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 (2,830 results)
Etude pour l'ex-libris de Camille Aboussouan, 1955

Hans Bellmer

Etude pour l'ex-libris de Camille Aboussouan, 1955

Sale Date: November 4, 2015

Auction Closed

Jeux érotiques

Hans Bellmer

Jeux érotiques

Sale Date: November 4, 2015

Auction Closed

Composition aux coeurs

Hans Bellmer

Composition aux coeurs

Sale Date: November 4, 2015

Auction Closed

Portrait présumé de Jean-Louis Barrault

Hans Bellmer

Portrait présumé de Jean-Louis Barrault

Sale Date: November 4, 2015

Auction Closed

Femmes

Hans Bellmer

Femmes

Sale Date: October 10, 2015

Auction Closed

LES JEUX DE LA POUPÉE, 1938–1949

Hans Bellmer

LES JEUX DE LA POUPÉE, 1938–1949

Sale Date: October 27, 2015

Auction Closed

L'érotomane

Hans Bellmer

L'érotomane

Sale Date: October 24, 2015

Auction Closed

Composition (ca. 1955), 1955

Hans Bellmer

Composition (ca. 1955), 1955

Sale Date: October 24, 2015

Auction Closed

Souterrain No. 13, 1965

Hans Bellmer

Souterrain No. 13, 1965

Sale Date: September 24, 2015

Auction Closed

LA POUPÉE (WITH CARPET BEATER), 1937

Hans Bellmer

LA POUPÉE (WITH CARPET BEATER), 1937

Sale Date: October 7, 2015

Auction Closed

Souterrain No. 13, 1965

Hans Bellmer

Souterrain No. 13, 1965

Sale Date: September 24, 2015

Auction Closed

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