Sainte Sébastienne

Cat. No. 504.1/IV, variant 2

Sainte Sébastienne

State/Variant:
Version 1 of 2, state IV of XII, variant
Date:
1990
Themes
Animals & Insects, Figures
Techniques
Drypoint
Support:
Smooth, wove paper
Dimensions:
plate: 16 3/4 x 9 15/16" (42.6 x 25.3 cm); sheet: 19 1/2 x 14 3/16" (49 x 36.1 cm)
Signature:
Not signed
Publisher
unpublished
Printer
Gravure
Edition:
4 known impressions of version 1, state IV
Edition Information:
Proof before the editioning of version 1, state XII (in two differing editions), and of version 2, state VII.
Impression:
Not numbered
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 states V and X-XII of this version of "Sainte Sébastienne," 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.
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.

Bourgeois admired the printing facilities of the Gravure workshop and also felt a personal rapport with the owner and master printer, Christian Guérin. Guérin helped the artist develop plates for several important projects in the early 1990s.
Former Cat. No.:
W & S 110.1
Descriptive Title:
Small Version
Description:
Drypoint, with black watercolor wash, white gouache, and pencil additions
Inscription:
"all I want is a chance to learn" lower left to lower middle margin, pencil, artist's hand.
State Changes and Additions:
Changes from state III, by burnishing: hatch marks removed from cat's face.
Changes from state III, in drypoint: body further delineated; cat's ear added.
Artist’s Remarks:
"She is as happy as can be... with hair flowing. She is totally nonagressive... with no arms. This is the joie de vivre of the early morning. Is she showing off? Yes... by displaying her hair and her breasts... and her walk shows that the world is her oyster.
For whatever reason, maybe because she is showing off... she antagonizes without knowing it. The antagonism is expressed by the arrows... verbal arrows. Someone will say something... she doesn't understand what she did... she doesn't understand the antagonism. She is not very good at verbal defense and she starts to run away. This transforms her into a hurt person... but you see the cat... a cat can take care of itself." (Quote cited in Wye, Deborah and Carol Smith. "The Prints of Louise Bourgeois." New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1994, p. 176.)

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.)
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.
MoMA Credit Line:
Gift of the artist
MoMA Accession Number:
597.1993
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

Sainte Sébastienne

1990-1998

Source

1987

Untitled
Studies
Untitled (Study for Sainte Sébastienne)
Untitled (Study for Sainte Sébastienne)
Untitled (Study for Sainte Sébastienne)
Untitled (Study for Sainte Sébastienne)
Untitled (Study for Sainte Sébastienne)
Untitled (Study for Sainte Sébastienne)
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Untitled (Study for Stamp of Memories I)
First Version
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Stamp of Memories I
Stamp of Memories I
Stamp of Memories II
Stamp of Memories II
Stamp of Memories I
Stamp of Memories II
Second Version
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne

Related Works in the Catalogue

Dancing Insect
St. Sebastian
Bosom Lady, plate 9 of 9, from the portfolio, Quarantania
Untitled

Related Works in Other Mediums

St. Sébastienne
Ste. Sébastienne
Ste. Sébastienne
Blackmail
Ste. Sébastienne
Sainte Sébastienne
St. Sébastienne
Untitled
Sainte Sébastienne
Untitled