknowable characters posed in the middle of a scene that is fully realized if never entirely explained.

From New York Times

The guests, several of whom described the gathering for this article, played tableau vivant, an old-timey version of charades, in which participants enact famous paintings.

From New York Times

After all, close scrutiny of a painting or a sculpture is not the aim of a tableau vivant.

From Los Angeles Times

Pageant of the Masters This annual presentation of tableaux vivant — life-size re-creations of famous paintings using living, breathing humans — is back.

From Los Angeles Times