Hans Bellmer
La Poupée

La Poupée

© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

La Poupée
La Poupée
ArtistGerman, 1902–1975
CultureGerman
Titles
  • La Poupée
Date1936
MediumBook with ten gelatin silver prints
Credit LineGift of Manfred Heiting, The Manfred Heiting Collection
Object number2002.649
Current Location
The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building
Gallery 208
Exposé

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Department
Photography
Object Type
Description

La Poupée contains 10 iterations of Hans Bellmer’s signature tableaus of mutilated and reconstituted mannequin and machine parts in contorted positions. Created as the Nazis rose to power, the work embodies Bellmer’s personal and political frustrations while addressing the failures of Western society to contain the base needs and violent impulses of humanity. Building off the doll as a symbol of childhood innocence and exploration, Bellmer plays out dark fantasies that manifest the constrictions of gender identity and sexual expression. To Bellmer and other Surrealists, dolls and automatons became stand-ins for the disconnect between human body and modern life.


Provenance Research Ongoing Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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La Poupée (Die Puppe)
Hans Bellmer
1936
Gelatin silver print
81.115
Hans Bellmer
1967
Lithograph, edition 65/120
91.2067.1
Untitled
Hans Bellmer
1969
Engraving in black and pink on brown paper, edition 141/150
77.25.10
Untitled
Hans Bellmer
1969
Engraving in black and pink on brown paper, edition 141/150
77.25.11
Untitled
Hans Bellmer
1969
Engraving in black and pink on brown paper, edition 141/150
77.25.9
Untitled
Hans Bellmer
1969
Engraving in black and yellow on brown paper, edition 141/150
77.25.7
Hans Bellmer
1969
Engraving in black and yellow on brown paper, edition 141/150
77.25.6
Untitled
Hans Bellmer
1969
Engraving in black and white on brown paper, edition 141/150
77.25.8
Hans Bellmer
1969
Engraving in black and white on brown paper, edition 141/150
77.25.4
Untitled
Hans Bellmer
1969
Engraving in black and pink on brown paper, edition 141/150
77.25.5
Untitled
Hans Bellmer
1969
Engraving in black and white on brown paper, edition 141/150
77.25.2
Untitled
Hans Bellmer
1969
Engraving in black and pink on brown paper, edition 141/150
77.25.3