French market vocabulary· French
Nervosité
In English use: Taut, sinewy carving precision
Taut, sinewy carving precision — a focused, vibrating line, not anxiety or trembling.
Critical mistranslation alert. If translated into English as "nervousness" the result is the opposite of the French meaning — it implies psychological anxiety or a tremor.
In French art criticism nervosité means exactly the opposite: a sinewy, extremely focused, vibrating, highly precise line. An African sculpture with nervosité is never formless, doughy, or sluggish. Its edges are sharply cut; its proportions are taut, like a bow drawn back before the shot.
The term describes a distinguished, racy, alert formal language that betrays unbelievable sculptural mastery.