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2 known variant impressions of version 1, state VI, outside the edition
Impression:
Not numbered
Edition Information:
Proof before the editioning of Diptych 6, seen below in the Evolving Composition Diagram and comprising: left side (a): version 1, state VII, and right side (b): version 2, state VIII. This composition was also issued as a published edition at version 3, state II, titled "Le Chat."
State Changes and Additions:
Changes from version 1, state V, by burnishing: all shading removed from stripe on cat’s abdomen. Changes from version 1, state V, in aquatint: shading added overall.
(Version 1, state VII exists only as the left side (a) of Diptych 6, the published version.)
Curatorial Remarks:
The type of paper and plate dimensions of this impression could not be documented because this impression is not in MoMA's Collection and could not be examined in person. The plate dimensions are from the published impression on paper in MoMA’s Collection. The sheet dimensions were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.
Although the development of the Male and Female diptych has been divided into first and second versions for clarity, Bourgeois worked on both plates concurrently.
Other Remarks:
According to printer Felix Harlan, the third, smaller version in the Evolving Composition Diagram was initially created as a test plate. Aquatint was being considered to add shading to the male cat. Ultimately, Bourgeois decided against aquatint for the shading, but she liked the compositional fragment on the test plate. She added the contour of the cat's body and editioned this version as "Le Chat" on handmade paper.
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