Ascension Lente

Cat. No. 610/XIII

Ascension Lente

State/Variant:
State XIII of XIV
Date:
1949
Alternate Title:
Le Grand Flottant (The Large Floating Form); The Disappearance of the Mother
Themes
Abstraction, Nature
Techniques
Engraving, Other Techniques
Support:
Paper
Dimensions:
plate: 8 3/4 × 6 7/8" (22.2 × 17.5 cm); sheet: 11 1/2 × 8 3/8" (29.2 × 21.3 cm)
Signature:
"Louise Bourgeois" lower left margin, pencil. "1948" lower right margin, pencil.
Publisher
unpublished
Printer
The artist at Atelier 17
Edition:
2 known impressions of state XIII
Edition Information:
Not issued as a published edition at any state.
Impression:
Not numbered
Curatorial Remarks:
The plate dimensions of this impression 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 the impression of state XIII in MoMA’s Collection. The sheet dimensions were provided by the owner of the print.

In the second half of the 1940s, Bourgeois spent time at Atelier 17, the print workshop of Stanley William Hayter. The workshop had transferred operations from Paris to New York during the war years. It is not known precisely which prints she made at the workshop since she also worked at home on a small press. The designation of “the artist at Atelier 17” as printer means that the impression was likely made at the workshop. The designation is based on dates, inscriptions, techniques favored at Atelier 17, and/or stylistic similarities to images in the illustrated book “He Disappeared into Complete Silence,” which the artist repeatedly cited as having been made at Atelier 17. It is also possible that Bourgeois worked on certain plates both at home and at the workshop, or pulled impressions at both places.
Former Cat. No.:
W & S 53
Descriptive Title:
English translation: "Slow Ascent"
Description:
Engraving, with scorper and monotype
Inscription:
"le grand flottant" lower right margin, pencil, artist's hand.
State Changes and Additions:
Changes from state XII, by burnishing: lines in lower right partially removed.
Changes from state XII, in engraving: new, rightmost form added; horizontal line added to form second from right.
Artist’s Remarks:
Bourgeois talked about this composition as one that moves "away from realism. It is more symbolic and suggestive, but with a base in reality." She noted that all the "rigidity" present in "He Disappeared into Complete Silence" has "become looser.... This has to do with security... the security of the nest that does not have to stand on the floor. It is safer to be above."

There is "the notion of constant danger... day to day... a fight against danger... and for living." There is the safety of "nesting together" and "the bondage of people who sleep together." She spoke of a pomegranate wherein the "seeds can be seen nestling." She recalled some of her plaster lair sculptures of the sixties such as "Fée Couturière," with its openings that "allow only a tiny bird to go in."

Discussing the title, Bourgeois described "self-improvement" as "an ascent... a ladder." But the sentiments reflected in this print are not about "perfection," only about "going toward improvement." (Quote cited in Wye, Deborah and Carol Smith. "The Prints of Louise Bourgeois." New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1994, p. 120.)
Bibliography:
Acton, David. "Louise Bourgeois." In David Acton, The Stamp of Impulse: Abstract Expressionism. Worcester, MA: Worcester Art Museum, 2001, 78.

This text describes "Ascension lente" specifically as well as Bourgeois' printmaking career more generally.
Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ruth C. Wallerstein Endowment Fund purchase, 1995.41 © 2019 The Easton Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, NY

Ascension Lente

1949

States
Ascension Lente
Ascension Lente
Ascension Lente
Ascension Lente
Ascension Lente
Ascension Lente
Ascension Lente
Ascension Lente
Ascension Lente
Ascension Lente
Ascension Lente
Ascension Lente
Ascension Lente
Ascension Lente
Ascension Lente
Ascension Lente
Ascension Lente
Ascension Lente

Related Works in the Catalogue

Looking at Her Sidewise
Pendus Fragile
Papiers Dans le Vent
Tempête du Vent
L'Allée Montante
Sacs Ouvert

Related Works in Other Mediums

Untitled
Untitled
Fée Couturière