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

Hans Bellmer's 1938 "The Doll" (Maquette for The Doll's Games) is a disturbing and unsettling photographic representation of a dismembered female doll. The doll, constructed of plaster and wood, is bound with rope and its parts are grotesquely distorted. Its position on the staircase emphasizes its vulnerability and isolation, creating an atmosphere of unease. Bellmer's use of the doll as a subject is considered a potent expression of the anxieties and taboos surrounding the female body in a society dominated by men. This work remains a controversial but thought-provoking commentary on the nature of beauty, femininity, and control.