Exquisite Corpse
| Artist | Jacques Hérold (Romanian (active in France), 1910–1987) |
|---|---|
| Artist | Yves Tanguy (French, 1900–1955) |
| Artist | Victor Brauner (Romanian, 1903–1966) |
| Title | Exquisite Corpse (Cadavre Exquis) |
| Date | Ca. 1932 |
| Medium | Collage and graphite on paper |
| Dimensions | Sheet: 10 1/2 × 7 7/8 in. (26.7 × 20 cm) Framed: 19 1/2 × 16 × 1 5/8 in. (49.5 × 40.6 × 4.1 cm) |
| Credit Line | Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University |
| Accession Number | 72.152 |
| This artwork is currently off display. You may be able to see this artwork by filling out an art viewing room request. | |
This image depicts a collaged figure with a female head, three breasts, a wide torso with a hole in the center, a phallus, and legs rendered in curling lines. One of the figure's hands holds one of its breasts, and the other arm is raised, holding an object. A hand and a face blowing bubbles emerge from the hole in the figure's torso.
The Surrealists enjoyed a visual game that involved three artists working independently to create a single figurative drawing. The paper was folded in thirds and passed around to participants with only one side exposed. After all the sections had been completed, the paper was unfolded to reveal a fantastic composite image. Reflecting contemporary Freudian ideas about dreams and sexuality, this work’s playful fetishism is suggested by its combination of a doll-like girl’s head, woman’s breasts, collaged male “genitalia,” a central hole, and use of bilingual, off-color slang.
Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.
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"Exquisite Corpse | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=72.152