Softcore Surrealism: Inserting Hans Bellmer\u27s The Doll into the History of Pornography

This thesis explores the relationship between Surrealist photographer Hans Bellmer’s first book, The Doll, and late 19th and early 20th century pornography. Two copies of The Doll from 1934 and 1936, the German and French publication dates, are analyzed to track the effects of changing censorship laws on Bellmer’s publication process. The historical context of Weimar Berlin and 1930s Paris are utilized to examine the visual similarities between pornographic media of the era and The Doll. These similarities have been largely ignored in previous scholarly study, excluding a major source of visual analysis. The pornographic media discussed will give background to Bellmer\u27s infamous depictions of his pubescent doll