Question 1

Where can I see Claude Cahun's work?

Accepted Answer

It is difficult to say which museums hold Cahun's work. However, several museums hold collections of Bauhaus art and related materials; these may be a starting point for research. These include the Bauhaus-Archiv, Museum für Gestaltung, in Berlin; the Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau in Dessau; and the Stiftung Meisterhäuser Dessau (Meisterhaus Kandinsky - Klee), also in Dessau.

Other institutions with Bauhaus collections are the Klassik Stiftung Weimar/Bauhaus-Museum and the Bauhaus-Museum Weimar, both in Weimar. Outside of Germany, the Zentrum Paul Klee Bern in Bern, Switzerland, and the Busch-Reisinger Museum in Cambridge, MA, USA, also maintain relevant collections. In Japan, the Utsunomiya Museum of Art (Utsunomiya) and the Misawa Bauhaus Collection (Tokio) may be useful resources. Always check museum websites for current exhibition details and collection information.

Question 2

What should I know about Claude Cahun's prints?

Accepted Answer

Claude Cahun (born Lucy Schwob in Nantes, 1894; died 1954) was associated with the Surrealist movement in Paris. Cahun adopted a gender-ambiguous first name, and often appeared in self-portraits as a dandy with masculine attire and short hair.

Cahun's photographic work includes self-portraits and photomontages. These images explore themes of identity, gender, and the self as a performance. Cahun's prose poem *Aveux non Avenus* (1930) includes photomontages created with Suzanne Malherbe (who used the name Moore). One image from this book, *I.O.U. (Self-Pride)* (1929-30), depicts multiple heads, seemingly all Cahun, rising from one neck.

Cahun rarely exhibited her photographs during her lifetime, although she shared them with friends. A lithograph of Cahun's 1928 photograph *Que me veux-tu?* appeared on the cover of Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes’s novel *Frontières humaines* (1929). Cahun also created original art for an illustration in Lise Deharme's *Le Coeur depic* (1937).

Question 3

Why are Claude Cahun's works important today?

Accepted Answer

Claude Cahun (born Lucy Schwob) explored gender and identity through photography and writing. Cahun's work is important because it challenges conventional ideas about masculinity and femininity.

Cahun adopted a gender-ambiguous name and often dressed in masculine clothing for self-portraits. These portraits question the idea that outward displays of gender are based on biological sex. Instead, they show the ability to cross artificially imposed boundaries and claim various gendered identities. Cahun's lesbianism allowed access to identities beyond those considered appropriately feminine.

Cahun's photographs were often produced in a domestic setting and not widely circulated. This private nature may account for the degree of masculinity adopted in the images, as cross-dressing was illegal in France at the time. The artist's work thematises lesbianism and the creation of alternative possibilities for the lesbian subject. Cahun and partner Marcel Moore created images that revealed the many possibilities that invisibility afforded the lesbian subject.

Question 4

What techniques or materials did Claude Cahun use?

Accepted Answer

Claude Cahun was a multimedia artist who explored themes of identity, gender and sexuality through a variety of techniques. Photography became a dominant medium in Cahun's artistic output.

Cahun frequently employed photography and photomontage to construct alternative possibilities for the lesbian subject. These techniques suited Cahun's agenda of creating identities that did not really exist, but which photography made into real possibilities. Cahun often created theatrical self-portraits using costumes, masks and make-up. These portraits, staged in domestic settings, challenge the idea that outward displays of masculinity and femininity are predicated upon biological sex.

Cahun's partner, Marcel Moore, collaborated on much of this photographic work. Moore is credited with composing the heliogravures for Cahun's book *Aveux non avenus* ("Disavowals") from Cahun's designs.

Question 5

Who did Claude Cahun influence?

Accepted Answer

Claude Cahun's explorations of gender ambiguity have influenced later artists. Cahun understood gender identity as a cultural construction, something performed rather than innate. Her portraits often feature costumes, theatrical make-up, and masks; this emphasis on the constructed nature of identity, rather than the body itself, sets her apart from some other Surrealists.

Cahun's self-portraits, often taken in private settings, allowed her to explore androgynous or masculinised appearances at a time when cross-dressing was illegal in France. One photograph, taken in 1919, depicts Sylvia Beach, the famous lesbian owner of the bookshop Maison des Amis des Livres, in non-feminine clothing. Cahun's portraits from around 1920 show her in more masculine attire; a shaved head, dandy-like clothing, and cigarette.

Comparisons have been drawn between Cahun and Cindy Sherman, although Cahun never widely circulated or exhibited her photographs during her lifetime. A lithograph of Cahun's 1928 photograph, Que me veux-tu?, appeared on the cover of Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes’s novel Frontières humaines in 1929.

Question 6

Who influenced Claude Cahun?

Accepted Answer

Claude Cahun (born Lucy Schwob) was influenced by a range of artistic and literary figures. Her uncle, Marcel Schwob, a friend of Alfred Jarry, was connected to symbolist poets. Cahun's own writing shows the impact of Arthur Rimbaud and the Symbolists. She translated Havelock Ellis, the sexologist, and wrote on human sexuality. Her 1930 book, *Aveux non Avenus*, shows a surrealist spirit, and Pierre MacOrlan compared it to Isabelle Eberhardt's memoirs.

Cahun was close to the Surrealist Group by 1932, participating in the 1936 surrealist objects exhibition in Paris. She collaborated on journals such as *Minotaure* and *Cahiers d’art*. Some scholars compare Cahun to Cindy Sherman. One of Cahun's earliest self-portraits stages her as a double of the courtesan Cléo de Mérode. The lesbian painter Romaine Brooks, who often portrayed her sitters in similar garb, influenced Cahun's artistic identity.

Question 7

What is Claude Cahun's most famous work?

Accepted Answer

Claude Cahun, born Lucy Schwob, was a French artist best known for their photographic self-portraits. These images, mostly small black-and-white photographs, explore themes of gender, identity, and sexuality. Cahun adopted the pseudonym in 1919, reflecting a questioning of established gender norms that was central to their life and art.

Many of these self-portraits feature Cahun in elaborate costumes and theatrical settings. The artist often stares directly at the viewer, creating an intense and confrontational gaze. These photographs were largely private, not intended for public display during Cahun's lifetime. One exception is a self-portrait published in the journal *Bifur* in 1930.

Cahun's stepsister and lifelong partner, Marcel Moore (born Suzanne Malherbe), collaborated on many of these works. Moore is believed to have been the photographer behind most of Cahun's portraits. Some double portraits from 1926 evoke the couple's collaborative nature, showing masked figures made of sand. Cahun's work experienced a revival in the 1980s, leading to increased recognition within art history.

Question 8

What style or movement did Claude Cahun belong to?

Accepted Answer

Claude Cahun (born Lucy Schwob in Nantes, 1894) is associated with Surrealism. By 1932, Cahun was active in the Association des Écrivains et Artistes Révolutionnaires. Soon after, she joined the Surrealist Group. Cahun participated in the 1936 Surrealist objects exhibition in Paris. She also contributed to the journals *Minotaure* and *Cahiers d’art*.

Cahun's work explores themes of identity, gender ambiguity, and the performative nature of masculinity and femininity. Cahun adopted a gender-ambiguous pseudonym and often appeared in masculine attire and short hair in self-portraits. Cahun translated Havelock Ellis and, in her prose poem *Aveux non Avenus*, examined the divided self, continuing the literary legacy of Arthur Rimbaud and the Symbolists. Her exploration of identity as a masquerade is evident in her self-portraits, where she often wears masks and costumes.

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Where to See Claude Cahun

About Claude Cahun

🇫🇷 France

Nantes Museum of Arts

🇪🇸 Spain

Institut Valencià d'Art Modern

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