Aquatint, 1970

Edition : 95/100

Publisher : Georges Visat (Paris)

Catalog : [Flahutez n°68]

40.00 cm. x 57.00 cm. | 15.75 in. x 22.44 in. (paper)

27.00 cm. x 35.00 cm. | 10.63 in. x 13.78 in. (image)

Executed by Cécile Rheims-Deux in collaboration with Hans Bellmer from a 1940 drawing.
Burin, drypoint and aquatint.
Interpretation engraving by Cécile Reims after a drawing by Bellmer from 1940.
Very yellowed paper.
Traces of framing.
Adhesive on the reverse.

Also known as “Les Milles en feu”, this work by Hans Bellmer dates back to the Second World War, when he was interned for several months at the Milles camp, a former tile factory near Aix-en-Provence. To support himself, Bellmer soon began producing drawings. It was during this period that his obsession with bricks, a symbol of confinement, reached its peak: housed in a windowless brick oven from the camp's “catacombs”, he shared this cramped space serving as both bed and “studio” with Max Ernst.
This engraving is a poignant testimony to this tragic past. It depicts a woman with flaming hair, whose silhouette seems to consume the ruined camp. Her gaze, icy and impassive, rests on the viewer, while her face dislocates into a tangle of bricks, evoking the detention and intense despair of that period.

Certificate of authenticity
Handsigned by the artist in pencil

Ref : LCD2339