Virtually no art nouveauartist has attracted so much attention, not only because of her art but especially because of her lifestyle as the Danish painter and illustrator Gerda Marie Frederike Wegener (1886-1940). She was born in Northern Schleswig, but because of her love of art she decided to leave for Copenhagen at an early age to pursue an education at the Royal Art Academy.
Gender Reassignment Surgery
In 1904 she married the artist Einar Wegener, who increasingly recognized his feminine identity. He later called himself Lili Elbe (Fig.2) and was the first person in the world to undergo gender reassignment surgery.
Fig.1. Portrait of Wegener at the age of 22
Desire for Female
Gerda Wegener’s unlimited tolerance and her openness regarding her own lesbian tendencies make her a pioneer of self-confident female sexuality. Gerda Wegener’s art is an expression of her dazzling life. She painted sensual, self-confident, modern and elegant women who were not ashamed of that. Wegener honored female beauty, friskiness and seductiveness, nudity and role play. Her often erotic works reflect the desire for the female, even include lesbian
sexuality and play with the sexes.
Fig.2. ‘Lili Elbe‘ by Gerda Wegener
Two Gold Medals
Lili Elbe often serves her as a model, as well as on the oil painting of the same name. In 1912, the dazzling couple moved to Paris, where Gerda works as a portrait painter and as an illustrator for various magazines like Vogue, Fantasio, La Vie Parisienne. At the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1925, she exhibits her works and wins two gold medals. Lili died at the age of 49, soon after a fifth operation that concerned the transplantation of a uterus. Her death was caused due to transplant rejections.
Fig.3. Series of watercolors, which appeared in 1925 under the title “Les Délassements d’Eros” in Erotopolis (Paris)
The Danish Girl
In Denmark she had fallen into oblivion in recent decades, but the 2015 feature film “The Danish Girl“, which tells the life story of Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener, has once again emphasized her important role in art history.
Fig.4. ‘The Balcony‘ (1917)
Fig.5.
Fig.6. ‘The Circle of Love‘ from the series ‘The Pleasures of Eros‘ (1917)
Fig.7. From a series of water colors published in 1925 entitled ‘Les Delassements d’Eros in Erotopolis Paris‘
Fig.8. ‘Faun Tickling Young Girl Asleep‘
Fig.9. ‘The Young Leda‘ (1917)
Fig.10. ‘The Crinoline‘ (1917)
Fig.11 ‘Lesbian couple on striped cushions‘ (1925)
Fig.12. From the series ‘The Delights of Eros‘ (1925)
Fig.13. From the series ‘Une aventure d’amour à Venise (A love affair in Venice)‘ (1927)
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Fig.16.
Fig.17.
Fig.18. ‘Mermaids‘ (1918)
Fig.19. ‘Bathing women and swan at a fountain‘ (1916)
Fig.20.
Illustrations Wegener produced for Théophile Gautier’s “Fortunio” (edition of 1934)…
Fig.21. (Source: Biblio Curiosa)
Fig.22. (Source: Biblio Curiosa)
Fig.23. (Source: Biblio Curiosa)
Fig.24. ‘Lily, Hot Summer‘ (1924)
Source: nursemyra.wordpress.com/, Biblio Curiosa, #womensart
