LOUISE BOURGEOIS: COMPLETE BOOKS & PRINTS

Themes:

Animals & Insects

Techniques:

Drypoint

Description:

left side (a): drypoint, with red watercolor, red pencil, blue ink, and blue pencil additions; right side (b): drypoint, with red watercolor, blue ink, and blue pencil additions

Support:

Paper

Dimensions:

plate (each): 13 7/8 x 9 15/16" (35.2 x 25.3 cm)

Signature:

Left side (a) and right side (b): "Louise Bourgeois" lower right margin, pencil.

Publisher:

unpublished

Printer:

Harlan & Weaver, New York

Edition:

5 known diptychs, 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."

Diptychs outside the edition are combinations of the first and second versions of this composition, at various states.

State Changes and Additions:

Left side (a): Version 1, state II, variant
Changes from version 1, state I, by burnishing: left side of right rear leg and lower half of tail removed.
Changes from version 1, state I, in drypoint: tail and right rear leg reconfigured with exposed anus; further delineation of fur on cat’s body; mammary glands delineated; composition reinforced overall.

Right side (b): Version 2, state III, variant
Changes from version 1: version 1, state I composition inverted and transferred to a new, identically sized plate, in drypoint.
Changes from version 2, state II, by burnishing: remnants of previous configuration of leg, tail, and genitals fully removed.

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.

© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY