The God of Fertility

Cat. No. 817, unique variant 2

The God of Fertility

State/Variant:
Only state, unique variant
Date:
2007
Themes
Abstraction
Techniques
Etching
Support:
Paper
Dimensions:
plate: 59 5/8 × 14 5/16" (151.4 × 36.4 cm); sheet: 18 × 59 1/2" (45.7 × 151.1 cm)
Signature:
"Louise Bourgeois" lower right margin, pencil.
Publisher
Osiris
Printer
Wingate Studio
Edition:
Unique
Edition Information:
This is one of 4 unique variants that incorporate this plate, printed alone or in combination with another plate in a multi-panel work. They all include hand additions. When the plate is used alone, the work is included in the Evolving Composition Diagram. When it is printed with another plate, it is included in Related Works in the Catalogue.

See Evolving Composition Diagram:
Untitled, no. 5 of 11, from the series, "Extreme Tension"
"The God of Fertility"
Untitled, no. 2 of 3, from the series, "The Voice Says Yes"

See Related Works in the Catalogue:
Untitled, no. 1 of 4, from the series, "Start Something!!"

This plate was not issued as a published edition. There are 3 known variant impressions of the only state, seen in the Evolving Composition Diagram below. There are 2 known cancellation proofs, each with a large "X" drawn across the composition from each corner of the plate.
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:
The color of the hand additions and paper type could not be documented because this work 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 overall sheet dimensions were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.
Description:
Soft ground etching, with watercolor, gouache, pencil, and colored pencil additions
Inscription:
"the god of fertility" partially obscured, upper left comp., pencil, artist's hand; "the god of fertility" center left comp., pencil, artist's hand.
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY

The God of Fertility

2007-2009

States
The God of Fertility
The God of Fertility
The God of Fertility
Unique Variants
Untitled, no. 5 of 11, from the series, Extreme Tension
The God of Fertility
Untitled, no. 2 of 3, from the series, The Voice Says Yes

Series

2007

Extreme Tension

Series

2009

The Voice Says Yes

Related Works in the Catalogue

Untitled, no. 1 of 4, from the series, Start Something!!
Untitled, plate 12 of 15, from the series, Nature Study