The Doll (Atlas Anti-Classic 14)

158, [2] pp. Translated fro the original German by Malcolm Green. German artist Hans Bellmer (1902–1975) was one of the most subversive artists associated with Surrealism, famous - notorious, even - for his erotic engravings, objects and photographs. The first edition of The Doll comprised a series of Bellmer's photographs 'illustrated' with prose poems by Paul Eluard; Bellmer’s hand-colored photographs subsequently acquired an iconic status as perhaps the purest exemplification of the Surrealist ideal of 'convulsive beauty.' Later editions of the book were expanded to incorporate a body of theoretical, poetic and speculative texts that together comprise one of the most important expositions of Surrealist cultural theory. Bellmer weaves a remarkably disparate set of concepts and intuitions - from fields as diverse as mathematics, morphology, optics and psychology - into a theory of eroticism that provides a totally unexpected rationale for his uncompromising art. His ideas are, in the words of poet Joë Bousquet, a 'scandal to reason.' This English edition follows Bellmer’s original, the texts having been translated for the first time - by Malcolm Green, who also provides an introduction - from the final German version. Includes a suite of poems by Paul Eluard, 15 colour and 10 black and white photographs, plus numerous line drawings.