Portrait de femme

In 1923 Hans Bellmer was sent to Technische Hochschule in Berlin to study engineering. With little enthusiasm for his studies, he became interested in politics and the Dada movement and grew close to George Grosz, his teacher of drawing and perspective. Inspired by Grosz's own disillusionment and critique of Berlin society, Bellmer abandoned his science studies to work as a commercial illustrator contributing to several Dada novels.

The present work, likely executed between 1942 and 1945, demonstrates the meticulous detail of many of the drawings and prints from this period.