A Tableau Vivant, French for ‘living picture’, is a static scene containing one or more actors or models. They are stationary and silent, usually in costume, carefully posed, with props and/or scenery, and may be theatrically lit. It thus combines aspects of theatre and the visual arts. The creator of Tableau photography was a French man called Jean-François Chevrier, he used it in relation to a form of art photography. It began in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

Jeff Wall

Jeff Wall is a Tableau photographer who recreates pieces with many plain and bold colours. He is a Canadian artist best known for his large-scale back-lit cibachrome photographs and art history writing. Wall has been a key figure in Vancouver’s art scene since the early-1970s.

The colours in the photo are very plain consisting of beige, subtle yellows and browns as well as darker, bolder, blue and black tones with very hints of bright, striking colours such as the reds and oranges dotted around the photo adding a contrast which further adds variety to the photo making it an interesting composition.