Cat. No. 419.1/VII
Dream
- State/Variant:
- Version 1 of 2, state VII of X
- Date:
- 1939
- Alternate Title:
- Sleeping Girl
- Themes
- Architecture, Figures, Nature, Objects
- Techniques
- Relief
- Support:
- Smooth, wove Japanese paper
- Dimensions:
- composition: 9 15/16 x 14 1/8" (25.2 x 35.8 cm); sheet: 11 13/16 x 17 15/16" (30 x 45.5 cm)
- Signature:
- "L.B." lower right margin, pencil.
- Publisher
- unpublished
- Printer
- Louise Bourgeois
- Edition:
- 1 known impression of version 1, state VII
- Edition Information:
- Not issued as a published edition at any state.
Matrices:
The progression of this composition, as seen in the Evolving Composition Diagram below, involved 6 blocks and 14 colors.
Block 1: woman, table, vase, wall, and floor.
Block 2: linear pattern in lower right composition and amorphous pattern in upper left composition.
Block 3: background surface with cut-away area encompassing woman and table.
Block 4: geometric pattern in upper left, abstract pattern in top center, and abstract form in bottom center.
Block 5: recut image of block 1.
Block 6: recut image of block 2. - Impression:
- Not numbered
- Former Cat. No.:
- W & S 7
- Description:
- Woodcut, with black and gray oil-based ink additions
- Inscription:
- The alternate title "Sleeping Girl" derives from an inscription on another known impression of this composition.
- State Changes and Additions:
- Block 2 printed in navy, over block 1 printed in brown and dark gray, over block 3 printed in light blue.
Change from version 1, state VI: block 3 added and printed partially. - Artist’s Remarks:
- “Dream is a self-portrait,” Bourgeois said, “a portrait of a mood, a very dark mood. The woman is crying. She is homesick. She is probably waiting for a letter, a letter that never comes.” (Quote cited in Wye, Deborah and Carol Smith. "The Prints of Louise Bourgeois." New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1994, p. 41.)
- MoMA Credit Line:
- Gift of the artist
- MoMA Accession Number:
- 120.1990
Version 1 of 2, state VII of X
1939
Dream
1939
Version 1 of 2, state I of X
1939
<i>Dream</i>
1939
Version 1 of 2, state II of X
1939
<i>Dream</i>
1939
Version 1 of 2, state III of X
1939
<i>Dream</i>
1939
Version 1 of 2, state IV of X
1939
<i>Dream</i>
1939
Version 1 of 2, state V of X, variant
1939
<i>Dream</i>
1939
Version 1 of 2, state V of X, variant
1939
<i>Dream</i>
1939
Version 1 of 2, state VI of X
1939
<i>Dream</i>
1939
Version 1 of 2, state VII of X
1939
<i>Dream</i>
1939
Version 1 of 2, state VIII of X
1939
<i>Dream</i>
1939
Version 1 of 2, state IX of X
1939
<i>Dream</i>
1939
Version 1 of 2, state X of X
1939
<i>Dream</i>
1939
Version 2 of 2, state I of IV
1939
<i>Dream</i>
1939
Version 2 of 2, state II of IV
1939
<i>Dream</i>
1939
Version 2 of 2, state III of IV
1939
<i>Dream</i>
1939
Version 2 of 2, state IV of IV
1939
<i>Dream</i>
1939
Related Works in the Catalogue
Youth
State X of X, variant
1941-1944
<i>Youth</i>
1941-1944
Man Reading
Version 2 of 2, only state
1940-1944
<i>Man Reading</i>
1940-1944
Related Works in Other Mediums
Dream
1939
Dream
1939
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: canvas: 23 5/8 x 32" (60 x 81.3 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY