Untitled

Cat. No. 1132

Untitled

State/Variant:
Only state
Date:
1989
Themes
Figures
Techniques
Drypoint
Support:
Smooth, wove paper
Dimensions:
plate: 9 15/16 x 16 3/4" (25.2 x 42.5 cm); sheet: 17 1/8 x 24 15/16" (43.5 x 63.3 cm)
Signature:
Not signed
Publisher
unpublished
Printer
Harlan & Weaver
Edition:
1 known impression of the only state
Edition Information:
Not issued as a published edition.
Impression:
Not numbered
Background:
The source of Bourgeois's imagery is an illustration from an early twentieth-century textbook on psychological illnesses, which she photocopied, traced, and then scratched on the plate. She rejected it because it was not her own image and she was not satisfied with it. She would later create Arched Figure, seen below in Related Works in the Catalogue, on the same theme.
Curatorial Remarks:
An amendment has been made to the cataloguing of this composition in Wye and Smith, "The Prints of Louise Bourgeois," 1994, p. 244. What was previously considered a second state is now considered a cancellation proof, and has not been included in this catalogue. The cancellation proof is in MoMA's Collection (Accession Number: 547.1993). What was labeled state I is now considered the only state.
Former Cat. No.:
W & S B17
Descriptive Title:
Classical Figure
Description:
Drypoint
Artist’s Remarks:
"This is a feminist statement. It is a document which proves the prejudice of Charcot." (Jean-Martin Charcot [1825-1893], considered the father of modern neurology, was also the teacher of Sigmund Freud.) "For Charcot," Bourgeois said, "the arched body... the hysterical woman... was a subject of entertainment... she was made to be ridiculous and laughable. And hysterical people were always thought to be women. But that is a superstition! This document shows that men were also hysterical. I am trying to prove a point here. Charcot made fun of women... like my father made fun of me." (Quote cited in Wye, Deborah and Carol Smith. “The Prints of Louise Bourgeois.” New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1994, p. 244.)
MoMA Credit Line:
Gift of the artist
MoMA Accession Number:
546.1993
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY

Untitled

1989

States
Untitled

Related Works in the Catalogue

Triptych for the Red Room
Arch of Hysteria, plate 19 of 24, from the series, Self Portrait
Arched Figure

Related Works in Other Mediums

Arch of Hysteria
Arched Figure
Untitled (Arch of Hysteria)
Untitled (Arch of Hysteria)
Arched Figure No. 1
Arch of Hysteria