#cha-u-kao

Cha-U-Kao (deceased)

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Lesbian

DOB: N/A 

RIP: N/A

Ethnicity: White - French

Occupation: Entertainer, gymnast, dancer

Note 1: Entertainer who performed at The Moulin Rouge

Very little is known about Cha-U-Kao, not even her real name and birth. She was French entertainer who performed at the Moulin Rouge in the 1890s.

Her Japanese sounding name comes from the French "chahut" - meaning "noise" and "chaos". ChaHut was a more acrobatic version of the Can-Can and her specialty. She brought circus style spectacle to the cabaret and the crowd went wild when she came on stage. Her “clownesse” performances included a distinctive black-and-yellow costume with her hair piled up on her head.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, who frequented the Moulin Rouge, was fascinated with her because she dared to choose a classic male profession - clowning. And because was not afraid to openly declare that she was a lesbian. He included her in many of his paintings.

She had once been a gymnast. But this was much earlier than when Lautrec knew her because she’s depicted as aging and overweight the the paintings.

On this day in 1999, The Seated Clowness by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was first exhibited in the U.S. The 1896 painting depicts Cha-U-Kao, a popular French cabaret performer of the time, sitting alone and stealing a quick moment of silence in between her performances. Cha-U-Kao was a lesbian and it was her unabashed presentation of her sexuality and non-conventional gender expression that made her one of Latrec’s favorite subjects.

The Seated Clowness (Cha-U-Kao) by Henri de Toulouse-Latrec, painted in 1896 (x).

Henri de Toulouse-Latrec made his name on depicting the women who lived in the underbelly of Paris. Some of his most famous pieces depict women dancers, circus performers, and prostitutes in loving embraces with each other. Legend has it that the artist was first exposed to lesbianism in the brothels of Paris, where he discovered that many of the women who worked there were in romantic relationships with each other. The Seated Clowness stands out from the crowd in that it depicts a named lesbian subject who was a famous artist in her own right.

The only known photograph of Cha-U-Kao was captured by Maurice Guilbert, who was also a close friend of Henri de Toulouse-Latrec (x). 

Cha-U-Kao got her stage name from a dance craze called the chahut chaos that was making its way around French dance halls at the time when she was starting her career. She was a frequent performer at both the Moulin Rouge and the Nouveau Cirque throughout the 1890s. Little is known about Cha-U-Kao’s past or where she ended up in life, but Latrec was reportedly fascinated by her enthusiastic approach to her clown persona, a title that was traditionally reserved for the men in the entertainment world. Cha-U-Kao is also depicted in Latrec’s Elles series where he depicts the daily lives of prostitutes and lesbian love within Parisian brothels.  

Cha-U-Kao was a French entertainer, cabaret dancer and clowness who performed at the infamous cabaret Moulin Rouge and the Nouveau Cirque (a Parisian circus) in the 1890s.

Her stage name is a word play on the cancan dance 'Le Chahut' and the chaos created on stage. Her clown costume consisted of a characteristic black and yellow outfit and her hair of a singular updo. Her real name, as well as birth and death dates, are unknown. French painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec often depicted her in his work. She is sometimes sketched with her partner in his portfolio called Elles. Indeed Cha-U-Kao was openly lesbian and her partner could have been Gabrielle the Dancer, another performer and model for Toulouse-Lautrec.

The Clowness Cha-U-Kao Fastening Her Bodice (1895). Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1864-1901). Oil on cardboard. Musée d'Orsay.