Hardly any other female artist of Art Nouveau has caused as much of a stir not only through her art but above all through her lifestyle as the Danish painter and illustrator Gerda Marie Frederike Wegener. Born in Northern Schleswig in 1886, she was drawn to the art academy in Copenhagen at a young age. There she married the artist Einar Wegener in 1904, who increasingly recognized his female identity. He later called himself Lili Elbe and was one of the first people ever to undergo several sex-change operations. Gerda Wegener's unrestricted tolerance as well as her open approach to her own lesbian tendencies make her a pioneer of self-confident female sexuality.
Gerda Wegener's art is an expression of her dazzling life. Her often erotic works reflect the lust for female, even lesbian sexuality and the play with the sexes. Lili Elbe often serves as her model, as in the oil painting of the same name. In 1912 the dazzling couple moved to Paris, where Gerda worked as a portrait painter and illustrator for various magazines. She exhibited her works at the Paris World Exhibition in 1925 and won two gold medals.
Not least because of the feature film "the danish girl" from 2015, which traces the life story of Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener, the works of the artist are of great topicality.
Hardly any other female artist of Art Nouveau has caused as much of a stir not only through her art but above all through her lifestyle as the Danish painter and illustrator Gerda Marie Frederike Wegener. Born in Northern Schleswig in 1886, she was drawn to the art academy in Copenhagen at a young age. There she married the artist Einar Wegener in 1904, who increasingly recognized his female identity. He later called himself Lili Elbe and was one of the first people ever to undergo several sex-change operations. Gerda Wegener's unrestricted tolerance as well as her open approach to her own lesbian tendencies make her a pioneer of self-confident female sexuality.
Gerda Wegener's art is an expression of her dazzling life. Her often erotic works reflect the lust for female, even lesbian sexuality and the play with the sexes. Lili Elbe often serves as her model, as in the oil painting of the same name. In 1912 the dazzling couple moved to Paris, where Gerda worked as a portrait painter and illustrator for various magazines. She exhibited her works at the Paris World Exhibition in 1925 and won two gold medals.
Not least because of the feature film "the danish girl" from 2015, which traces the life story of Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener, the works of the artist are of great topicality.
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