La vita, il sogno, la crisi. Le percezioni distorte nell'opera di Unica Zürn

Over the last few years many studies have been carried out on the
presence of a surrealist movement in the first half of 20th-century
Germany. Publications to be mentioned here are, among few others,
Der Surrealismus in Deutschland (?) edited by Karina Schuller and Isabel
Fischer (2016), Surrealismus in der deutschsprachigen Literatur
edited by Friederike Reents (2009), as well as Alltags-Surrealismus.
Literatur, Theater, Film edited by Sven Hanuschek and Margit Dirscherl
(2012). Unica Zürn (1916-1970) represents a particular case
within this scenario: her psychophysical discomfort, in fact, ended up
276 Distorsioni percettive nella Moderne
enhancing the formal suggestions derived from the French and German
Surrealism, which is also due to her tormented relationship with
Hans Bellmer (1902-1975), one of the protagonists of the Parisian
Surrealism. The paper aims to investigate Zürn’s autobiographical
writings – such as Das Haus der Krankheiten – along with others like
Der Mann im Jasmin and Dunkler Frühling. Despite their distance to
the self, indeed, they contribute to sketch her life. By taking into account
her drawings and paintings as well, the paper also analyses how
the practice of a writing that records mental and physical upheavals,
alongside the use of the anagram and the intersections between words
and illustrations, have assumed the value of a therapeutic self-control
over the most acute crises, acting at the same time as a cultural testament
that prefigures the tragic outcome of her existence.