Welcome to MoMA.org. To take full advantage of all the site’s features, including the option to save works in the collection, please upgrade your browser to Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, or Internet Explorer 9. See our help page for more information.
Soft ground etching, drypoint, and monotype, with selective wiping
Support:
Smooth, wove Rives paper
Dimensions:
plate: 9 15/16 x 6 7/8" (25.2 x 17.5 cm); sheet: 11 7/16 x 7 15/16" (29.1 x 20.2 cm)
Signature:
"L. Bourgeois" lower right margin, pencil.
Inscription:
"4" right lower margin, pencil, artist's hand.
The alternate title "Birthday" is inscribed on some impressions of this composition, and is the title listed in the exhibition "Art Sale for Armed Services," The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1942.
Although this composition was not published at any state, two impressions are numbered 4/10, and one is numbered 5/10.
State Changes and Additions:
Changes from state I, by burnishing: features on left figure’s head removed; fringe on right figure’s sleeve partially removed. Changes from state I, in soft ground etching: left figure’s head reconfigured; eye and eyebrow added to left figure's face. Change from state I, in drypoint: hatch marks added in squares on table. Change from state I, in monotype: texture added to basket.
Background:
Bourgeois had two siblings: Pierre, her younger brother, and Henriette, her older sister.
Artist’s Remarks:
"This is Pierre, my brother. He was always on my side. Here, I am a beautiful girl... look at the hair... but I have to be constantly told by my closest friend, my brother. That is the function of my brother... he has this role and he loves it... he is an unpaid and constant admirer. But this was not a luxury for me... this was a necessity. It is the role played today by John, the homeless man on my block," Bourgeois said in 1994. "He brings little presents to please me. I don't fall for it, but it is still nice. Here, Pierre brings me something to please me and I love it... it makes me feel good. Louise can do anything... I need my friends close by, saying, 'You can do no wrong.'" (Quote cited in Wye, Deborah and Carol Smith. "The Prints of Louise Bourgeois." New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1994, p. 54.)
If you are interested in reproducing images from The Museum of Modern Art web site, please visit the Image Permissions page (www.moma.org/permissions). For additional information about using content from MoMA.org, please visit About this Site (www.moma.org/site).