The Smile

Cat. No. 510.2/I, variant 2

The Smile

State/Variant:
Version 2 of 2, state I of IV, variant
Date:
2001

Themes
Faces & Portaits, Objects
Techniques
Drypoint
Support:
Smooth, wove paper
Dimensions:
plate: 4 15/16 x 6 7/8" (12.6 x 17.5 cm); sheet: 11 5/16 x 10 1/16" (28.7 x 25.5 cm)
Signature:
"LB" lower right margin, red ink.
Publisher
unpublished
Printer
Harlan & Weaver
Edition:
2 known variant impressions of version 2, state I
Edition Information:
Proof before the editioning of version 2, state IV.
Impression:
Not numbered
Curatorial Remarks:
To create the editioned version of this composition, Bourgeois began with "The Obese Woman," which depicts a woman leaning on a column. She developed the image through a series of state changes before abandoning the idea of depicting a full figure. In the second version, "The Smile," only the top part of the composition was transferred to a new plate. Carbon transfers of the preexisting imagery were used to aid in the process of developing the reconfigured composition.

"The Smile" was editioned as the unbound frontispiece for the 2001 book "Louise Bourgeois: Destruction of the Father - Reconstruction of the Father, Schriften und Interviews, 1923-2000," seen below in Related Works in Other Mediums. Edited by Marie-Laure Bernadac and Hans-Ulrich Obrist, and published by Ammann Verlag, Zurich, the German reissue is an updated version of the 1998 book published by Violette, London. The 2001 book is a hardcover and comes in a slipcase.
Descriptive Title:
Woman Leaning on a Column
Description:
Drypoint, with blue carbon, pencil, red and blue ink, and white correction fluid additions
State Changes and Additions:
Changes from version 1, in drypoint: top part of composition transferred to new plate and increased in scale.
MoMA Credit Line:
Gift of the artist
MoMA Accession Number:
1100.2008
This Work in Other Collections:
Graphische Sammlung ETH Zürich, Switzerland
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY

The Obese Woman and The Smile

2001-2002

Source

2001

The Obese Woman
First Version
The Obese Woman
The Obese Woman
The Obese Woman
The Obese Woman
The Obese Woman
The Obese Woman
The Obese Woman
The Obese Woman
The Obese Woman
The Obese Woman
Second Version
The Smile
The Smile
The Smile
The Smile
The Smile
The Smile
The Smile
The Smile
The Smile
The Smile
The Smile

Related Works in the Catalogue

Quartet of the 4 Obese Singing Ladies
Embracing the Tree
Untitled, plate 6 of 6, from the portfolio, Together
The Smile
Untitled, no. 2 of 5, from the series, The Bad Girl

Related Works in Other Mediums

Louise Bourgeois: Destruction of the Father - Reconstruction of the Father, Schriften and Interviews, 1923-2000
Obésité / Maternity
Obese Woman
Obese Bulimic Anorexic