Art Appreciation
Whether you've been a consistent follower of my blog or simply stumbled upon it, you're likely aware of two key aspects about me: my passion for exploring art and writing about it, and my role as a father to a transgender daughter.
Reflecting on a few years back, I vividly recall watching "The Danish Girl" (2015), featuring Eddie Redmayne, a film about the life of Lili Elbe. Elbe, born as Einar Wegener on December 28, 1882, in Vejle, Denmark, was a groundbreaking transgender post-impressionist artist. Her artistic journey commenced when she moved to Copenhagen to pursue art studies at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, where she met Greda Gottlieb, a Danish painter and illustrator, leading to their marriage in 1904.
In 1907, Elbe earned the prestigious Neuhausens Prize, a Danish award for architects and visual artists, after exhibiting at the Kunstnernes Efterårsudstilling at the Vejle Art Museum in Denmark and the Salon d'Automne in Paris.
As the 1920s unfolded, Elbe embraced a transformation, adopting women's attire and posing as a model for Gottlieb. Their journey took them to Paris, where Elbe felt liberated to present herself authentically in public. However, in 1930, Elbe embarked on a series of five experimental gender-affirming surgeries in Germany, culminating in her being the first transgender woman to undergo vaginoplasty surgery during the fourth procedure. Unfortunately, complications arose as her immune system rejected the transplanted uterus, leading to a fatal infection and her demise on September 13, 1931.
Sources:
Wikipedia
https://www.wikiart.org/en/lili-elbe
http://www.papillongallery.com/einar_wegener.html
https://oii.org.au/789/book-review-man-woman/
https://daily.jstor.org/what-actually-happened-to-the-danish-girl-and-her-wife/
https://medium.com/@arteoriginal.co/from-einar-wegener-to-lili-elbe-first-gender-reassignment-in-the-art-world-99009ca4005f
https://www.biography.com/artists/lili-elbe
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