LOUISE BOURGEOIS: COMPLETE BOOKS & PRINTS

Alternate Title:

The Arrows of Stress

Descriptive Title:

Large Version

Themes:

Figures

Techniques:

Drypoint

Description:

Drypoint

Support:

Smooth, wove paper

Dimensions:

plate: 38 3/16 x 30 5/8" (97 x 77.8 cm); sheet: 43 1/2 x 32 13/16" (110 x 83.3 cm)

Signature:

Not signed

Inscription:

"The Arrows of stress" lower right margin, pencil, artist's hand.

Publisher:

unpublished

Printer:

Harlan & Weaver, New York

Edition:

1 known impression of version 2, state IV

Impression:

Not numbered

Edition Information:

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

State Changes and Additions:

Changes from version 1, in drypoint: image transferred to larger plate and increased in scale; head excluded; contour lines added to body; arrow added to left leg.
Changes from version 2, state III, by burnishing: some contour lines removed.

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 the later states of version 1 (states V, X-XII), 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:

"First came the sweet face... and the mean cat face... then no face at all. Which will it be? No head at all! The arrows make her lose her head. This stage was chosen as the definitive one. The top looks like the section of a trunk... you see that it is a very fine tree.
You have to learn to deal with... the evil eye. You know it with your head, but you're not able to put it into practice. You say, She has a good head on her shoulders. Well, I'm not too sure of that! She lost her head... it has to be found... it must be somewhere. This is the drama of the loss... but don't make a fuss... things don't have to be desperate." (Quote cited in Wye, Deborah and Carol Smith. "The Prints of Louise Bourgeois." New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1994, p. 181.)

"'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 the 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.)

Former Cat. No.:

W & S 110.2

MoMA Credit Line:

Gift of the artist

MoMA Accession Number:

615.1993

This Work in Other Collections:

Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo
Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, OH
The Baltimore Museum of Art, MD
Cleveland Museum of Art, OH
Dallas Museum of Art, Texas
Musée du Dessin et de l'Estampe Originale de Gravelines (Nord)
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo, Norway
Saint Louis Art Museum, MO
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC
University of Colorado, Boulder
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN

© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY