Cat. No. 553/V, variant 3
Lacs de Montagne
- State/Variant:
- State V of XIII, variant
- Date:
- 1996
- Alternate Title:
-
Mountain Ponds 1993; Convulsions
- Descriptive Title:
-
English Translation: "Mountain Lakes"
- Themes:
- Nature
- Techniques:
- Aquatint, Engraving
- Description:
- Engraving and aquatint, with red and blue watercolor, white gouache, and black ink additions
- Support:
- Smooth, wove paper
- Dimensions:
- plate: 18 1/16 x 23 7/8" (45.9 x 60.6 cm); sheet: 22 5/8 x 27 3/4" (57.4 x 70.5 cm)
- Signature:
- "Louise Bourgeois" lower right margin, pencil.
- Inscription:
- Verso: "Red breast. Blue nipples / how you [underlined three times] see it / optical illusion" lower right sheet, pencil, artist's hand.
- Publisher:
- unpublished
- Printer:
- Harlan & Weaver, New York
- Edition:
- 7 known variant impressions of state V
- Impression:
- Not numbered
- Edition Information:
- Proof before the editioning of states XII and XIII. This composition was also issued as a published edition at state II.
- State Changes and Additions:
- Matrices:
The progression of this composition, as seen in the Evolving Composition Diagram below, involved 3 plates.
Plate 1: overall linear composition; printed in black.
Plate 2: fill in lakes, and later, larger cloud form; usually printed in blue, sometimes in red, pink, and gray.
Plate 3: fill in mountains and smaller cloud form; printed in blue and/or red.
Print State Changes:
Plate 1 printed in black, over plate 2 printed in blue. Plate 2 partially uninked.
Changes from state IV, by grinding and burnishing: sun partially removed. - Background:
- State XIII was published as a benefit for Chalcographie of the Musée du Louvre, Paris.
- Curatorial Remarks:
- For this impression, the larger cloud form was not inked.
- Other Remarks:
- According to Bourgeois's assistant, Jerry Gorovoy, this composition depicts mountains in Switzerland and likely references the artist's memories of visits there in her youth, especially for skiing.
- MoMA Credit Line:
- Gift of the artist
- MoMA Accession Number:
- 697.2008
- This Work in Other Collections:
- Musée du Louvre, Paris
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY