Untitled (Double-Sided Portrait of Unica Zürn) (recto) 1954

Hans Bellmer made this portrait of Unica Zürn with lines, a whole lot of them scratched into a dark surface. It looks like the kind of thing you do when you are figuring something out, when you are trying to find a way to describe something that won’t sit still. I love the way Bellmer lays down these insistent, rhythmic marks, which are almost like counting. Each line is precise, yet the overall effect is loose and ethereal. It gives the feeling that these figures are emerging from the darkness, or maybe dissolving back into it. The lines feel raw, immediate, and honest. Look at the way they define the angle of the body, the curve of a limb. This is mark-making that feels very connected to the body, and I see echoes of other artists who also worked with a similar vocabulary of line, like Giacometti. Bellmer isn’t interested in a fixed image but in the potential for art to hold multiple meanings. It’s like he’s saying, “Here’s a drawing, but it’s also a question.”