Rayons de Soleil Sur la Mer

Cat. No. 672/II

Rayons de Soleil Sur la Mer

State/Variant:
State II of III
Date:
c. 1948
Alternate Title:
Seascape
Themes
Nature
Techniques
Drypoint, Engraving
Support:
Smooth, wove paper
Dimensions:
plate: 4 15/16 x 6 3/4" (12.6 x 17.2 cm); sheet: 5 5/16 x 11 1/4" (13 x 28.5 cm)
Signature:
"LB" lower left margin, pencil.
Publisher
unpublished
Printer
The artist at Atelier 17
Edition:
1 known impression of state II
Edition Information:
Not issued as a published edition at any state.
Impression:
Not numbered
Curatorial Remarks:
In the second half of the 1940s, Bourgeois spent time at Atelier 17, the print workshop of Stanley William Hayter. The workshop had transferred operations from Paris to New York during the war years. It is not known precisely which prints she made at the workshop since she also worked at home on a small press. The designation of “the artist at Atelier 17” as printer means that the impression was likely made at the workshop. The designation is based on dates, inscriptions, techniques favored at Atelier 17, and/or stylistic similarities to images in the illustrated book “He Disappeared into Complete Silence,” which the artist repeatedly cited as having been made at Atelier 17. It is also possible that Bourgeois worked on certain plates both at home and at the workshop, or pulled impressions at both places.
Former Cat. No.:
W & S 63
Descriptive Title:
English translation: "Sunshine on the Sea"
Description:
Engraving and drypoint
Inscription:
"2" lower right margin, pencil, artist's hand. Verso: "top. / floating shapes / not hanging 5 x 7 / Rays of / Sun / Rayons du soleil / sur la mer / 12 [circled] / seascape" center sheet, pencil, artist's hand.
State Changes and Additions:
Changes from state I, in engraving: additional full and abbreviated lines added to upper composition; crosshatching added in upper center composition; left side of central shape reinforced.
Artist’s Remarks:
This is "an ascension.... The metaphors in nature are very strong... nature is a mode of communication." (Quote cited in Wye, Deborah and Carol Smith. "The Prints of Louise Bourgeois." New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1994, p. 132.)
MoMA Credit Line:
Gift of the artist
MoMA Accession Number:
158.1990.2
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY

Rayons de Soleil Sur la Mer

c. 1948

States
Rayons de Soleil Sur la Mer
Rayons de Soleil Sur la Mer
Rayons de Soleil Sur la Mer

Related Works in the Catalogue

Inner Life
Rain Falling on Water
Le Soleil
Untitled
Meteorology
Death of a Dog and Acid Rain

Related Works in Other Mediums

Untitled
The Wave
Lighthouse
Untitled
Soleil sur la Mer
Untitled (Double-Sided)