Claude Cahun (, born Lucy Renee Mathilde Schwob; 25 October 1894 – 8 December 1954) was a French surrealist

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in oth ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, and writer. Schwob adopted the pseudonym Claude Cahun in 1914. Cahun is best known as a writer and

self-portrait A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century tha ...

ist, who assumed a variety of performative personae. In her writing she consistently referred to herself as "elle" (she), and this article follows her practice; but she also said that her actual gender was fluid. For example, in ''Disavowals'', Cahun writes: "Masculine? Feminine? It depends on the situation. is the only gender that always suits me." During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Cahun was also active as a resistance worker and propagandist.

Early life

Cahun was born in

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

in 1894, into a well-off literary Jewish family.

Avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretica ...

writer

Marcel Schwob Mayer André Marcel Schwob, known as Marcel Schwob (23 August 1867 – 26 February 1905), was a French symbolist writer best known for his short stories and his literary influence on authors such as Jorge Luis Borges, Alfonso Reyes, Roberto Bo ...

was her uncle and Orientalist David Léon Cahun was her great-uncle. When Cahun was four years old, her mother, Mary-Antoinette Courbebaisse, began suffering from mental illness, which ultimately led to her mother's permanent internment at a psychiatric facility. In her mother's absence, Cahun was brought up by her grandmother, Mathilde. Cahun attended a private school ( Parsons Mead School) in Surrey after experiences with antisemitism at high school in Nantes. She attended the University of Paris, Sorbonne. She began making photographic self-portraits as early as 1912 (aged 18), and continued taking images of herself throughout the 1930s. Around 1914, she changed her name to Claude Cahun, after having previously used the names Claude Courlis (after the curlew) and Daniel Douglas (after

Lord Alfred Douglas Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas (22 October 1870 – 20 March 1945), also known as Bosie Douglas, was an English poet and journalist, and a lover of Oscar Wilde. At Oxford he edited an undergraduate journal, ''The Spirit Lamp'', that carried a homoer ...

). During the early 1920s, she settled in Paris with lifelong partner

Suzanne Malherbe Marcel Moore (born Suzanne Alberte Malherbe, 19 July 1892 – 19 February 1972) was a French illustrator, designer, and photographer. She, along with her romantic and creative partner Claude Cahun, was a surrealist writer and photographer. Ear ...

, who adopted the pseudonym ''Marcel Moore''. The two became step-sisters in 1917 after Cahun's divorced father and Moore's widowed mother married, eight years after Cahun and Moore's artistic and romantic partnership began. For the rest of their lives together, Cahun and Moore collaborated on various written works, sculptures, photomontages and collages. The two published articles and novels, notably in the periodical ''

Mercure de France The was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group. The gazette was published ...

'', and befriended Henri Michaux, Pierre Morhange, and

Robert Desnos Robert Desnos (; 4 July 1900 – 8 June 1945) was a French poet who played a key role in the Surrealist movement of his day. Biography Robert Desnos was born in Paris on 4 July 1900, the son of a licensed dealer in game and poultry at the '' ...

. Around 1922 Cahun and Moore began holding artists' salons at their home. Among the regulars who would attend were artists Henri Michaux and

André Breton André Robert Breton (; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first '' Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') ...

and literary entrepreneurs

Sylvia Beach Sylvia may refer to: People *Sylvia (given name) * Sylvia (singer), American country music and country pop singer and songwriter *Sylvia Robinson, American singer, record producer, and record label executive * Sylvia Vrethammar, Swedish singer cre ...

and Adrienne Monnier.

Work

Cahun's works encompassed writing, photography, and theatre, of which the most remembered are the highly staged self-portraits and tableaux that incorporated the visual aesthetics of

Surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

. During the 1920s, Cahun produced an astonishing number of self-portraits in various guises such as aviator, dandy, doll, body builder, vamp and vampire, angel, and Japanese puppet. Some of Cahun's portraits feature the artist looking directly at the viewer, head shaved, often revealing only head and shoulders (eliminating body from the view), and a blurring of gender indicators and behaviors which serve to undermine the patriarchal gaze.Cole, Julie, ‘Claude Cahun, Marcel Moore and the Collaborative Construction of a Lesbian Subjectivity’, in Norma Broude and Mary D. Garrard (eds.), Reclaiming Female Agency: Feminist Art History after Postmodernism (California: University of California Press, 2005), 343–60. Scholar Miranda Welby-Everard has written about the importance of theatre, performance, and costume that underlies Cahun's work, suggesting how this may have informed the artist's varying gender presentations. Cahun's published writings include "Heroines," (1925) a series of monologues based upon female fairy tale characters intertwined with witty comparisons to the contemporary image of women; '' Aveux non avenus'', (Carrefour, 1930) a book of essays and recorded dreams illustrated with photomontages; and several essays in magazines and journals. In 1932, Cahun joined the Association des Écrivains et Artistes Révolutionnaires, where she met

and René Crevel. Following this, Cahun began associating with the surrealist group and later participated in a number of surrealist exhibitions, including the London International Surrealist Exhibition (New Burlington Gallery) and Exposition surréaliste d'Objets ( Charles Ratton Gallery, Paris), both in 1936. Cahun's photograph from the London exhibition of Sheila Legge standing in the middle of

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

, her head obscured by a

flower arrangement Floral design or flower arrangement is the art of using plant materials and flowers to create an eye-catching and balanced composition or display. Evidence of refined floristry is found as far back as the culture of ancient Egypt. Professionally ...

and pigeons perching on her outstretched arms, appeared in numerous newspapers and was later reproduced in a number of books. In 1934, Cahun published a short polemic essay, ''Les Paris sont Ouverts'', and in 1935 took part in the founding of the left-wing anti-fascist alliance ''Contre Attaque'', alongside

and

Georges Bataille Georges Albert Maurice Victor Bataille (; ; 10 September 1897 – 9 July 1962) was a French philosopher and intellectual working in philosophy, literature, sociology, anthropology, and history of art. His writing, which included essays, novels ...

. Breton called Cahun "one of the most curious spirits of our time." In 1994, the

Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch, the I ...

in London held an exhibition of Cahun's photographic self-portraits from 1927–47, alongside the work of two young contemporary British artists,

Virginia Nimarkoh Virginia Agyeiwah Nimarkoh (born January 1967) is a British artist and activist, based in London. Nimarkoh was born in London, and studied at Goldsmiths College London from 1986 to 1989, graduating with a PhD in Fine Art (Theory & Practice ...

and

Tacita Dean Tacita Charlotte Dean CBE, RA (born 1965) is a British / German visual artist who works primarily in film. She was a nominee for the Turner Prize in 1998, won the Hugo Boss Prize in 2006, and was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 2008. ...

, entitled ''Mise en Scene''. In the surrealist self-portraits, Cahun represented herself as an androgyne, nymph, model, and soldier. In 2007,

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

created a multi-media exhibition of Cahun's work in the gardens of the General Theological Seminary in New York. It was part of a venue called the Highline Festival, which also included offerings by Air, Laurie Anderson, and Mike Garson. Bowie said of Cahun:

You could call her transgressive or you could call her a cross-dressing Man Ray with surrealist tendencies. I find this work really quite mad, in the nicest way. Outside of France and now the UK she has not had the kind of recognition that, as a founding follower, friend and worker of the original Surrealist movement, she surely deserves.

Collaboration with Marcel Moore

Cahun's work was often a collaboration with

Marcel Moore Marcel Moore (born Suzanne Alberte Malherbe, 19 July 1892 – 19 February 1972) was a French illustrator, designer, and photographer. She, along with her romantic and creative partner Claude Cahun, was a surrealist writer and photographer. Ear ...

. Cahun and Moore collaborated frequently, though this often goes unrecognized. It is believed that Moore was often the person standing behind the camera during Cahun's portrait shoots and was an equal partner in Cahun's collages. With the majority of the photographs attributed to Cahun coming from a personal collection, not one meant for public display, it has been proposed that these personal photographs allowed for Cahun to experiment with gender presentation and the role of the viewer to a greater degree.

World War II activism

In 1937 Cahun and Moore settled in

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the ...

. Following the fall of France and the German occupation of Jersey and the other Channel Islands, they became active as resistance workers and propagandists. Fervently against war, the two worked extensively in producing anti-German fliers. Many were snippets from English-to-German translations of BBC reports on the Nazis' crimes and insolence, which were pasted together to create rhythmic poems and harsh criticism. They created many of these messages under the German pseudonym Der Soldat Ohne Namen, or The Soldier With No Name, to deceive German soldiers that there was a conspiracy among the occupation troops. The couple then dressed up and attended many German military events in Jersey, strategically placing their pamphlets in soldier's pockets, on their chairs, and in cigarette boxes for soldiers to find. Additionally, they inconspicuously crumpled up and threw their fliers into cars and windows. On one occasion, they hung a banner in a local church which read “Jesus is great, but Hitler is greater – because Jesus died for people, but people die for Hitler.” As with much of Cahun and Moore's artistic work in Paris, many of their notes also used this same style of dark humor. In many ways, Cahun and Moore's resistance efforts were not only political but artistic actions, using their creative talents to manipulate and undermine the authority which they despised. In many ways, Cahun's life's work was focused on undermining a certain authority; however, their activism posed a threat to their physical safety. As historian Jeffrey H. Jackson writes in his definitive study of their wartime resistance ''Paper Bullets'', for Cahun and Moore, “fighting the German occupation of Jersey was the culmination of lifelong patterns of resistance, which had always borne a political edge in the cause of freedom as they carved out their own rebellious way of living in the world together. For them, the political was always deeply personal.” In 1944, Cahun and Moore were arrested and sentenced to death, but the sentence was never carried out, as the island was liberated from German occupation in 1945. However, Cahun's health never recovered from her treatment in jail, and she died in 1954. Cahun is buried in

St Brelade's Church St Brelade's Church is one of the twelve ancient parish churches in the island of Jersey; it is sited on the west side of the island in the parish of St Brelade, in the southwest corner of St Brelade's Bay. It is unique in the Channel Islands ...

with partner

. At the trial, Cahun said to the German judge (according to the documentary on the Occupation of the Channel Islands, by John Nettles) that the Germans would have to shoot her twice, as she was not only a Resister but a Jew. This apparently brought a peal of laughter from the court and is said to have been one reason the execution was not carried out (Martin Sugarman, AJEX Archivist).

Social critique and legacy

Chînm'tchiéthe Saint Brélade Jèrri Schwob Malherbe Claude Cahun

Cahun made work for herself and did not want to be famous. It wasn't until 40 years after her death that Cahun's work became recognized. In many ways, Cahun's life was marked by actions which revolted against convention and her public image has since become a commentary which challenges the public's notions of gender, beauty, and logic. Her work was meant to unsettle the audience's understanding of photography as a documentation of reality. Furthermore, her poetry challenged gender roles of the time and attacked the increasingly modern world's social and economic boundaries. Also, Cahun's participation with the Parisian Surrealist group brought an element of diversity to the group's output which ushered in new representations. Most Surrealist artists were men, whose primary images of women depicted them as isolated symbols of eroticism rather than as the chameleonic,

gender non-conforming Gender variance or gender nonconformity is behavior or gender expression by an individual that does not match masculine or feminine gender norms. A gender-nonconforming person may be variant in their gender identity, being transgender or non-bina ...

figure that Cahun presented. Cahun’s photographs, writings, and general life as an artistic and political revolutionary continues to influence artists. Cahun's collected writings were published in 2002 as ''Claude Cahun – Écrits'' (), edited by François Leperlier. Claude Cahun Marcel Moore Paris

In 2018, a street of Paris took the name of " Allée Claude Cahun – Marcel Moore" (area of Saint-Germain-des-Prés – Montparnasse, near the rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs where Claude and Suzanne lived). Rupert Thomson's 2018 novel, ''Never Anyone But You'', was based on the life of Cahun and Moore. It was favourably reviewed by

Adam Mars-Jones Adam Mars-Jones (born 26 October 1954) is a British novelist and literary and film critic. Early life and education Mars-Jones was born in London, to Sir William Mars-Jones (1915–1999), a Welsh High Court judge and a President of the Londo ...

in the ''London Review of Books''. Cahun and Moore's WWII activism and heroism are documented by Jeffrey H. Jackson in the 2020 book, ''Paper Bullets: Two Artists Who Risked Their Lives to Defy the Nazis.'' Google honored Claude Cahun by showing an animated Doodle on its home page in many countries on October 25, 2021, on the anniversary of what would have been her 127th birthday.

Bibliography

* ''Vues et Visions'' (Pseudonym Claude Courlis), Mercure de France, No. 406, 16 May 1914 *
Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
* ''La 'Salomé' d'Oscar Wilde. Le procés Billing et les 47000 pervertis du Livre noir'', Mercure de France, No. 481, 1 July 1918 *
Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
* ''Le poteau frontière'' (Pseudonym Daniel Douglas), La Gerbe, No. 3, December 1918 *
Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
* ''Au plus beau des anges'' (Pseudonym Daniel Douglas), La Gerbe, No. 3, December 1918 *
Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
* ''Cigarettes'' (Pseudonym Daniel Douglas), La Gerbe, No. 3, December 1918 *
Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
* ''Aux Amis des livres'', La Gerbe, No. 5, February 1919 *
Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
* ''La Sorbonne en robe de fête'' (Pseudonym Daniel Douglas), La Gerbe, No. 5, February 1919 *
Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
* ''La possession du Monde, par Georges Duhamel'', La Gerbe, No. 7, April 1919 *
Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
* ''Les Gerbes'' (Pseudonym Daniel Douglas), La Gerbe, No. 7, April 1919 *
Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
* ''L'amour aveugle'' (Pseudonym Daniel Douglas), La Gerbe, No. 12, September 1919 * ''La machine magique'' (Pseudonym Daniel Douglas), La Gerbe, No. 12, September 1919 * ''

Mathilde Alanic Mathilde Alanic (pen name, Miranda; 10 November 1864 – 20 October 1948) was a French writer of sentimental novels and short stories. Her work appeared in ''Les Annales politiques et littéraires'', ''L'Eventail'', ''Le Magasin pittoresque'', ''M ...

. Les roses refleurissent'', Le Phare de la Loire, 29 June 1919 * ''Le théâtre de mademoiselle, par Mathias Morhardt'', Le Phare de la Loire, 20 July 1919 * ''Vues et Visions'', with Illustrations by Marcel Moore, Paris: Georges Crès & Cie, 1919 * ''Paraboles'' (Pseudonym Daniel Douglas), La Gerbe, No. 17, February 1920 * ''Une conférence de Georges Duhamel'' (Pseudonym Daniel Douglas), La Gerbe, No. 19, April 1920 * ''Marcel Schwob'', La Gerbe, No. 20, May 1920 * ''Boxe'' (Pseudonym Daniel Douglas), La Gerbe, No. 22, July 1920 *
Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
* ''Old Scotch Whisky'', La Gerbe, No. 27, December 1920 *
Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
* ''A propos d'une conference'' and ''Méditations à la faveur d'un Jazz Band'', La Gerbe, No. 27, December 1920 *
Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
* ''Héroïnes: 'Eve la trop crédule', 'Dalila, femme entre les femmes', 'La Sadique Judith', 'Hélène la rebelle', 'Sapho l'incomprise', 'Marguerite, sœur incestueuse', 'Salomé la sceptique''', Mercure de France, No. 639, 1 February 1925 *
Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
* ''Héroïnes: 'Sophie la symboliste', 'la Belle''', Le Journal littéraire, No. 45, 28 February 1925 * ''Méditation de Mademoiselle Lucie Schwob'', Philosophies, No. 5/6, March 1925 * ''Récits de rêve'', in the special edition Les rêves, Le Disque vert, Third year, Book 4, No. 2, 1925 * ''Carnaval en chambre'', La Ligne de cœur, Book 4, March 1926 * ''Ephémérides'', Mercure de France, No. 685, 1 January 1927 *
Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
* ''Au Diable'', Le Plateau, No. 2, May–June 1929 * Ellis, Havelock: ''La Femme dans la société – I. L'Hygiene sociale'', translated by Lucy Schwob, Mercure de France, 1929 * '' Aveux non avenus'', illustrated by Marcel Moore, Paris: Editions du Carrefour, 30 May 1930 *
Review
on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica * ''Frontière Humaine'', self-portrait, Bifur, No. 5, April 1930 * ''Protestez'' ( AEAR), Feuille rouge, No. 2, March 1933 * ''Contre le fascisme Mays aussi contre l'impérialisme francais'' (AEAR), Feuille rouge, No. 4, May 1933 * ''Les Paris sont ouvert'', Paris: José Corti, May 1934 * ''Union de lutte des intellectuels révolutionnaires, Contre-Attaque'', 7 October 1935 * ''Prenez garde aux objets domestique'', Cahier d'Art I-II, 1936 * ''Sous le feu des canons francais ... et alliés'', Contre-Attaque, March 1936 * ''Dissolution de Contre-Attaque'', L'Œuvre, 24 March 1936 * ''Exposition surréaliste d'objets'', Exhibition at the Charles Ratton Gallery, Paris, 22–29 May 1936. Items listed by Claude Cahun are ''Un air de famille'' and ''Souris valseuses'' * ''Il n'y a pas de liberté pour les ennemis de la liberté'', 20 July 1936 * Deharme, Lise: ''Le Cœur de Pic'', 32 illustrated with 20 photos by Claude Cahun, Paris: José Cortis, 1937 * ''Adhésion à la Fédération Internationale de l'Art Révolutionnaire Indépendant'', Clé, No. 1, January 1939 * ''À bas les lettres de cachets! À bas la terreur grise! ''(FIARI), June 1939

References

Sources

Claude Cahun info page

* ttp://courses.washington.edu/femart/final_project/wordpress/claude-cahun/ Feminist Art Archive, University of Washington, 2012, "Claude Cahun"* Bower, Gavin James.
Claude Cahun: Finding a Lost Great
" ''The Guardian''. Guardian News and Media, 14 Feb. 2012. Web. 11 Dec. 2012 * Elkin, Lauren.
Reading Claude Cahun
" ''Quarterly Conversation RSS''. Quarterly Conversation RSS, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2012 * Gen, Doy.
Meta: Claude Cahun-A Sensual Politics of Photography
" ''Meta-Magazine.com''. Mega, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 201 * The Guerilla Girls. "The 20th Century: Women of Isms." ''The Guerrilla Girls’ Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art''. New York: Penguin Group, 1998. 62–63. Print * Shaw, Jennifer. ''Exist Otherwise: The Life and Works of Claude Cahun''. United Kingdom: Reaktion Books, May 2017. Print. * Zachmann, Gayle. ''The Photographic Intertext: Invisible Adventures in the Work of Claude Cahun''. 3rd ed. Vol. 10. N.p.: Taylor and Francis Group, 2006. ''CrossRef''. Web. 11 Dec. 2012. *Jackson, Jeffrey H., ''Paper Bullets:'' ''Two Artists Who Risked Their Lives to Defy the Nazis.'' New York: Algonquin Books, 2020. .

External links

*
Claude Cahun
at Tate

(in French) * ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090420041549/http://www.meta-magazine.com/index.php?id=13 Prof. Gen Doy on Claude Cahun* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cahun, Claude French photographers French surrealist artists 1894 births 1954 deaths French women photographers Feminist artists Lesbian artists French lesbian writers Women surrealist artists French LGBT artists 20th-century French Jews Jewish feminists Jewish artists French people of Jewish descent Artists from Nantes People from Saint Saviour, Jersey 20th-century French non-fiction writers 20th-century photographers 20th-century French women artists 20th-century French women writers People educated at Parsons Mead School French women in World War II French artists French Resistance members Jews in the French resistance LGBT memoirists Female-to-male cross-dressers 20th-century women photographers 20th-century LGBT people