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LOUISE BOURGEOIS: COMPLETE BOOKS & PRINTS

Louise Bourgeois: Complete Books & Prints
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Cat. No. 57/II, variant 1

The Smell of the Feet

State/Variant:
State II of III, variant
Date:
1999
Themes:
Body Parts, Faces & Portraits
Techniques:
Drypoint
Description:
Drypoint, with black ink additions
Support:
Smooth, wove paper
Dimensions:
plate: 10 7/8 x 7 3/4" (27.6 x 19.7 cm); sheet: 15 3/8 x 11 3/16" (39 x 28.4 cm)
Signature:
Not signed
Publisher:
unpublished
Printer:
Harlan & Weaver, New York
Edition:
2 known variant impressions of state II
Impression:
Not numbered
Edition Information:
Proof before the editioning of state III.
State Changes and Additions:
Changes from state I in drypoint: left contour of neck added.
Additions in black ink: star shape further delineated, anticipating state III; drypoint reinforced overall.
Artist’s Remarks:
Inscribed on the verso of the source drawing: "The thrill of Victory and the agony of the feet or smell of the feet or the love of the feet / the love, or the smell of the feet gives them a high."
Curatorial Remarks:
Publisher Harlan & Weaver groups the editioned state of this composition on paper with ten other drypoints of 1999, under the title, “11 Drypoints.” Each of the 11 compositions can be displayed individually. The full set is as follows:
“The Accident”
“The Angry Cat”
“Don’t Put Your Foot in Your Mouth”
“Fear”
“Feet (Socks)”
“Fences Are Obsolete”
“Madeleine”
“Mosquito”
“Mother and Child”
“Please Hang in There”
“The Smell of the Feet”
Other Remarks:
According to Bourgeois’s assistant, Jerry Gorovoy, this imagery relates to Marcel Proust and his references to memory, with the star in the head suggesting recall and imagination. Gorovoy also noted that as a child, Bourgeois helped her father put on his slippers and the smell of feet brought back those memories.
Bibliography:
Malbert, Roger, and Juliet Mitchell. "Louise Bourgeois: Autobiographical Prints." London: Hayward, 2016. (Catalogue accompanying the touring exhibition "Louise Bourgeois Prints: Autobiographical Series and 11 Drypoints".)
MoMA Credit Line:
Gift of the artist
MoMA Accession Number:
941.2008

The Smell of the Feet
1999-2000

Source
1999

NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. The Smell of Feet. 1999
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION The Smell of Feet
Ink and correction fluid on paper
1999

States

Louise Bourgeois. The Smell of the Feet. 1999
State I of III, variant
1999
Louise Bourgeois. The Smell of the Feet. 1999
State I of III, variant
1999
Louise Bourgeois. The Smell of the Feet. 1999
State II of III, variant
1999
Louise Bourgeois. The Smell of the Feet. 1999
State II of III, variant
1999
Louise Bourgeois. The Smell of the Feet. 1999
State III of III, variant
1999
Published Louise Bourgeois. The Smell of the Feet. 1999
State III of III
1999
Published Louise Bourgeois. The Smell of the Feet. 2000
State III of III
2000