Hans Bellmer (1902 - 1975)

Hans Bellmer

Hans Bellmer was a German graphic artist, sculptor, photographic artist, illustrator, and writer who spent most of his life in France.

In the 1930s Bellmer began working on the eroticized image of the deformed doll, contrasting it with the aesthetics of the "classical" body in Hitler's Germany. His graphic and literary explorations focus on the dismemberment and liberation of bodies. Bellmer's surrealist works are violent and provocative: they include puppet sculptures composed of the bodies of nude models, photographs, and prints.

In 1934, 18 photographs of dolls were published in the Parisian surrealist magazine Minotaur, and the Nazi regime declared Bellmer's art degenerate. In 1938, Bellmer emigrated to France.

After the end of the war, the artist continued his work, adding poetry to painting. He also authored illustrations for many works, particularly on erotic themes.