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)
Untitled (Columns), 1959

Hans Bellmer

Untitled (Columns), 1959

Sale Date: February 8, 2005

Auction Closed

Unica Zurn ficelée

Hans Bellmer

Unica Zurn ficelée

Sale Date: January 21, 2005

Auction Closed

Unica Zurn

Hans Bellmer

Unica Zurn

Sale Date: January 21, 2005

Auction Closed

Unica Zurn ficelée

Hans Bellmer

Unica Zurn ficelée

Sale Date: January 21, 2005

Auction Closed

Unica Zurn ficelée, 1958

Hans Bellmer

Unica Zurn ficelée, 1958

Sale Date: January 21, 2005

Auction Closed

Sans titre, 1973

Hans Bellmer

Sans titre, 1973

Sale Date: January 21, 2005

Auction Closed

Entre deux eaux, 1968

Hans Bellmer

Entre deux eaux, 1968

Sale Date: January 21, 2005

Auction Closed

La naissance des poupées, 1970

Hans Bellmer

La naissance des poupées, 1970

Sale Date: January 21, 2005

Auction Closed

Analogie III, pl. 3 (from Les Marionettes), 1971

Hans Bellmer

Analogie III, pl. 3 (from Les Marionettes), 1971

Sale Date: October 16, 2004

Auction Closed

Mädchen mit Haarschleife und Kugel, 1961

Hans Bellmer

Mädchen mit Haarschleife und Kugel, 1961

Sale Date: October 16, 2004

Auction Closed

Surrealistische Komposition

Hans Bellmer

Surrealistische Komposition

Sale Date: October 16, 2004

Auction Closed

Dürer gewidmet, 1971–1972

Hans Bellmer

Dürer gewidmet, 1971–1972

Sale Date: October 23, 2004

Auction Closed

Landschaft, 1973

Hans Bellmer

Landschaft, 1973

Sale Date: December 4, 2004

Auction Closed

Erotische Mädchenakt-Darstellung

Hans Bellmer

Erotische Mädchenakt-Darstellung

Sale Date: December 10, 2004

Auction Closed

Sans titre, 1955

Hans Bellmer

Sans titre, 1955

Sale Date: December 12, 2004

Auction Closed

Portrait de femme, 1951

Hans Bellmer

Portrait de femme, 1951

Sale Date: December 7, 2004

Auction Closed

Le chapeau main, 1947

Hans Bellmer

Le chapeau main, 1947

Sale Date: December 6, 2004

Auction Closed

Femme nue debout (+ Étude de profil, verso)

Hans Bellmer

Femme nue debout (+ Étude de profil, verso)

Sale Date: December 6, 2004

Auction Closed

Le bon sens, 1964

Hans Bellmer

Le bon sens, 1964

Sale Date: December 2, 2004

Auction Closed

Les anagrammes du corps (portfolio of 10..., 1973

Hans Bellmer

Les anagrammes du corps (portfolio of 10..., 1973

Sale Date: November 30, 2004

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Vue de Paris, 1926

Hans Bellmer

Vue de Paris, 1926

Sale Date: November 29, 2004

Auction Closed

Untitled

Hans Bellmer

Untitled

Sale Date: December 1, 2004

Auction Closed

Le bas reyes (from An American Portrait,..., 1974

Hans Bellmer

Le bas reyes (from An American Portrait,..., 1974

Sale Date: November 5, 2004

Auction Closed

La céphalopode, 1965

Hans Bellmer

La céphalopode, 1965

Sale Date: October 26, 2004

Auction Closed