Tableau Vivant is french for “living picture”. Here this is a static image normally consisting of one or more models or actors. Here the people are carefully posed, usually with props and or costumes in order to create the effect of an image that is actually living.

The origins of Tableau Vivants believe to have come from sources of entertainment popular in royal weddings, coronations. Here actors often imitated paintings or statues in the manner of todays street entertainers; however in these times the performance would usually consist of larger groups creating elaborate tempoary stands along the path of the processions. Often a poem or music would accompany the actors when remaining in there still positions and a wooden frame would outline the stage to give the effect of a living picture.

in the late 19th and 20th century, tableau normally consisted of “flexible poses” or “poses plastiques” through semi naked or naked models which was used as a source of entertainment either live or in-print.

In today’s society Tableau is normally present in living statues, here people dress up and normally use body paint in hope to busk and receive money from taking photos.

Photography Tableau was said to have started in 1970/ 1980; here Jean-François Chevrier  was one of the first to use tableau in a art photography format in an essay called “The Adventures of the Picture Form in the History of Photography”.