l’arte di Picasso ha dei debiti nei confronti di

[Howdy Do]

Hi all,
I'm translating an essay on contemporary art and find this expression, which is giving me difficulty: 'ma non per questo a qualcuno verrebbe da dire che

l’arte di Piacasso dei debiti nei confronti di quella di xxx.
​

My attempt: 'but that's not to say that Picasso's art is indebted to that of...'
​

Can anyone help?
Thanks, Howdy Do

 

[Teerex51]

Howdy,

I'm afraid there's a verb missing between Picasso and dei debiti. Could you please post it?

 

[Howdy Do]

Sorry. You're right Teerex51: 'ha dei debiti'

 

[Teerex51]

I would agree with both your interpretation and your translation.

The Italian phrase "verrebbe da dire" is awkward to translate and adds very little to the meaning.

 

[johngiovanni]

Out of interest, Teerex, does this translate as "no one would be able to say that Picasso's art is indebted to..." ? Or "no one would want to say that ...."?

 

[Howdy Do]

Many thanks Teerex51.
Howdy Do

 

[Teerex51]

Out of interest, Teerex, does this translate as "no one would be able to say that Picasso's art is indebted to..." ? Or "no one would want to say that ...."?

Something to the tune of: "nobody would feel compelled to say that...".
If I were to choose between this construction and Howdy's "but that's not to say that", I would opt for the nimbler of the two.

 

[johngiovanni]

Grazie, Teerex.