Portrait of Jean Arp 1957

This is Hans Bellmer’s drawing of Jean Arp, and it’s at the Tate. It's just pencil on paper, but it's how Bellmer uses that pencil, so delicately, that’s really fascinating. Look closely and you can see how the pale grey of the paper almost glows through the drawing. It’s like Arp’s face is emerging from a mist, with very few lines actually closed. There’s something spectral about this. Notice those tiny, almost hesitant strokes that make up the side of Arp's nose. Each one feels considered, like Bellmer is trying to feel his way into Arp’s very being. Bellmer had a real interest in the body, and in deconstructing it. You can see this at play even in this seemingly straightforward portrait. The man feels solid, but he’s built from fragile, tentative lines. You could say, in its quiet way, that it reminds me of some of Giacometti's drawings. It’s all about searching and questioning, rather than making a solid, definitive statement.