Hans Bellmer

(German, 1902–1975)

Hans Bellmer was a German Surrealist artist known for his life-size dolls and erotic photography. His earliest dolls—perversions of the female form with legs growing out of legs—were created out of a desire to oppose the Nazi Regime’s goal of so-called physical perfection. “The female body is like an endless sentence that invites us to rearrange it,” the artist once observed, “so that its real meaning becomes clear through a series of endless anagrams.” He was born on March 13, 1902 in Kattowitz, Germany, in what is now Poland. Once he received the label of degenerate artist, Bellmer fled his home country and moved to Paris, where his challenging work was embraced by members of the Surrealist movement, especially André Breton. After the war, the artist moved into other media, including sexually explicit photography and paintings that explored fetishism through dream-like imagery. He notably collaborated with the artist Unica Zürn on the photographic series Unica Tied Up, featuring close-up images of flesh bulging around tight rope binding in an investigation of sadomasochistic practices. Bellmer died on February 23, 1975 in Paris, France at the age of 72.

Hans Bellmer Artworks

Hans Bellmer (2,867 results)
Petit traite de morale, 1968 (portfolio of 10), 1968

Hans Bellmer

Petit traite de morale, 1968 (portfolio of 10), 1968

Sale Date: September 25, 2015

Auction Closed

Les Crimes de l'Amour, 1968

Hans Bellmer

Les Crimes de l'Amour, 1968

Sale Date: August 25, 2015

Auction Closed

La Chauve-Souris, 1968

Hans Bellmer

La Chauve-Souris, 1968

Sale Date: August 25, 2015

Auction Closed

The Body and Eye, 1965

Hans Bellmer

The Body and Eye, 1965

Sale Date: June 24, 2014

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1972

Hans Bellmer

Untitled, 1972

Sale Date: July 16, 2015

Auction Closed

Fille Fleur au Camp des Mines, 1963

Hans Bellmer

Fille Fleur au Camp des Mines, 1963

Sale Date: July 2, 2015

Auction Closed

Nora, 1949

Hans Bellmer

Nora, 1949

Sale Date: July 2, 2015

Auction Closed

Etude de Tete, 1963

Hans Bellmer

Etude de Tete, 1963

Sale Date: July 2, 2015

Auction Closed

Femmes, 1964

Hans Bellmer

Femmes, 1964

Sale Date: July 2, 2015

Auction Closed

Etude de Tete, Nora?

Hans Bellmer

Etude de Tete, Nora?

Sale Date: July 2, 2015

Auction Closed

Composition, 1961

Hans Bellmer

Composition, 1961

Sale Date: June 24, 2015

Auction Closed

Visage, 1986

Hans Bellmer

Visage, 1986

Sale Date: June 24, 2015

Auction Closed

Sans titre, 1986

Hans Bellmer

Sans titre, 1986

Sale Date: June 24, 2015

Auction Closed

Georges Bataille. Madame Edwarda, 1955

Hans Bellmer

Georges Bataille. Madame Edwarda, 1955

Sale Date: June 18, 2015

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L'Envers et l'Endroit (bk by Camus w/1 work), 1956

Hans Bellmer

L'Envers et l'Endroit (bk by Camus w/1 work), 1956

Sale Date: June 22, 2015

Auction Closed

La toupie, 1968

Hans Bellmer

La toupie, 1968

Sale Date: June 26, 2015

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Sans titre, 1962

Hans Bellmer

Sans titre, 1962

Sale Date: June 24, 2015

Auction Closed

Etude préparatoire au Portrait d'Unica..., 1961–1962

Hans Bellmer

Etude préparatoire au Portrait d'Unica..., 1961–1962

Sale Date: June 24, 2015

Auction Closed

St. Cyr, 1965

Hans Bellmer

St. Cyr, 1965

Sale Date: June 11, 2015

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La Céphalopode Double, 1902

Hans Bellmer

La Céphalopode Double, 1902

Sale Date: June 12, 2015

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Female Portrait, 1945

Hans Bellmer

Female Portrait, 1945

Sale Date: June 19, 2015

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Untitled, 1939

Hans Bellmer

Untitled, 1939

Sale Date: June 19, 2015

Auction Closed

Die Puppe, 1934

Hans Bellmer

Die Puppe, 1934

Sale Date: June 19, 2015

Auction Closed

Oeillades ciselées en branche, 1939

Hans Bellmer

Oeillades ciselées en branche, 1939

Sale Date: June 19, 2015

Auction Closed