The Doll (Maquette for The Doll's Games) 1938

Hans Bellmer made this doll sometime in the mid 20th century, as a sort of pre-production sketch for his photographic series. What's fascinating is how Bellmer treats the human form, breaking it down, reassembling it, like some kind of Surrealist Lego set. The surface of the doll has this mottled texture, almost like skin, making it both alluring and deeply unsettling. There's a weird vulnerability to it, lying there on the crumpled sheets, evoking those uncanny valley feelings. The pastel colors, the pinks and grays, feel both innocent and perverse, it’s like a bruise. Look at the ball joint where the limbs connect. It’s so exposed, so raw. You can see the artifice. For me, Bellmer is on a similar path to Philip Guston, who once used to do these representational images that were about dismemberment and vulnerability and about life being broken up into little pieces. Ultimately, art is about unsettling us, showing us that everything we think we know can be turned inside out.