"My work is the revolt of the imagination against the brutality of facts."
(Hans Bellmer)
German Surrealist of Eros and Psychological Depth
Hans Bellmer was a German artist best known for his unsettling doll sculptures, drawings, and lithographs that explore themes of desire, identity, and the fragmented body. Born in 1902 in Kattowitz (then part of Germany), Bellmer rejected the aesthetic and ideological norms of National Socialism in the 1930s, creating works that were deeply personal, provocative, and surreal.
His groundbreaking photographic series “La Poupée” (The Doll) — depicting life-sized, disjointed female dolls — brought him international recognition. After fleeing to Paris in 1938, Bellmer became closely associated with the Surrealist movement, working alongside artists like André Masson and Max Ernst.
Bellmer’s drawings and lithographs are marked by their psychological intensity and erotic tension. Combining dream imagery with anatomical precision, his art remains a powerful and controversial statement on the complexities of the human condition.