Герда Вегенер: Художница и муза трансгендерной пионерки Лили Эльбе

Danish artist (1886–1940)

Gerda Marie Fredrikke Wegener ( Gottlieb; 15 March 1886 – 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 at times and many were inspired by her partner, transgender painter Lili Elbe. 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.

In 1912, Wegener and her partner, Lili Elbe, moved to Paris, France. She was exhibited in the Salon des Humoristes, the Salon des Indépendants, and the Salon d’Automne. They married in 1904, when Gerda was 18 and Lili was 22. They travelled through Italy and France, eventually settling in Paris in 1912. The couple immersed themselves in the Bohemian 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, 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". In 1930 Elbe underwent one of the first sex reassignment surgeries. She faced financial instability and kept an income by selling hand painted postcards. The Danish Girl, David Ebershoff'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 in the 2015 film The Danish Girl, also starring British actor Eddie Redmayne 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.