01 work, PORTRAIT OF A LADY, meet Gerda Wegener, with Footnotes. #85

Gerda Wegener, Danish, 1886 - 1940

Les femmes fatales, c. 1933

Oil on canvas

110.5 by 119.4cm., 43.5 by 47in.

Private collection

A femme fatale, sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art. Her ability to enchant and hypnotise her victim with a spell was in the earliest stories seen as being literally supernatural; hence, the femme fatale today is still often described as having a power akin to an enchantress, seductress, vampire, witch, or demon, having power over men. More on femme fatale

Gerda Marie Fredrikke Wegener (née Gottlieb; 15 March 1886 – 28 July 1940)  was a Danish painter best known for her progressive feminist portraits. Steeped in Art Deco aesthetics, her paintings were considered radical for their engagement with gender, identity, and sexuality. Reversing the traditional art history model of the male gaze, Wegener gazes upon women with a different eroticism and admiration for her female subjects, whom she depicted as powerful individuals. Born Gerda Marie Fredrikke Gottlieb on March 15, 1886 in Hammelev, Denmark, she moved to Copenhagen to attend the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. While attending school, she met her future husband and muse Einar Wegener, who would later transition genders to become Lili Elbe. The couple married in 1904 and settled in Paris in 1912. Wegener’s portraits of Elbe brought her acclaim, as did her erotic illustrations and glass mosaics for Parisian patrons. She went on to win two gold medals and one bronze for her work at the World’s Fair in 1925. After Elbe’s death in 1931, however she struggled to support herself and moved back to Denmark. The artist died on July 28, 1940 in Frederiksberg, Denmark at the age of 54. More on Gerda Wegener

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