Image I: Charles Gesmar, Barbette Poster, 1926, printed ink on paper, Victoria & Albert Museum, London (source).
Image II: Man Ray, Barbette Dressing, 1926, gelatin silver print, The Met, New York (source).
Groupie Fact: American performer Vander Clyde was more widely known as his drag cabaret and trapeze act persona "Barbette." Clyde began working as a circus acrobat in his teens before becoming a vaudeville star in his early 20s. While Barbette was a star among the European entertainment circuit - appearing at venues such as the Moulin Rouge -, she was also a muse to surrealist artists Jean Cocteau and Man Ray. Cocteau allegedly fell in love with Clyde's Barbette persona but the relationship did not last. Barbette is immortalized in the intimate photographic portraits Cocteau commissioned Man Ray to take, such as the one seen here.
To learn more about Barbette, click here.
