Cat. No. 728
À Baudelaire (#1)
- State/Variant:
- Unique variant
- Date:
- 2008
- Themes
- Nature
- Techniques
- Etching
- Support:
- Paper (4 sheets)
- Dimensions:
- sheet (a): 58 1/2 × 38 5/8" (148.6 × 98.1 cm); sheet (b): 59 3/4 × 39 3/4" (151.8 × 101 cm); sheet (c): 59 1/2 × 39 1/4" (151.1 × 99.7 cm); sheet (d): 58 3/4 × 38 3/4" (149.2 × 98.4 cm)
- Signature:
- (a): "Louise Bourgeois" lower right comp.
(b): "LB" lower right comp.
(c): "LB" lower right comp.
(d): "Louise Bourgeois" lower right comp. - Publisher
- Osiris
- Printer
- Wingate Studio
- Edition:
- Unique
- Edition Information:
- A number of works share the title "À Baudelaire." These works include 9 unique variants with extenstive hand additions, and an edition. The titles of the unique variants are listed below:
“À Baudelaire (#1)”
“À Baudelaire (#2)”
“À Baudelaire (#3)”
“À Baudelaire (#4)”
“À Baudelaire (#5)”
“À Baudelaire (#6)”
“À Baudelaire (#7)”
“À Baudelaire (#8): Silence Is a Form of Intimacy”
“À Baudelaire (#9): The Impossible” - Impression:
- Not numbered
- Background:
- Benjamin Shiff, the director of the Osiris imprint, collaborated with Bourgeois in a highly experimental phase of printmaking that occupied the last years of her life, from 2005 to 2010. He first established a working relationship with the artist in the 1990s, but the late period is particularly noteworthy for the innovative and complex large-scale projects that evolved at that time. Shiff made use of professional workshops for printing, but he oversaw the creation of the printing plates as Bourgeois worked on them in her home studio. He also provided assistance as she added extensive hand additions and texts, and as she combined individual compositions into multi-panel works and illustrated books.
- Curatorial Remarks:
- Plate dimensions are not given due to partial inking. For full plate dimensions, see the respective editioned impressions. The color of hand additions, medium of the signature, type of paper, and sheet dimensions could not be documented because this impression is not in MoMA's Collection and could not be examined in person. The sheet dimensions were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.
- Description:
- Soft ground etching, with ink, watercolor, gouache, colored pencil, and pencil
- Inscription:
- panel (a) verso: "À Baudelaire 1 [circled]" upper center sheet, pencil, artist's hand; "center left" lower center sheet, pencil, artist's hand.
panel (b) verso: "à Baudelaire 1 [circled]" upper center sheet, pencil, artist's hand; "center right" lower center sheet, pencil, artist's hand.
panel (c) verso: "À Baudelaire 1 [circled] / center left" upper center sheet, pencil, artist's hand.
panel (d) verso: "left" lower right sheet, pencil, artist's hand. - State Changes and Additions:
- Matrices:
This 4-panel composition is made up of plates that are used in other compositions, but which are partially inked here. These plates, fully inked, were issued in editions as 2 separate compositions, which are noted below and can be seen in Related Works in the Catalogue.
panels (a) and (c): plate from "The Unfolding"
panels (b) and (d): plate from "À Baudelaire"
A proof of the composition "Love and Kisses" is printed on the verso of panel (a). - Other Remarks:
- A number of works with extensive hand additions share the title "À Baudelaire." These works include 9 unique variants and an edition. The individual titles of the unique variants are as follows:
“À Baudelaire (#1)”
“À Baudelaire (#2)”
“À Baudelaire (#3)”
“À Baudelaire (#4)”
“À Baudelaire (#5)”
“À Baudelaire (#6)”
“À Baudelaire (#7)”
“À Baudelaire (#8): Silence Is a Form of Intimacy”
“À Baudelaire (#9): The Impossible”
Unique variant
2008
À Baudelaire (#1)
2008
Unique variant
2008
<i>À Baudelaire (#1)</i>
2008
Related Works in the Catalogue
The Unfolding
Only state
2007
<i>The Unfolding</i>
2007
À Baudelaire (#2)
Only state, unique variant
2008
<i>À Baudelaire (#2)</i>
2008
À Baudelaire (#3)
Only state, unique variant
2008
<i>À Baudelaire (#3)</i>
2008
À Baudelaire (#4)
Only state, unique variant
2008
<i>À Baudelaire (#4)</i>
2008
À Baudelaire
Only state
2008
<i>À Baudelaire</i>
2008
À Baudelaire (#5)
Only state, unique variant
2008
<i>À Baudelaire (#5)</i>
2008
À Baudelaire (#6)
Only state, unique variant
2008
<i>À Baudelaire (#6)</i>
2008
À Baudelaire (#7)
Only state, unique variant
2009
<i>À Baudelaire (#7)</i>
2009
À Baudelaire (#8): Silence Is a Form of Intimacy
Only state, unique variant
2009
<i>À Baudelaire (#8): Silence Is a Form of Intimacy</i>
2009
À Baudelaire (#9): The Impossible
Unique variant
2010
<i>À Baudelaire (#9): The Impossible</i>
2010
Related Works in Other Mediums
Untitled
1949
Untitled
1949
Medium: Ink and pencil on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 19 1/2 x 12 1/2" (49.5 x 31.8 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Les Fleurs
2009
Les Fleurs
2009
Medium: Gouache on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 23 1/2 × 18" (59.7 × 45.7 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Untitled, no. 1, from the series, Eugénie Grandet
2009
Untitled, no. 1, from the series, Eugénie Grandet
2009
Medium: Silk and embroidery on cloth
Dimensions: sheet: 12 x 8 1/2 x 3/4" (30.5 x 21.6 x 1.9 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Collage
1949
Collage
1949
Medium: Collage and charcoal on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 11 1/2 x 7 1/4" (29.2 x 18.4 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Eye to Eye
1970
Eye to Eye
1970
Medium: Marble
Dimensions: overall: 31 1/2 x 29 7/8 x 29 7/8" (80 x 75.9 x 75.9 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Forêt (Night Garden)
1953
Forêt (Night Garden)
1953
Medium: Painted wood
Dimensions: overall: 37 x 18 7/8 x 14 5/8" (94 x 47.9 x 37.1 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Homage to Bernini
1967
Homage to Bernini
1967
Medium: Bronze
Dimensions: overall: 21 1/2 × 20 × 23" (54.6 × 50.8 × 58.4 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Baroque
1970
Baroque
1970
Medium: Marble
Dimensions: overall: 37 1/4 × 25 1/4 × 25 7/8" (94.6 × 64.1 × 65.7 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY