Cat. No. 57/III (fabric)
The Smell of the Feet
- State/Variant:
- State III of III
- Date:
- 2000
- Themes:
- Body Parts, Fabric Works, Faces & Portraits
- Techniques:
- Drypoint
- Description:
- Drypoint, with selective wiping, and black ink additions
- Support:
- Fabric
- Dimensions:
- plate: 10 7/8 x 7 13/16" (27.7 x 19.9 cm); sheet: 17 7/8 x 17 3/16" (45.4 x 43.7 cm)
- Signature:
- "LB" lower right margin, black ink. "LB" right lower margin, stitched in red thread.
- Publisher:
- Harlan & Weaver, New York
- Printer:
- Harlan & Weaver, New York
- Edition:
- 4 on fabric; plus an edition of 25 on paper with 7 A.P., 5 P.P., 2 H.C., 1 B.A.T.
- Impression:
- Not numbered
- Edition Information:
- There is 1 known variant impression of state III, outside the two editions.
There are variations in the fabrics used in this edition, as is commly found in the old fabrics Bourgesois chose to use as printing surfaces. - State Changes and Additions:
- Changes from state II in drypoint: star shape burnished.
Additions in black ink: drypoint reinforced overall. - Artist’s Remarks:
- Inscribed on the verso of the source drawing: "The thrill of Victory and the agony of the feet or smell of the feet or the love of the feet / the love, or the smell of the feet gives them a high."
- Curatorial Remarks:
- Publisher Harlan & Weaver groups the editioned state of this composition on paper with ten other drypoints of 1999, under the title, “11 Drypoints.” Each of the 11 compositions can be displayed individually. The full set is as follows:
“The Accident”
“The Angry Cat”
“Don’t Put Your Foot in Your Mouth”
“Fear”
“Feet (Socks)”
“Fences Are Obsolete”
“Madeleine”
“Mosquito”
“Mother and Child”
“Please Hang in There”
“The Smell of the Feet” - Other Remarks:
- According to Bourgeois’s assistant, Jerry Gorovoy, this imagery relates to Marcel Proust and his references to memory, with the star in the head suggesting recall and imagination. Gorovoy also noted that as a child, Bourgeois helped her father put on his slippers and the smell of feet brought back those memories.
- Bibliography:
- Malbert, Roger, and Juliet Mitchell. "Louise Bourgeois: Autobiographical Prints." London: Hayward, 2016. (Catalogue accompanying the touring exhibition "Louise Bourgeois Prints: Autobiographical Series and 11 Drypoints".)
- MoMA Credit Line:
- Gift of the artist and Harlan & Weaver Intaglio
- MoMA Accession Number:
- 1455.2001
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
The Smell of the Feet
1999-2000
Source
1999
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION
The Smell of Feet
Ink and correction fluid on paper
1999
Ink and correction fluid on paper
1999
States
State I of III, variant
1999
1999
State I of III, variant
1999
1999
State II of III, variant
1999
1999
State II of III, variant
1999
1999
State III of III, variant
1999
1999
Published
State III of III
1999
1999
Published
State III of III
2000
2000
-
-
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION
