✨AI Reimagines the Masters✨ Claude Cahun|75/1000

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Introduce briefly

Claude Cahun, born Lucy Renee Mathilde Schwob, was a French surrealist photographer, sculptor, and writer [1]. She is best known for her self-portraits and her exploration of gender identity and the subconscious mind. Cahun's work challenged the strict gender roles of her time and often featured androgynous appearances [1].

Early Life:

Cahun was born in Nantes, France in 1894, into a well-off literary Jewish family [1].

Her mother suffered from mental illness, leading to her permanent internment at a psychiatric facility. Cahun was raised by her grandmother [1].

She attended a private school in Surrey, England, after experiencing antisemitism in high school [1].

Cahun later attended the University of Paris, Sorbonne [1].

Artistic Career:

Cahun began creating photographic self-portraits as early as 1912, and continued throughout the 1930s [1].

She adopted the pseudonym Claude Cahun in 1914, previously using the names Claude Courlis and Daniel Douglas [1].

Cahun settled in Paris with her lifelong partner Suzanne Malherbe, who adopted the pseudonym Marcel Moore. They collaborated on various written works, sculptures, photomontages, and collages [1].

Her works encompassed writing, photography, sculpture, and theatre, with self-portraits being a prominent part of her oeuvre [1].

Cahun's self-portraits often featured her in various guises, challenging societal norms and gender roles. She used mirrors, collages, and doubling in her photos to reflect the diversion from social norms [1].

She published writings such as "Heroines" (1925) and "Aveux non avenus" (1930), and participated in surrealist exhibitions [1].

World War II Activism:

In 1937, Cahun and Moore settled in Jersey, one of the Channel Islands [1].

During the German occupation of Jersey, they became active as resistance workers and propagandists, producing anti-German fliers and engaging in subversive activities [1].