Le Chat

Cat. No. 506.3/I

Le Chat

State/Variant:
Version 3 of 3, state I of II
Date:
c. 2004
Themes
Animals & Insects, Body Parts
Techniques
Aquatint, Engraving
Support:
Smooth, wove paper
Dimensions:
plate: 4 5/16 x 4 5/16" (10.9 x 11 cm); sheet: 10 x 8 1/4" (25.4 x 21 cm)
Signature:
Not signed
Publisher
unpublished
Printer
Harlan & Weaver
Edition:
2 known impressions of version 3, state I
Edition Information:
Proof before the editioning of version 3, state II. This fragmented composition, in its full form, and with a companion composition, was also issued as a published diptych, "Male and Female," seen below as diptych 6 in the Evolving Composition Diagram.
Impression:
Not numbered
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 is conceivable that there were one or more states prior to this one, as this state includes two separate intaglio processes and a printer's inscription which reads "state 3." However, no known impressions of earlier states exist.
Description:
Engraving, and aquatint
State Changes and Additions:
Changes from version 2: composition detail transferred to a smaller plate without contour lines, in aquatint and engraving.
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:
1505.2012
© 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