Lacs de Montagne

Cat. No. 553/X

Lacs de Montagne

State/Variant:
State X of XIII
Date:
1997
Alternate Title:
Mountain Ponds 1993; Convulsions
Themes
Architecture, Nature
Techniques
Aquatint, Drypoint, Engraving, Etching
Support:
Paper
Dimensions:
plate: 18 1/16 × 23 7/8" (45.9 × 60.6 cm); sheet: 25 × 30" (63.5 × 76.2 cm)
Signature:
"Louise Bourgeois" lower right margin, pencil.
Publisher
unpublished
Printer
Harlan & Weaver
Edition:
1 known impression of state X
Edition Information:
Proof before the editioning of states XII and XIII. This composition was also issued as a published edition at state II.
Impression:
Not numbered
Background:
State XIII was published as a benefit for Chalcographie of the Musée du Louvre, Paris.
Curatorial Remarks:
For this impression, the smaller cloud form and the fill in the lakes were not inked.

The type of paper could not be documented because this impression is not in MoMA's Collection and could not be examined in person. The plate dimensions are from an impression in MoMA's Collection. The sheet dimensions were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.
Descriptive Title:
English translation: “Mountain Lakes”
Description:
Engraving, etching, aquatint, and drypoint
State Changes and Additions:
Matrices:
The progression of this composition, as seen in the Evolving Composition Diagram below, involved 3 plates.

Plate 1: overall linear composition; printed in black.
Plate 2: fill in lakes, and later, larger cloud form; usually printed in blue, sometimes in red, pink, and gray.
Plate 3: fill in mountains and smaller cloud form; printed in blue and/or red.

Print State Changes:
Plate 1 printed in black, over plate 2 printed in blue, over plate 3 printed in red. Plates 3 and 4 partially uninked.
Changes from state IX, by burnishing: fill in mountains selectively removed.
Additions in blue ink: contours of lakes delineated, anticipating state XIII.
Other Remarks:
According to Bourgeois's assistant, Jerry Gorovoy, this composition depicts mountains in Switzerland and likely references the artist's memories of visits there in her youth, especially for skiing.
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY

Mountain Ponds 1993 ; Lacs de Montagne

1993-1997

Studies
Untitled (Study for Mountain Ponds, 1993)
Untitled (Study for Mountain Ponds 1993)
States
Mountain Ponds 1993
Mountain Ponds 1993
Mountain Ponds 1993
Mountain Ponds 1993
Mountain Ponds 1993
Mountain Ponds 1993
Mountain Ponds 1993
Mountain Ponds 1993 (When in Doubt Suspend Judgement)
Lacs de Montagne
Lacs de Montagne
Mountain Ponds 1993
Rain on the Mountain Lakes
Lacs de Montagne
Lacs de Montagne
Lacs de Montagne
Lacs de Montagne
Lacs de Montagne
Lacs de Montagne
Lacs de Montagne
Lacs de Montagne
Lacs de Montagne
Lacs de Montagne
Lacs de Montagne
Lacs de Montagne
Lacs de Montagne

Related Works in the Catalogue

Untitled
Night and Day
Horizontal Mountain Landscape
Blue Is the Color of Your Eyes
M Is for Mother, plate 4 of 7, from the portfolio, La Réparation

Related Works in Other Mediums

Untitled
Soft Landscape II
The Sweet Smell of Indigo
Untitled
Untitled, no. 57 of 220, from the series, The Insomnia Drawings
Untitled, no. 188 of 200, from the series, Insomnia Drawings
Les 2 Lacs
Untitled