The story of Danish artist Gerda Wegener is an incredible mix of “pink”, lesbian romance at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Her erotic paintings, which were replete with harlequins, transparent crinoline, obscene poses, made an incredible sensation in such a freedom-loving and greedy city like Paris. This story ended with the world's first plastic sex-change operation, as a result of which the artist’s spouse, Einar Wegener, became a woman, making both herself and her ex-wife famous all over the world. However, the desire to become a mother cost Einar-Lily life.
Gerda Wegener: biography
The future artist was born in the town of Greno, which was in Danish Jutland, in 1886. At birth she was named Gerda Gottlieb. Her father was a vicar, a native of France, whose family emigrated from there to faith in conservative Denmark decades ago and settled on the coast. Naturally, very strict morals reigned in the family, and the girl received a conservative upbringing. As a teenager, the future artist Gerda Wegener somehow convinced her parents to let her go to study in the capital of the country - the city of Copenhagen. There she went to college, operating at the Royal Women's Academy of Culture and Fine Arts. The girl made rather great strides, and the teachers distinguished her as one of her talented students.
Acquaintance with the future spouse
At the academy, Gerda met a young man, artist Einar Wegener, who was four years older than her. Some kind of special relationship arose between them, and soon the young decided to combine with each other by marriage. The girl was only 19 years old. She was very young and inexperienced. However, after marriage, having settled in a bohemian environment, and in the capital itself, she turned from an innocent provincial woman and a simpleton into an exalted lady who always wanted to step ahead of her time. She was seriously engaged in art, but her paintings hit many with boldness and unpredictability.
In Paris
In 1912, the Wegener couple came to live in Paris. In this city, young people were attracted by the freedom and prosperity of the arts. Compared to the French capital, Copenhagen was very prim and conservative. Gerda Wegener always complained that there she lacked freedom for creativity. In search of themselves, young artists traveled for a long time in Western Europe, but nevertheless decided to make a stop in Paris. Immediately after arrival, the couple went to d'Alsace and rented a room. When familiarizing herself with the hotel, the guide told that in the same room where the young couple was accommodated, in 1900, that is exactly 12 years ago, the great English writer Oscar Wilde died. Gerda and Einar were shocked by this, and at the same time felt a sort of awe from the realization that they were now touching the objects that their beloved writer had once used, breathing the same air. For several days in a row they read each other aloud the works of Wilde. They were particularly attracted to forbidden sexuality, tragedy and beauty.
Fame
The paintings of Gerda Wegener, her illustrations expressed in their content the free spirit of the author. Almost all of her paintings depicted the same sensual brown-eyed beauty with a hairstyle and full lips. Who is this mysterious stranger, this model, from whom it is impossible to take his eyes off? When the truth was revealed, the public was shocked: it turned out that this sexy beauty from Gerda's paintings was her disguised husband Einar.
Nickname Lily Elbe
So how did it happen that the artist’s husband agreed to pose for his wife, and in a female form? And it all started with the fact that one of Gerda’s sitters could not come to the session, and then she asked her husband Einar, who stood out with some extraordinary femininity, to put on a pair of stockings and high-heeled shoes and replace the model. Wegener, oddly enough, immediately agreed, and he liked it so much that he began to transform into a woman not only during painting sessions, but also in everyday life. Apparently, female consciousness woke up in him. He even began to introduce himself as the alleged sister of Einar and be called Lily Elbe. It was very convenient for Gerda to have such a sitter at hand, who understands her perfectly. He became her main muse. It was thanks to him that she also became a portrait painter.
Creative activity
After some time, the artist wanted to arrange an exhibition, the exposition of which included both her portraits and decadent drawings, which were saturated with eroticism. They caused a resonance in society and even led to social unrest. Gerda also collaborated with fashion magazine Vogue and created illustrations for gloss. She also began to trust illustrations for some books of the corresponding subject, for example, “The Adventures of Casanova”. In their Paris studio Les Arums every now and then wild parties were organized, which was not so easy to get to.
Craving for Lily
The most interesting thing was that very unusual relations began to develop between Gerda and Einar. They spontaneously began to perceive Lily as a separate person, who had nothing to do with Einar. And Gerda Wegener, speaking of her, used pronouns and verbs in the third person. Sometimes she told her lawful husband: “I want Lily to visit us today.” The most interesting thing is that she and Lily were much more pleasant to communicate than with the sullen Einar. And he, in turn, admitted that it was much more comfortable for him to be in a female form, since in a man he began to suffer from depression and rolled on attacks of a suffocating cough. Moreover, transforming into Lily, he acquired a new meaning in life, his eyes sparkled and he experienced real happiness. By 1930, Einar had matured in his decision to change sex. To do this, he went to Germany, where a doctor promised for the first time in the world to do such an operation.
Reborn (or born?)
Gerda Wegener accompanied her husband everywhere, she was always with him, because, in fact, it was necessary to perform not one, but several operations at once. As a result of all this, Lily (henceforth we will call the former spouse of our heroine a woman's name) claimed that she feels herself reborn. She immediately became younger, her skin became softer. She no longer wanted to draw. She wanted her to be connected nothing more with Einar, of course, except Gerda. Together they returned to Copenhagen, where they began life anew. Lily now and then caught on admiring the gaze of men and experienced incredible delight. And Gerda at that time continued her artistic activities, organized exhibitions and sales of her paintings, and continued to “pamper” her friend with the new proceeds for the proceeds. But then came the moment when her exhibitions ceased to interest the viewer, and then the couple completely abandoned creativity.
Parting
A year after Einar finally became Lily, he and Gerda officially divorced, and each went his own way. The artist married an Italian army officer who served in Morocco and went to him, and Lily fell in love with the artist again, but this time with a man. However, she dreamed of offspring, she wanted at all costs to know the joy of motherhood. For this, she decided on a complicated uterus transplant operation. However, this caused her death: the body did not want to accept a foreign organ, and its rejection occurred.
The fate of Gerda
Learning about the tragedy that happened with her beloved Lily, Gerda experienced extreme stress. Soon she divorced her new husband, whom she had no feelings for. In addition, this officer turned out to be a big moto and a gambler and lowered all her property in the wind. Returning to Copenhagen, she settled in the house where she once lived with her Einar-Lily. Friends say that she could not recover after the death of her beloved “spouse”, she shunned everyone and lived as a real recluse until the end of her days. In addition, her paintings ceased to enjoy past success and lost their relevance. The woman began to earn her daily bread by drawing the most ordinary Christmas cards, and their buyers could not even assume that the author of these cards was the artist Gerda Wegener, once known not only in Denmark but also in Paris. Every year it became increasingly difficult for her to earn money. Soon, she became addicted to alcohol and died, having outlived her beloved Lily for ten whole years. She was only 56. This is how these two personalities who were able to perpetuate themselves in history as the most daring and eccentric couple, tragically ended their earthly journey.