LOUISE BOURGEOIS: COMPLETE BOOKS & PRINTS

Descriptive Title:

Small Version

Themes:

Animals & Insects, Figures

Techniques:

Drypoint

Description:

Drypoint

Support:

Smooth, wove Somerset paper

Dimensions:

plate: 16 3/4 x 9 15/16" (42.6 x 25.3 cm); sheet: 22 3/16 x 14 15/16" (56.3 x 38 cm)

Signature:

Not signed

Publisher:

unpublished

Printer:

Harlan & Weaver, New York

Edition:

5 known impressions of version 1, state XI

Impression:

Not numbered

Edition Information:

Proof before the editioning of version 1, state XII (in two differing editions), and of version 2, state VII.

State Changes and Additions:

Changes from state X, in drypoint: lines reinforced throughout; circle added to top of neck.

Background:

In 1990, Bourgeois began the first version of "Sainte Sébastienne" with Christian Guérin, of Gravure, New York, as printer. She discontinued work after completing state IX. (For state IX the printer was Harlan & Weaver, New York.) After more than a year, in 1991, she executed state X, which was again printed by Harlan & Weaver. She then discontinued work on the first version without issuing a published edition at that time. In 1992, she resumed the project with Harlan & Weaver as printer, this time enlarging the image to create a second version, which was published that year by Peter Blum Edition, New York.

In 1993, she went back to the first version, creating states XI-XII and publishing state XII in two editions, one in 1993 and the other in 1994. In 1993, state XII was published as "Stamp of Memories I" by Peter Blum Edition. It was hand stamped using a metal stamp depicting an ornate version of the initials "LB" which belonged to the artist's father, Louis Bourgeois. "Stamp of Memories II" was published in 1994, also by Peter Blum Edition. This edition of state XII was hand stamped with the artist's personal metal stamp, depicting a geometric version of the initials "LB." Both metal stamps were the type used for sealing letters with wax.

In this composition, Bourgeois depicts three eggs within the figure's upswept hair. She referred to these as her three children. The artist used the same symbolism in the engraving "Bosom Lady" of 1948 and in "Dancing Insect" of 1999 (see Related Works in the Catalogue below). Bourgeois had three sons: Michel, Jean-Louis, and Alain.

Artist’s Remarks:

"She becomes frightened for what she is responsible for... for what she owns. It is her three eggs... she takes them with her and hides them using her hair. She takes them away.
She was not prepared... she is very vulnerable. When she expressed joie de vivre, some people objected. So don't make the gods jealous... if you have a beautiful child, hide it.
There is a consciousness that when you are enjoying yourself, you must beware of the evil eye... you must watch out. You also must have compassion for the evil eye... you must feel sorry for it. The running-away figure here is only interested in survival." (Quote cited in Wye, Deborah and Carol Smith. "The Prints of Louise Bourgeois." New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1994, p. 176-177.)

About the source drawing, 1987: "This is a self-portrait of a person who is very happy and running and then suddenly realizes that she has antagonized certain people. She gets shot at. Then she is transformed from a nice, sweet creature into a mean, feline person." (Quote cited in Bourgeois, Louise and Lawrence Rinder. "Louise Bourgeois Drawings and Observations." Berkeley: University Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive University of California, Berkeley; Boston: Bulfinch Press, 1995, p. 147.)

"'Sainte Sébastienne' is a self portrait. It's a state of being under attack, of being anxious and afraid. What does a person do when they are under seige? You better understand why you are being attacked. Is it provoked? Is it revenge? Do you fight back, or do you run for cover and retreat into the protection of your own lair? That is the big question." (Quote cited in Fetz, Wolfgang and Gerald Matt. "Saint Sebastian: A Splendid Readiness for Death." Vienna: Kunsthalle Wien; Bielefeld: Kerber Verlag, 2003/2004, p. 23.)

Curatorial Remarks:

According to Felix Harlan, of Harlan & Weaver, the artist sometimes used photocopies to aid in the process of developing a composition and/or transferring it onto a copper plate. Photocopies for this composition are designated as Studies in the Evolving Composition Diagram below. In the case of "Sainte Sébastienne," Bourgeois first made a photocopy of a 1987 untitled drawing from the exhibition catalogue, "Louise Bourgeois Drawings," produced by Robert Miller, New York and Daniel Lelong, Paris in 1988. This became the basis for the first version.

She then created several additional photocopy studies from this reproduction, experimenting with scale and alterations to the figure's form. These experiments informed the development of the second version, in which the figure appears headless and at a much larger scale. The artist also used photocopies to develop this imagery for a Gobelins tapestry commissioned by the French government (see Related Works in Other Mediums below). The Brooklyn Museum's collection has two impressions that appear to have been used to develop the tapestry.

Bibliography:

Fetz, Wolfgang and Gerald Matt. "Saint Sebastian: A Splendid Readiness for Death." Vienna: Kunsthalle Wien; Bielefeld: Kerber Verlag, 2003/2004. (Catalogue accompanying the group exhibition "Saint Sebastian: A Splendid Readiness for Death" held at Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, from November 11, 2003 to May 15, 2004.)

Bernadac, Marie-Laure and Deborah Wye. "Louise Bourgeois: Pensées-Plumes." Paris: Centre Pompidou, 1995, p. 19-27.

Former Cat. No.:

W & S 110.1

MoMA Credit Line:

Gift of the artist

MoMA Accession Number:

609.1993

This Work in Other Collections:

Albertina, Vienna
Brooklyn Museum, NY
Cleveland Museum of Art, OH
Des Moines Art Center, IA
The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Cambridge, MA
Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY