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LOUISE BOURGEOIS: COMPLETE BOOKS & PRINTS

Louise Bourgeois: Complete Books & Prints
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Cat. No. 480.3/VII

Le Lit, Gros Édredon, Bleu

State/Variant:
Version 3 of 3, state VII of XI
Date:
1997
Alternate Title:
Blue Bed; Bed #2; Le Lit...Fond Bleu (The Bed...Blue Background)
Descriptive Title:
English translation: "The Big Blue Bed Quilt"
Themes:
Architecture, Body Parts, Figures, Objects
Techniques:
Aquatint, Drypoint, Engraving, Etching
Description:
Soft ground etching, aquatint, drypoint, and engraving
Support:
Smooth, wove Somerset paper
Dimensions:
plate: 19 13/16 x 26 7/8" (50.3 x 68.2 cm); sheet: 24 13/16 x 31 1/2" (63 x 80 cm)
Signature:
Not signed
Publisher:
unpublished
Printer:
Harlan & Weaver, New York
Edition:
1 known impression of version 3, state VII
Impression:
Not numbered
Edition Information:
Proof before the editioning of version 3, state X. This composition was also issued as published editions at version 2, state IV and version 3, state XI.
State Changes and Additions:
Matrices:
It appears that the progression of version 3, as seen in the Evolving Composition Diagram below, involved 4 plates. The exact combinations of plates used for impressions before the editioning of state X and state XI could not be determined.

State Changes:
Changes from version 2: composition reconfigured and transferred to a new plate, in soft ground etching.
Changes from version 3, state VI, in aquatint: shading added overall.
Background:
Version 2, state IV of this composition was published as a benefit for the Rivington House branch of Village Care of New York (previously Village Center for Care). Version 3, state XI of this composition was published as a benefit for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.
Artist’s Remarks:
Inscribed on the verso of the source drawing: "Aug 20th Wardrobe Series / Les dessin de lit ne sont pas mal, mais des sacs de matelas seraient mieux, dessins de lit, the more, the better. Ce dessin n'est pas assez exact."

"Two things you count in one's erotic life: dinner table and bed. The table where your parents made you suffer. And the bed where you lie with your husband, where your children were born and you will die. Essentially, since they are about the same size, they are the same object." (Quote cited in Munro, Eleanor. "Originals: American Women Artists." New York: Simon and Schuster,1979, pp. 154-9.)
Other Remarks:
According to the artist's assistant, Jerry Gorovoy, the subject of beds stems not only from their symbolic resonance for Bourgeois but also from her interest in their geometric and architectural forms. The bed motif is found in Bourgeois's drawings, sculptures, and installations, as well as in her prints (see Related Works in Other Mediums).

According to Wendy Williams of the Louise Bourgeois Studio, this composition was the source for the plaster and steel sculpture, "Arched Couple," 1999, seen below in Related Works in Other Mediums.
MoMA Credit Line:
Gift of the artist
MoMA Accession Number:
40.1998
This Work in Other Collections:
Minneapolis Institute of Art, MN
National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC

Bed and Le Lit, Gros Édredon, Bleu
1997-1998

Source
1995

NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. Untitled (Bed). 1995
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Untitled (Bed)
Ink on paper
1995

Source
1997

NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. Uncontrollable Torrent. 1997
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Uncontrollable Torrent
Gouache, ink, and pencil on paper
1997

Source
1997

Louise Bourgeois. Untitled. 1997
Untitled
Watercolor and pencil on paper
1997

First Version

Louise Bourgeois. Bed. 1997
Version 1 of 3, only state
1997

Second Version

Louise Bourgeois. Bed. 1997
Version 2 of 3, state I of IV, variant
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Bed. 1997
Version 2 of 3, state I of IV, variant
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Bed. 1997
Version 2 of 3, state II of IV
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Bed. 1997
Version 2 of 3, state II of IV, variant
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Bed. 1997
Version 2 of 3, state III of IV
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Bed. 1997
Version 2 of 3, state IV of IV, variant
1997
Published Louise Bourgeois. Bed. 1997
Version 2 of 3, state IV of IV
1997

Third Version

Louise Bourgeois. Le Lit, Gros Édredon, Bleu. 1997
Version 3 of 3, state I of XI, variant
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Le Lit, Gros Édredon, Bleu. 1997
Version 3 of 3, state I of XI, variant
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Le Lit, Gros Édredon, Bleu. 1997
Version 3 of 3, state II of XI
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Le Lit, Gros Édredon, Bleu. 1997
Version 3 of 3, state III of XI
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Le Lit, Gros Édredon, Bleu. 1997
Version 3 of 3, state IV of XI
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Le Lit, Gros Édredon, Bleu. 1997
Version 3 of 3, state V of XI
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Le Lit, Gros Édredon, Bleu. 1997
Version 3 of 3, state VI of XI, variant
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Le Lit, Gros Édredon, Bleu. 1997
Version 3 of 3, state VI of XI, variant
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Le Lit, Gros Édredon, Bleu. 1997
Version 3 of 3, state VII of XI
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Le Lit, Gros Édredon, Bleu. 1997
Version 3 of 3, state VIII of XI
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Le Lit, Gros Édredon, Bleu. 1997
Version 3 of 3, state IX of XI
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Le Lit, Gros Édredon, Bleu. 1997
Version 3 of 3, state X of XI, variant
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Le Lit, Gros Édredon, Bleu. 1997
Version 3 of 3, state X of XI, variant
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Le Lit, Gros Édredon, Bleu. 1997
Version 3 of 3, state X of XI, variant
1997
Published Louise Bourgeois. Le Lit, Gros Édredon, Bleu. 1998
Version 3 of 3, state X of XI
1998
Published Louise Bourgeois. Le Lit Gros Édredon (with lips). 1997
Version 3 of 3, state XI of XI
1997