1986.34
Poupée atop Broken Wicker Chair
Artist
Hans Bellmer
(1902 - 1975)
Title
Poupée atop Broken Wicker Chair
Creation Date
ca. 1935
Century
20th century
Dimensions
5 11/16 in. x 5 9/16 in. (14.4 cm. x 14.2 cm.)
Classification
Photographs
Creation Place
Europe, Germany
Medium and Support
gelatin silver print
Credit Line
Museum Purchase, Lloyd O. and Marjorie Strong Coulter Fund
Copyright
This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s
Copyright Terms and Conditions.
Accession Number
1986.34
Hans Bellmer created two different versions of a disjointed, anatomically incorrect poupée (doll) which he would deconstruct and reassemble into various suggestive and disturbing poses. This was meant as a radical liberation, a breaking of taboos, and an exploration of the conflicting yet entwined impulses of desire and violence. Bellmer often used a layering technique as old as photography itself, applying hand-coloring to his black and white prints to heighten their shocking effects. Part of Bellmer’s motivation in creating such extreme images was the oppressive society in which he found himself as Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany: “If the origin of my work is scandalous, it is because, for me, the world is a scandal.”
Object Description
sectioned female doll reclining, with broken wicker chair set; hand-colored