Le corps de la folie ou comment Unica Zürn échappe à Hans Bellmer

The exploration of the self in the works of women associated with the Surrealist movement is very often centered on the body. Nevertheless, the gaze these women place on their bodies is necessarily double: they seek to reproduce their own image while taking into account the way there are perceived by Surrealist men, - often their companions, husbands, friends. In this study we will focus on the disturbing and haunting image that Unica Zürn, Surrealist writer-artist, creates of herself, in light of the artistic production of her companion, Hans Bellmer. Specifically, we will focus on how Zürn highlights some aspects of femininity celebrated by the Surrealists and represented in L'Homme-Jasmin (1970), not only the exaltations but also the suffering of a feminine body and mind faced with madness.