Vase of Tears
Louise Bourgeois
American, born France. 1911–2010
c. 1946
A small print (etching, drypoint, and engraving) that turns a plump, vase‑shaped figure into a personified vessel weeping into a tiny bowl, making private grief into an object.
You first notice the stark white, bulbous figure framed by a deep black rectangle—its simple, childlike face with rows of beadlike tears and wide, vacant eyes feels both naive and haunting, while a thin arm extends a small bowl as if performing a domestic ritual of sorrow.
An early example of Bourgeois giving domestic forms psychological life, this print helped chart her lifelong practice of translating personal trauma and bodily metaphors into sculptural and graphic language, influencing postwar art’s turn toward autobiographical expression.
Medium
Etching, drypoint, and engraving, with selective wiping
Dimensions
plate: 5 1/2 x 3 7/16" (13.9 x 8.8 cm); sheet: 9 15/16 x 6 1/2" (25 x 16.5 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the artist
Accession
242.1992.3
Palette
Exhibitions
