Hans Bellmer

Untitled

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About this artwork

This drawing is dedicated to the young French poetess and Surrealist muse Gisèle Prassinos. The Gallery also owns a photograph of Prassinos reading her poetry to an enraptured group of Surrealists. In 1935 Bellmer made the frontispiece for a book by Prassinos and the following year the fifteen-year-old dedicated several of her writings to Bellmer. This drawing is believed to have been made by Bellmer around this time. White ink on black paper was a favourite medium of the artist. The subject of Bellmer’s drawing is a typically perverse twist on the fairytale idea of a princess being menaced by a dragon. A fearsome dragon emerges from a fireplace like a grasping hand while two female victims are suspended from the ceiling.

Updated before 2020

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  • artist:
    Hans Bellmer (1902 - 1975) German
  • title:
    Untitled
  • date created:
    About 1935 - 1936
  • materials:
    Ink and collage on black paper
  • measurements:
    24.00 x 19.00 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Bequeathed by Gabrielle Keiller 1995
  • accession number:
    GMA 3943
  • gallery:
  • subject:
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Hans Bellmer

Hans Bellmer