Sketches after Nature 1932

Hans Bellmer made this drawing, Sketches after Nature, with pencil on paper. The artwork appears to be a study of planks. Yet, this seemingly mundane sketch takes on a fascinating dimension when viewed through the lens of Bellmer's broader artistic concerns. Bellmer was active in Germany during the rise of fascism. He is best known for his disturbing and controversial doll sculptures, which were a defiant reaction against the Nazi idealization of the perfect Aryan body. His figures were often fragmented, distorted, and eroticized. Bellmer thus challenges viewers to confront uncomfortable truths about desire, power, and the body. To understand this drawing, we might look to primary source documents, like Bellmer’s own writings, and consider the socio-political context in which he was working. In doing so, we come to understand that, for Bellmer, even a simple sketch can be an act of resistance.