Louise Bourgeois at the Jardin des Tuileries

Intertwined hands laid on five granite stones, varying in size from 20 to 30 inches wide and high… These hands tell so much. Who do they belong to? Why are they cut off? Why are they offered there, as a sacrifice, on such a hard, cold block of granite, as a monument to the departed? Where are the bodies to which they used to belong? And what about this tiny child’s hand, all alone, with no adult hand to hold on to, find protection and reassurance?

These hands hold each other, tightly. They intertwine and hold on to each other as to prevent the other one to leave. They reflect our every-day gestures and inspire all together the infinite tenderness of loving, sharing, giving and exchanging, but also agony, anguish, separation, abandonment, and so much more.

This deeply moving work, titled The Welcoming Hands, is yet another demonstration of Louise Bourgeois’s genius.

The Welcoming hands, 1996, since 2000 at the Jardin des Tuileries
Granite and bronze

Jardin des Tuileries, near the Jeu de Paume gallery
From the last Sunday in March to 31 May, and from 1 September to the last Saturday in September: 7am to 9pm
From 1 June to 31 August: 7am to 11pm
From the last Sunday in September to the last Saturday in March: 7.30am to 7.30pm