Cat. No. 1273, in 1250
Untitled, no. 1 of 3, from the series, Sainte Nitouche
- State/Variant:
- Unique variant
- Date:
- 2009
- Series:
- Sainte Nitouche
- Themes
- Abstraction, Fabric Works
- Techniques
- Etching
- Support:
- panels (a) and (e): Fabric
panels (b), (c), (d): Paper - Dimensions:
- plate (a and e) (each): 60 1/4 × 18 13/16" (153 × 47.8 cm); plate (c): 60 5/16 × 12 3/8" (153.2 × 31.5 cm); sheet (approx.): 60 1/2 × 117" (153.7 × 297.2 cm)
- Signature:
- panel (e): "LB" lower right comp., stitched in red thread.
- Publisher
- Osiris
- Printer
- Wingate Studio
- Edition:
- Unique
- 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 hand additions and paper type 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 impressions in MoMA's Collection. The overall mediums and sheet dimensions were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.
A "sainte nitouche" is a goody two-shoes. - Description:
- panel (a): Soft ground etching, with hand additions and fabric collage
panel (b): Pencil
panel (c): Soft ground etching, with hand additions
panel (d): Pencil
panel (e): Soft ground etchings, with hand additions - Inscription:
- panel (b): "Sainte / Nitouche" center sheet, pencil, artist's hand.
panel (d): "une histoire / de / Louise / Bourgeois" center sheet, pencil, artist's hand. - State Changes and Additions:
- Matrices:
This 5-panel composition is made up of 2 plates that were issued as separate editions or used in other compositions. They are noted below and can be seen in Related Works in the Catalogue.
panel (a): plate from "The Twist"
panel (c): plate from "Alone and Together"
panel (e): plate from "The Twist"
There are 2 impressions here. One impression is overlaid with another printed on sheer fabric. It is not known if the bottom layer is on fabric or paper. - Installation Remarks:
- This composition is one of 3 that constitute a single work of art. All of these compositions are to be exhibited together in the indicated sequence.
Unique variant
2009
No. 1 of 3, from the series, Sainte Nitouche
2009
Unique variant
2009
Untitled, no. 1 of 3, from the series,<i> Sainte Nitouche</i>
2009
Series
2009
Sainte Nitouche
2009
<i>Sainte Nitouche</i>
2009
Related Works in the Catalogue
The Twist
Only state
2007
<i>The Twist</i>
2007
Alone and Together
Only state
2007
<i>Alone and Together</i>
2007
Louise Bourgeois,
Sainte Nitouche,
New York, Osiris, 2009Bourgeois's entire text for this series appears on the panels cited below.
No. 1:
Saint
Nitouche
une histoire
de
Louise
Bourgeois
No. 2:
What you
look like
what you wear
ma
vie
vie
vie
vie
secrète
la vie secrète
I am a consumer
and
a lover
No. 3:
viens le soir descend
et leur heure est charmeuse
viens toi si frileuse
la nuit avancée en
manteau descend
puis l'air est si doux
si plein de promesses
ou sent la caresse
des mots d'amour
qu'en écoute à genoux
What do you
think
of
me
French to English translations by Richard Sieburth and Françoise Gramet.
No. 1:
Goodie
Two Shoes
a story
by
Louise
Bourgeois
No. 2:
What you
look like
what you wear
my
life
life
life
life
secret
the secret life
I am a consumer
and
a lover
No. 3:
come, night is falling,
the hour is enticing
come, fear not the cold,
the falling night
like a cloak is spreading
the air is so mild
so full of promises
one feels the caress
of words of love
heard on bended knee
What do you
think
of
me