Gerda Wegener
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Gerda Marie Fredrikke Wegener ( Gottlieb; 15 March 1885 – 28 July 1940) was a Danish illustrator and painter. Wegener is known for her fashion illustrations and later her paintings that pushed the boundaries of her time concerning gender and love. These works were classified as
lesbian erotica Lesbian erotica deals with depictions in the visual arts of lesbianism, which is the expression of female-on-female sexuality. Lesbianism has been a theme in erotic art since at least the time of ancient Rome, and many regard depictions of lesb ...
at times and many were inspired by her partner, transgender painter
Lili Elbe Lili Ilse Elvenes (28 December 1882 – 13 September 1931), better known as Lili Elbe, was a Danish painter, transgender woman, and one of the earliest recipients of gender-affirming surgery (then called sex reassignment surgery). Elbe was a p ...
. Wegener employed these works in the styles of
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
and later
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
. Gerda Wegener also drew a few comics.


Early life

Gottlieb was born in , Denmark to Justine (née Østerberg) and Emil Gottlieb, a
vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...
in the
Lutheran church Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...
. Her father had
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
ancestry and her family was conservative. She had three siblings but was the only child to live to adulthood. She enjoyed art at a young age and began training. Her family moved to Hobro and later she moved to Copenhagen to pursue her education at the
Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts () has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Danish Academy of Portraiture, Sculpture, and Architecture in Cope ...
.


Styles and influences

Wegener's work was often of confident and elegant women performing a variety of activities in either a Renaissance inspired style,
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
or
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
style. The images tended to show women posing or participating in artistic endeavors such as theatre, literature, and dance. Later on in France, Wegener created work showing women displaying seductive power or engaging in sexual activities. This risqué art was considered "lesbian erotica" and published in illicit art books. Along with shifting how women are represented in art, Wegener also challenged gender and sex identity roles in her work. She did this in small ways, such as drawing men with slender bodies and soft lines, or by painting her transgender partner, Lili Elbe.


Career


Early career

Gottlieb's work was shown in the Charlottenborg Art Gallery in 1904, but she gained little attention for her artwork. Her career as an artist began to mobilize after graduating from the Academy in 1907 and 1908 when she made appearances in the
Politiken ''Politiken'' is a leading Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1884 and played a role in the formation of the Danish Social Liberal Party. Since 1970 it has been indepe ...
newspaper. She then was the center of a controversy called the ''Peasant Painter Dispute'' after one of her 1906 works, ''Portrait of Ellen von Kohl'', was rejected from the exhibitions of Den frie Udstilling and Charlottenborg due to the style of the piece. This piece caused concerns of Italian Renaissance plagiarism and split opinions of it showing a weak individual or an elegant beautiful woman. Gottlieb never became involved in the debate. The portrait was displayed by the Winkel and Magnussen's art dealership and received attention that boosted her career as an artist.


Copenhagen, Denmark

Wegener won two sketching competitions in the ''
Politiken ''Politiken'' is a leading Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1884 and played a role in the formation of the Danish Social Liberal Party. Since 1970 it has been indepe ...
'' newspaper. One was in 1908 and another in 1909 for best capturing "Copenhagen Women" and then "The figures of the Street." Wegener was known for her illustrations created for advertisements and was also a
portrait painter Portrait painting is a Hierarchy of genres, genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commissio ...
. She did art in Paris, but was less successful in Denmark, where people found her work very different and strange as it often portrayed her husband as a woman.


Paris, France

In 1912, Wegener and her partner, Lili Elbe, moved to Paris, France. In Paris, Wegener began to push the boundaries in her artwork by creating more provocative paintings of women engaged in sexual activities and seductive positions. She often painted herself with Lili Elbe or Lili alone either portrayed as a man or a woman. Her work gained her attention and she was able to throw parties and experience notorious fame. Along with this, her work in the fashion industry took off as she illustrated for magazines such as ''La Baïonnette'', ''Fantasio,
Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...
'', ''and La Vie Parisienne.'' Her illustrations were used in a wide range of platforms from beauty advertisements to political anti-German images in the '' Le Matin'' and the ''La Baïonnette'' during World War II. In 1925, she won two gold medals and a bronze one for her artwork in competition at the 1925
World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...
in Paris. She was exhibited in the Salon des Humoristes, the
Salon des Indépendants Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name i ...
, and the Salon d’Automne. She befriended Ulla Poulsen (1905–2001), a Danish ballerina, who became a frequent model for her paintings. She and her spouse were also close friends with artist Rudolph Tegner and his wife Elna.


Personal life


Lili Elbe

She met fellow artist Lili Elbe – then known as Einar Wegener – at art school. They married in 1904, when Gerda was 18 and Lili was 22.She and She: The Marriage of Gerda and Einar Wegener
The Copenhagen Post. 3 July 2000
They travelled through Italy and France, eventually settling in Paris in 1912. The couple immersed themselves in the
Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...
lifestyle of the time, befriending many artists, dancers and other figures from the artistic world, often attending carnivals and other public festivals. During this time Elbe began to wear female clothing, and adopted her female name and persona,The Arts and Transgender
renaissanceblackpool.org
becoming Gerda Wegener's favourite model, in paintings of beautiful women with haunting almond-shaped eyes dressed in chic fashions. In 1913, the art world was shocked when they learned that the model who had inspired her depictions of petite femmes fatales was in fact her "husband". As Elbe adopted her female identity, Gerda Wegener commonly introduced her as Einar Wegener's cousin when she was dressed in female attire.
andrejkoymasky.com. 17 May 2003
In 1930 Elbe underwent one of the first sex reassignment surgeries. As Danish law at the time did not recognize marriage between two women, their marriage was annulled in October 1930 by King
Christian X Christian X (; 26 September 1870 – 20 April 1947) was King of Denmark from 1912 until his death in 1947, and the only King of Iceland as Kristján X, holding the title as a result of the personal union between Denmark and independent Ice ...
. Elbe died in 1931 from complications of the surgery.


Later life and death

In 1931, Wegener married Italian officer,
aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...
, and diplomat Major Fernando Porta and moved with him to Morocco. She divorced him in 1936 and returned to Denmark in 1938 for unknown reasons. Wegener held her last exhibition in 1939, but by this time, her artwork was out of style as the simpler Functionalism had become more popular in the 1930s. She had no children, lived by herself in relative obscurity, and began to drink heavily. She faced financial instability and kept an income by selling hand-painted postcards. She died on 28 July 1940, in
Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the region of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of less tha ...
, Denmark, shortly after
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
invaded the country. Her small estate was auctioned, and there was only a small obituary printed in the local paper.


Book and film

Over the years, beginning with the literary success of a book about her and Elbe's life together, and further with the release of a movie based on the book, the story of the couple gained a cult following in Denmark and around the world. Their artwork has been rediscovered, and exhibited and auctioned with success. A special exhibition of Gerda Wegener's work was on display at the
Arken Museum of Modern Art ARKEN Museum of Modern Art () is a state-authorised private non-profit charity and contemporary art museum in Ishøj, near Copenhagen. The museum is among Denmark's major contemporary and modern art collections, holding a variety of international ...
until January 2017, followed by a travelling exhibit of her art shown around the world. ''
The Danish Girl ''The Danish Girl'' is a novel by American writer David Ebershoff, published in 2000 by the Viking Press in the United States and Allen & Unwin in Australia. The novel is a fictionalized account of the life of Lili Elbe, one of the first tra ...
'',
David Ebershoff David Ebershoff (born January 17, 1969) is an American writer, editor, and teacher. His debut novel, '' The Danish Girl'', was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film of the same name in 2015, while his third novel, '' The 19th Wife'', was ...
's 2000 novel about them was an international best-seller and was translated into a dozen languages. Gerda Wegener is portrayed by Swedish actress
Alicia Vikander Alicia Amanda Vikander (; ; born 3 October 1988) is a Swedish actress. List of awards and nominations received by Alicia Vikander, Her accolades include an Academy Award and nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and three British Academy Film ...
in the 2015 film ''
The Danish Girl ''The Danish Girl'' is a novel by American writer David Ebershoff, published in 2000 by the Viking Press in the United States and Allen & Unwin in Australia. The novel is a fictionalized account of the life of Lili Elbe, one of the first tra ...
'', also starring British actor
Eddie Redmayne Edward John David Redmayne OBE (; born 6 January 1982) is an English actor. His accolades include an Academy Award, a Tony Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two Olivier Awards. Redmayne began his professional ac ...
as Lili Elbe. The film received some criticism for obscuring the actual story of a historical trans person and omitting certain facts and for being based on a fictional book that does not tell the true story of the couple. The topic of Gerda Wegener's own sexuality, which she never talked about publicly, is not mentioned in the film or book.


Select works illustrated by Wegener

* ''Den skønne Ubekendte'' by Andreas Winding (1912) *''L'Anneau ou La Jeune fille imprudente'' by Louis de Robert (1913) *''Amour Etrusque'' by J.-H. Rosny aîné (1914) *''Les Aventures amoureuses d'Eustache Leroussin'' by Daniel Barrias (1914) *''Le Peplos vert'' by Maurice de Waleffe (1915) *''Les Colombes poignardées'' by Maurice Magre (1917) *''La Guerre est morte'' by Louis Delluc (1917) *''Le Journal de Marinette'' by une Femme curieuse (1917) *''La Petite faunesse'' by Charles Derennes (1918) *''La Tendre Camarade'' by Maurice Magre (1918) *''L'Abdication de Ris-Orangis'' by Léo Larguier (1918) *''Contes de mon Père le Jars'' by Eric Allatini (1919) *''Le Parfait Suiveur'' by Maurice Magre (1919) *''Le Livre des vikings'' by Charles Guyot (1924) *''Douze sonnets lascifs'' by Louis Perceau (1925) - accompanied by the suite of aquarelles ''Les Délassements d'Éros'' * ''Une Aventure d'amour à Venise'' by
Giacomo Casanova Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (; ; 2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) was an Italian adventurer who was born in the Republic of Venice and travelled extensively throughout Europe. He is chiefly remembered for his autobiography, written in French and pu ...
(1927) *''La Mythologie'' (1928) - album of twelve plates *''Les Contes'' by
La Fontaine Jean de La Fontaine (, ; ; 8 July 162113 April 1695) was a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his ''Fables'', which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Euro ...
(1928–1929) *''Sur Talons rouges'' by Eric Allatini (1929) *''l'Œuvre du Divin Arétin'' (1930–1931) - suite of twelve color engravings * ''Fortunio'' by
Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rema ...
(1934)


References


Literature

* ''Man into woman: an authentic record of a change of sex'' / Lili Elbe; edited by Niels Hoyer .e. E. Harthern translated from the German by H.J. Stenning; introd. by Norman Haire. - London, Jarrold Publisher's, 1933 (Original Danish ed. published in 1931 under title: ''Fra mand til kvinde.'' Later edition: ''Man into woman: the first sex change, a portrait of Lili Elbe - the true and remarkable transformation of the painter Einar Wegener. -'' London, Blue Boat Books, 2004. * ''Gerda Wegener'' / edited by Andrea Rygg Karberg ... t al. - Denmark, Arken Museum of Modern Art, 2015.


External links


Retrospective exhibition at ARKEN Museum of Modern Art
7 November 2015 to 8 January 2017 {{DEFAULTSORT:Wegener, Gerda 1886 births 1940 deaths Danish erotic artists 20th-century Danish illustrators Danish women illustrators 20th-century Danish painters 20th-century Danish women painters Art Nouveau painters Art Nouveau illustrators People from Norddjurs Municipality Art Deco artists Danish LGBTQ artists Danish female comics artists Danish comics artists