Desire and avoidance in art : Pablo Picasso, Hans Bellmer, Balthus and Joseph Cornell : psychobiographical studies with attachment theory

222 Pages·2007·15.26 MB·English

by  Cornell

DESIRE AND
AVOIDANCE
IN ART
PETER LANG
New York ! Washington, D.C./Baltimore ! Bern
Frankfurt am Main ! Berlin ! Brussels ! Vienna ! Oxford
Andrew Brink

DESIRE AND
AVOIDANCE
IN ART

Pablo Picasso, Hans Bellmer,
Balthus, and Joseph Cornell

Psychobiographical Studies
with Attachment Theory

PETER LANG
New York ! Washington, D.C./Baltimore ! Bern
Frankfurt am Main ! Berlin ! Brussels ! Vienna ! Oxford
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Brink, Andrew.
Desire and avoidance in art: Pablo Picasso, Hans Bellmer, Balthus, and Joseph Cornell.
Psychobiographical studies with attachment theory / Andrew Brink.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Male artists—Biography—History and criticism. 2. Male artists—Psychology.
3. Women in art. 4. Man-woman relationships. 5. Attachment behavior. I. Title.
N71.B54 704’.041—dc22 2006101662
ISBN 978-0-8204-9721-1

Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Bibliothek.
Die Deutsche Bibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data is available
on the Internet at http://dnb.ddb.de/.

Cover design by Joni Holst
Cover art by John Miecznikowski

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of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity
of the Council of Library Resources.

© 2007 Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., New York
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All rights reserved.
Reprint or reproduction, even partially, in all forms such as microfilm,
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Printed in Germany
Contents

List of Illustrations vii

Acknowledgments ix

1 Introducing Attachment Theory 1

2 Too Close: Picasso’s Adoring and Damaging Portraits of Women 25

3 Hans Bellmer’s Sacrificial Dolls 77

4 Desire and Avoidance in the Paintings of Balthus 105

5 Joseph Cornell: Avoidance and Enchantment 139

6 An Impossible Quest: Male Artists Avoiding Women 181

Selected Bibliography 195

Index 201

Illustrations

Figure 1. Patterns of Adolescent and Adult Attachment 15

Figure 2. Pablo Picasso 24

Figure 3. Hans Bellmer 76

Figure 4. Balthus 104

Figure 5. Joseph Cornell 138

Acknowledgments

My deepest thanks to Helen Brink for the critical reading of successive drafts
of this book. Darlene James helpfully read an early version of the Picasso
chapter, and Kris Wilson-Yang’s comments have improved clarity
throughout. Patricia Crittenden generously gave permission to use her Adult
Patterns of Attachment chart. John Miecznikowski provided insightful
illustrations, and I gratefully acknowledge Kris Wilson-Yang’s preparation of
the text and index. My thanks to Joshua Kendall for his advice and
support.—AB