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figure was how its two stomachs were placed in
mirror-image opposition on the stomach joint that
circled the mid-section of the body. Individual limbs
were interchangeable. Bellmer then staged the
enhanced variability of poses in 100 photographs
from 1935 to 1937 that he colored by hand. In
1949, Bellmer published 14 selected images together
with accompanying texts and poems from Paul
Eluard in the volume titledLes Jeux de la Poupe ́e.
The construction of the second doll left open the
ways one could read the image of the body, making
a kind of ‘‘anagram’’ in Bellmer’s sense of the word.
The photographs of this second model demonstrate
the floating meaning of the body’s various parts:
the vulva is double in size and is set in place of the
mouth, breasts have wandered to the position of
the lap, and so this act could go on ad infinitum.
No top or bottom of the doll’s anatomy is clearly
defined. Already in the photographic portraits of
the first doll, Bellmer created a being that seemed
posed between realities, a principle of crossing
boarders that refuted polarization, and Bellmer fur-
thered this principle in the construction of the body
of the second doll.
Bellmer’s sculptures also focus on the theme of
dolls. With a bronze sculpture of the second model
(1965) Bellmer released the body of the doll into
‘‘reality’’—outside the medium of photography. In
his sculpture,La mitrailleuse en e ́tat de grace(1937),
Bellmer connected elements of both his doll crea-
tions. He fit the mechanical leverages of the robotic
looking first doll to the smooth bodily form of the
second. In 1972, Bellmer constructed his final man-
nequin figure,La demi poupee, which was not cre-
ated to be photographed. As the name suggests, this
doll had only one arm, one leg, and one breast.
Following the writing of Georges Bataille (L’his-
toiredel’oeil,1946)—athemeofwhichisthemultiple
meanings of sexual signs—Bellmer created photo-
graphic series that featured bodies in twisted posi-
tions but not featuring the use of a doll. In 1958 the
poet Unica Zu ̈rn posed for photographs in which the
anagrammatic element was raised to a governing
principle. The photographs show Zu ̈rn’s body con-
stricted by wires in a way suggesting the anatomy,
much like a doll quilted from an actual body. The
automatic generation of biological and artificial
body parts also suggests the reproduction process
of the photographic medium itself.
After giving up his photographic work with dolls
Bellmer turned to graphic art, and these works also
focus on variations of composite bodies. Drawing as
a medium provided the possibility of interfusing var-
ious formations of anatomic parts. Bellmer could
now move totally within the world of fiction in con-

trast to photography. He abandoned the subtle play

between the real and the virtual that results from the

‘‘believability’’ inherent in the photographic med-

ium. Bellmer presented his works not only in book

form, but also in Surrealist exhibitions (e.g., 1938 in

Paris) and in surrealist journals (e.g., inMinotaure

1935). In 1972 the first major retrospective of the

photographs was mounted in Paris (Centre national

d’art contemporain) and for the first time the dolls

were also displayed.

Bellmer’s works are shown in numerous exhibits.

With her representation of artificial body frag-

ments, Cindy Sherman (Sex Pictures, 1992) refers

directly to Bellmer’s creations. Bellmer executes a

mediated notion of ‘‘female’’ in two simultaneous

ways: in the medium of the doll and in photography.

Thus he is of interest to gender studies as well as to

discussions of virtual worlds and of body produc-

tion through gene technologies.

BIRGITKA ̈UFER

Seealso:Erotic Photography; History of Photogra-

phy: Interwar Years; PhotographyinEurope:France;

Photography in Europe: Germany and Austria; Re-

presentation and Gender; Surrealism

Biography

Born in 1902 in Kattowitz (Oberschlesien). Studied engi-

neering in Berlin, 1923–1924. Broke off his studies to

become a graphic artist for book illustrations. A self-

taught artist, he had contact with artists such Otto Dix

and George Grosz. First trip to Paris, established con-

tacts with the Surrealists, winter 1924–1925. Constructed

the first doll and photographed the model, 1932–1933.

Constructed second doll, 1935 and photographed the

second model, 1935–1937. Moved to Paris, 1938. Deten-

tion in southern France with Max Ernst, 1940. Stayed

until 1948 in southern France and produced series of

graphic artworks. Returned to Paris, 1948. Met the poet

and life-long companion Unica Zu ̈rn in Berlin, 1953. In

the 1960s he produced primarily graphic works. First

major retrospective in Centre national d‘art contempor-

ain in Paris, 1971. Bellmer died in 1975 in Paris.

Selected Works

Note: The following are titles of Bellmer’s original publica-

tion of his images; individual images from each series are

titled with the series name.

Die Puppe(The Doll), 1934

Les Jeux de la Poupe ́e(The Joy of the Doll), 1949

L’Anatomie de l’image(translated to English asLittle Anat-

omy of the Physical Unconscious), 1957

Individual Exhibitions

1967 Hans Bellmer Photographe; Kestner-Gesellschaft,

Hannover, Germany

BELLMER, HANS