About this artwork
In his introduction to this Surrealist collaboration, poet Paul Éluard promotes the virtues of experimental poetry. He argues that by defying convention, experimental poetry allows readers to peer deeply into unexpected compositions and perhaps find their authentic self. Hans Bellmer’s “dolls” populating the pages of this book are themselves examples of unexpected compositions. In some photographs, mannequin parts lay in a pile on the studio floor, while in others forests or domestic settings form the backgrounds for sets of disembodied legs. Hand-painted colors lend an otherworldly glow to the silver gelatin prints, highlighting fleshy contours or infusing the whole picture with a neon sheen. Éluard’s fourteen prose poems, originally written in 1938, accompany each photograph, his words suggesting inner desires for these impossible beings and enticing the viewer to find life where there is none. Disrupted by the war, this edition was finally published in 1949 by Éditions Premières, owned by the art dealer Heinz Berggruen. The Art Institute’s example is signed by the artist, and number 118 of an edition of 136.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Ryerson and Burnham Libraries Special Collections
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Artist
- Hans Bellmer
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Title
- Les jeux de la poupée (Games of the Doll)
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Place
- Paris (Object made in:)
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Date
- 1949
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Medium
- Fifteen gelatin silver prints with hand-applied watercolor, mounted on cardstock and bound; two cut-out photocollages, one with added color, on the cover and title page
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Edition
- 118 of an edition of 136, plus six hors-commerce proofs
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Inscriptions
- Signed in graphite "Bellmer" on the second to last page
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Dimensions
- 25 × 20 × 3 cm (9 7/8 × 7 7/8 × 1 3/16 in.)
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Credit Line
- Mary Reynolds Collection, Ryerson & Burnham Libraries
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Reference Number
- 2019.935
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
