Male and Female

Cat. No. 506.1-2/diptych 6

Male and Female

State/Variant:
Diptych: Version 1 of 3, state VII of VII, and version 2 of 3, state VIII of VIII
Date:
2005
Themes
Animals & Insects
Techniques
Aquatint, Drypoint
Support:
Smooth, wove Arches Cover paper with Hiromi Shikibu chine collé
Dimensions:
plate (a): 14 x 10" (35.2 x 25.2 cm); plate (b): 14 x 10" (35.2 x 25.2 cm); sheet (overall): 18 1/4 x 25 1/2" (46.3 x 64.7 cm)
Signature:
left side (a): "Louise Bourgeois 2005" lower middle margin, pencil; right side (b): "Louise Bourgeois 2005" lower right margin, pencil.
Publisher
Harlan & Weaver
Printer
Harlan & Weaver
Edition:
35; plus 7 A.P., 5 P.P., 2 H.C., 1 B.A.T., 1 T.P.
Edition Information:
This composition was also issued as a published edition at version 3, state II, titled "Le Chat."

There are 5 known diptych impressions, outside the edition. Diptychs outside the editon are combinations of the first and second versions of this composition, at various states.
Impression:
"hc 1/2" lower left margin, pencil, unknown hand
Background:
In the 1950s, when Bourgeois was living with her husband and children in an apartment on 18th Street in New York City, the family had two cats: Champfleurette and Tyger.
Curatorial Remarks:
It appears that the unique shading seen on the female cat's fur was created by using fine strokes of stop-out varnish or asphaltum before aquatint was added to the plate.

Although the development of the Male and Female diptych has been divided into first and second versions for clarity, Bourgeois worked on both plates concurrently.
Description:
left side (a): drypoint, engraving, and aquatint, with cream chine collé; right side (b): drypoint and engraving, with cream chine collé
State Changes and Additions:
Left side (a): Version 1, state VII
Changes from version 1, state VI, by burnishing: four nipples on cat’s left abdomen removed.
Changes from version 1, state VI, in drypoint: fur added to cat’s back; nipples redrawn.

Right side (b): Version 2, state VIII
Changes from version 1: version 1, state I composition inverted and transferred to a new, identically sized plate, in drypoint.
Changes from version 2, state VII, by burnishing: right eye removed; left paw partially removed; back of neck narrowed; and contours softened overall.
Changes from version 2, state VII, in drypoint: tail, right eye, and left paw reconfigured; shading and fur added overall; whiskers reinforced.
Changes from version 2, state VII, in aquatint: shading added overall.
Installation Remarks:
These two compositions constitute a single work of art. They are to be framed together approximately one inch apart, with a continuous horizon line.
Other Remarks:
According to printer Felix Harlan, the third, smaller version in the Evolving Composition Diagram was initially created as a test plate. Aquatint was being considered to add shading to the male cat. Ultimately, Bourgeois decided against aquatint for the shading, but she liked the compositional fragment on the test plate. She added the contour of the cat's body and editioned this version as "Le Chat" on handmade paper.
MoMA Credit Line:
Gift of the Artist
MoMA Accession Number:
328.2009.a-b
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY

Male and Female

2001-2005

Source

2001

Female
First Version
Female from Male and Female
Female from Male and Female
Female from Male and Female
Female from Male and Female
Female from Male and Female
Female from Male and Female
Female from Male and Female
Female from Male and Female
Female from Male and Female
Female from Male and Female
Female from Male and Female
Second Version
Male from Male and Female
Male from Male and Female
Male from Male and Female
Male from Male and Female
Male from Male and Female
Male from Male and Female
Male from Male and Female
Male from Male and Female
Male from Male and Female
Diptych Version
Male and Female
Male and Female
Male and Female
Male and Female
Male and Female
Male and Female
Third Version
Le Chat
Le Chat

Related Works in the Catalogue

Champfleurette, the White Cat
Untitled, plate 1 of 5, from the illustrated book, Metamorfosis
Self Portrait
Untitled, no. 11 of 12, from the illustrated book, To Whom It May Concern
The Cross-Eyed Woman II

Related Works in Other Mediums

Nature Study
You Ask Me Too Much