ISABEL RUBIO ARROYO | Tungsteno

An enormous nine-metre-high spider is on display outside the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain. Called Maman, the work is by Louise Bourgeois (Paris, 1911 - New York, 2010) and is a tribute to her mother, who was a weaver. “Bourgeois’ spiders are highly contradictory as emblems of maternity: they suggest both protector and predator,” the museum says. We explore the life and work of this key figure in contemporary art.

The sculptor who drew spiders

As early as the 1940s, the French-American sculptor was already drawing spiders. These animals occupied a central place in her work. “The spider really began as two drawings in 1947. At that time, the spider was a friendly presence. She [associated] it with eliminating mosquitoes," explains Jerry Gorovoy, Bourgeois' assistant and friend.

It wasn't until 1994 that she incorporated spiders into her sculptures. “The silk of a spider is used both to construct cocoons and to bind prey, and spiders embody both strength and fragility,” says the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Maman's legs resemble Gothic arches and function as “a cage and as a protective lair to a sac full of eggs perilously attached to her undercarriage.”

Bourgeois also associated the spider with her own artistic practice because this creature builds its web out of its own body. “Louise said that’s exactly what she does with sculpture. Sculpture has to come out of the body,” says Gorovoy. He explains that some of the first spiders she created represented security. To keep them from falling, they tended to be more vertical. “As she got bolder, she was able to arrange the legs and compositions that are much more dynamic,” he says. Indeed, her sculpture Spider appears to be on the move.

Spider is a bronze spider made by Bourgeois in her Brooklyn studio. Credit: Hauser & Wirth - Art Gallery

Art as therapy

According to the Museo Reina Sofia, Bourgeois' work was generated from the spaces she was inhabiting or her memory of them: her childhood in Paris, Aubusson, Choissy and Anthony; her country house in Easton (Connecticut, USA) and her studios in New York and Brooklyn. Architect and professor Beatriz Colomina explained that “those physical locations of her memory are all domestic and all associated with trauma.”

“Her work is at once deeply personal—with frequent references to painful childhood memories of an unfaithful father and a loving but complicit mother—and universal, confronting the bittersweet ordeal of being human,” says the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Bourgeois understood art as something curative, almost like therapy. “I know that when I finish a drawing, my anxiety level decreases. When I draw it means that something bothers me, but I don’t know what it is. So it is the treatment of anxiety,” said the artist herself.

After studying at the Sorbonne and marrying the American art historian Robert Goldwater, Bourgeois moved to New York in 1938 at the age of 27. The human body played a central role in her work. Through its representation, the artist explored universal themes such as vulnerability, identity, sexuality, violence and protection. This is evident in her series of drawings Femme Maison (1946-1947) and her sculptures Femme-Couteau (1982), Femme Maison (1983) and Spiral Woman (1984).

Bourgeois began experimenting with wood, plaster, latex and other solid materials in 1960. Credit: Tate

Throughout her career, Bourgeois received numerous honours. For example, in 1977 she was awarded an honorary doctorate in art from Yale University, in 1981 she was elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in New York, and in 2003 she was awarded the Wolf Prize in the Arts, one of the most prestigious international arts awards. The sculptor died in 2010 at the age of 98, leaving behind an unparalleled artistic legacy. Her work has had a profound impact on contemporary art and continues to inspire artists and art lovers around the world.

Tungsteno is a journalism laboratory to scan the essence of innovation.

ISABEL RUBIO ARROYO | Tungsteno

Just 20 kilometres from the centre of Paris lies one of the largest and most impressive palaces in the world: the Château de Versailles. Not only was it the residence of several monarchs until the French Revolution, but it also played a crucial role in scientific research and housed vast gardens and even a menagerie with all kinds of wild animals.

A hunting lodge turned palace

The origins of the Palace of Versailles date back to the 17th century: "In 1623, Versailles was no more than a small isolated village in the middle of marshes, far from the tumult of the capital," says the Palace of Versailles website. Then it became the hunting lodge of King Louis XIII, who ordered its construction in 1623. This building, rebuilt between 1631 and 1634 is the origin of the palace that still stands today.

The hunting lodge gradually became a pleasure palace thanks to the works ordered by Louis XIV. In 1682, it became the main residence of the royal court and the government. At times, more than 5,000 people were housed in its vast rooms. It was the residence of the French monarchy between the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XVI, according to UNESCO: "Embellished by several generations of architects, sculptors, decorators and landscape architects, it provided Europe with a model of the ideal royal residence for over a century."

The Palace of Versailles is one of the largest palaces in the world. Credit: Château de Versailles

From a menagerie to a gallery with more than 300 mirrors

The palace covers 800 hectares. The distances were so great that dishes were often served cold due to an architect’s failure to take into account the distance between the kitchen and the rooms where the food was served. This is why Louis XV decided in the 18th century to build private kitchens in his apartments. This palace even had room for a menagerie, which housed wild animals from all over the world and inspired the creation of modern zoos.

The gardens of Versailles are among the largest in the world. They have 372 statues, 55 decorative water features, 600 fountains and more than 32 kilometres of waterways. They once boasted 400 botanical species from all over the world, including pineapples, vanilla and coffee. In the 17th century, the fragrance of the flowers in the Jardin du Trianon was so intense that it could cause visitors to feel dizzy.

One of the main attractions of the palace is the Hall of Mirrors, which is adorned with 357 mirrors. In the 17th century, mirrors were considered an extremely expensive luxury. As Venice had a monopoly on their manufacture, France lured talented Venetian craftsmen and offered them the chance to create unique pieces for the palace. Legend has it that Venice, jealous of its monopoly and fearful of its production secrets being revealed, controlled the master mirrormakers and even forbade them to leave the city on pain of death.

The Hall of Mirrors is adorned with 357 mirrors. Credit: Studio McGraw

In 1833, Louis Philippe, "King of the French", decided to turn the palace into a museum "dedicated to all the glories of France". In this iconic place, unique moments in history were still to take place. The Hall of Mirrors was the scene of such iconic moments as the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, which ended the First World War in 1919. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, the palace is now preparing to host equestrian events for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Tungsteno is a journalism laboratory to scan the essence of innovation.