Self Portrait, c. 1927

Details

CLAUDE CAHUN (1894-1954)
Self Portrait, c. 1927
gelatin silver print
9 5/8 x 7 5/8in. (24.5 x 19.3cm.)

Provenance

From the artist;
by bequest to the present owner

Literature

Leperlier, ed., Claude Cahun: Photographe, Paris Musées Jean-Michel Place, 1995, cat. no. 46, pp. 47, 141; Ander and Snauwaert, eds., Claude Cahun: Bilder, Schirmer/Mosel, 1997, cat. no. 46, pp. 29-117 and front cover; Downie, ed., Don't Kiss Me: The Art of Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, Aperture Jersey Heritage Trust, 2006, pp. 54, 120-121, variant croppings

Lot Essay

The androgynous poet Claude Cahun, who was linked to the Surrealist movement, made this self-portrait with her face against a mirror to suggest the duality of her nature. She cropped the picture tighter for the enlargement she made for use in a window display (see figs.) to promote her 1930 book, Aveux non avenus. Most of Cahun's photographs exist only as contact prints, thus the present enlargement print is extremely rare.

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