Untitled (Variations around La Poupée) 1934

Hans Bellmer made this drawing, one of his "Variations around La Poupée", with pencil, giving it a ghostly, tentative feel. It's like he's thinking through the form of this strange doll-like figure, letting the lines build up and accumulate until the image emerges. I’m really drawn to the texture in this piece; the way the pencil creates a soft, almost hazy atmosphere. Look at the doll's hair for example – it’s not just lines, but a whole field of marks that suggest volume and movement. Then there are those ladders – they kind of dissolve into the background, adding to the dreamlike quality. The doll herself feels like a puzzle, assembled from different parts. Bellmer reminds me of the drawings of Philip Guston, both artists are interested in how the process of making becomes visible in the final work. It's not about perfection, but about the messy, awkward, and ultimately human act of creation.