
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION
Cat. No. 689.2/I, variant 1
Happiness
- State/Variant:
- Version 2 of 2, state I of II, variant
- Date:
- 2009
- Descriptive Title:
-
Five Breasts
- Themes:
- Body Parts, Figures, Motherhood & Family, Nature
- Techniques:
- Drypoint
- Description:
- Drypoint
- Support:
- Paper
- Dimensions:
- plate: 4 15/16 × 6 15/16" (12.5 × 17.6 cm); sheet: 8 3/4 × 12 1/4" (22.2 × 31.1 cm)
- Signature:
- Not signed
- Publisher:
- unpublished
- Printer:
- Harlan & Weaver, New York
- Edition:
- 2 known variant impressions of version 2, state I
- Impression:
- Not numbered
- Edition Information:
- Not issued as a published edition at any state.
- State Changes and Additions:
- Changes from version 1: breasts, mounds, and figures transferred to new plate in drypoint.
- Curatorial Remarks:
- Toward the end of her life, Bourgeois made a large body of red gouache drawings related to the theme of Motherhood & Family. Bourgeois usually made several iterations of each scene, exploring pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding, among other subjects related to new life. Some drawings were used as source works for print compositions. As the print composition evolved, Bourgeois continued to explore the same subject through drawing. See Related Works in Other Mediums below for examples.
The paper type could not be documented because this work is not in MoMA's Collection and could not be examined in person. The plate dimensions are from the impression of version 2 in MoMA's Collection. The sheet dimensions were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY