The king maker …
Dora Maar’s famed 1936 surrealist photo is named after Ubu Roi, the absurd, potty-mouthed tyrant in Alfred Jarry’s 1896 play of the same name. Jarry’s modern man is a fat, greedy fool, ruled by temper tantrums, and Maar’s creature, with its long grasping fingers, beady eye in a denuded head and slack, armoured belly, is a surefire turn-off.
Postcards from the edge …
Its psychic shock-factor made it one of surrealism’s most feted images, enjoying life as a postcard while featuring in the group’s landmark exhibitions.
Mysterious skin …
Maar kept stumm regarding her source material, preferring to let viewers guess at what this semi-armoured yet oddly vulnerable and soft-skinned alien might be. It is now believed to be an armadillo foetus preserved in formaldehyde.
As tears go by …
When Maar began her notorious relationship with Picasso in 1936, he began coaxing her away from photography. Until recently, she has been best known as the model for his Weeping Women paintings.
Tate Modern, SE1, to 15 March
