Biography

Marcelle Cahn wrote a brief autobiography published in the Marcelle Cahn [catalogue], which was released for the traveling exhibition of her works organized by the Centre National d’Art Contemporain (CNAC), Paris, 1972.

In it, she notably lists her encounters with the leading artists of her era.

View the detailed biographical timeline

1895	Born in Strasbourg. Takes her first drawing and painting lessons. Learns the violin, discovers Arnold Schoenberg at a very young age and appreciates his work. Develops an interest in philosophy.
1915-18	In Berlin, attends classes by Eugen Spiro (portraits) and Lovis Corinth (nude drawings) at the Lewin-Funcke Schule (Studienateliers für Malerei und Plastik), Kantstrasse 159, Charlottenburg.
1920	First stay in Paris. Attends Arraujo’s studio for drawing and painting, and experiments with small drawings featuring geometric shapes. Influenced by Cézanne’s painting, of whom she would say, “he has remained for me a pinnacle of modern painting.”
1923	Takes philosophy courses in Zurich. Returning to Paris, she spends two months at the Académie Ranson, where Vuillard teaches, and then at the Académie Moderne, where Othon Friesz teaches.
1925	Attends the Académie de la Grande Chaumière: nudes, still lifes, drawings, cubist and purist paintings. Meets gallery owner Léonce Rosenberg, who introduces her to Fernand Léger at the Académie Moderne, where she works with Fernand Léger and later with Amédée Ozenfant.
1929	Michel Seuphor invites her to join the group “Cercle et Carré” (Circle and Square). She exhibits her work and meets Hans Arp, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Mondrian, Kandinsky, Vantongerloo, and Gorin.
1930-39	Withdraws from the public art scene. Draws and paints in Strasbourg. Short stays in Paris.
1939-45	Withdraws with her mother to Blois, then to Toulouse, where she associates with local painters, takes philosophy courses, and attends lectures by Abbé Breuil and Father Nicolas (Christian faith and ecumenism). Her mother dies on December 19, 1945, in Toulouse; Marcelle Cahn is deeply affected.
1947-81	Reconnects with Paris and her former acquaintances. Constantly creates and experiments, driven by an innovative spirit underpinned by a rich and discreet inner life. Around 1952, she composes linear geometric drawings and collages; around 1953, relief-paintings and linear paintings appear; around 1957, collages on photographs; around 1960, sphere-paintings and spatial works.
1981	Passes away at the age of 86 on September 21, 1981, in Neuilly-sur-Seine.

Based on the biography published in the Galerie Lahumière Catalogue, Paris, 1997. Completed by Elsie Bohr.

Portraits & Historical Photographs

Marcelle Cahn, 1976
Photo by Hildegard Weber

Marcelle Cahn at the Galignani Foundation, 1976
Photo by Claude Huber, Lausanne

Marcelle Cahn in the 1960s
Photo by Pierre Bouchey, 80 rue Daguerre, Paris

Marcelle Cahn in the 1920s
Midget-photo, registered trademark J. LE BRIS, Paris

Marcelle Cahn around 1900
Photo by van Bosch, 4 place Broglie, Strasbourg