Lili with a Feather Duster

We present today's work thanks to the Kunstmuseum Basel, where you can see it in The First Homosexuals: The Birth of New Identities 1869–1939 until 2 August 2026. The multifaceted presentation frames perspectives on queer communities, intimate portraits, bold life choices, coded desires, and colonial entanglements.

The history of homosexuality is closely related to ideas about gender. Early explanations saw same-sex desire as the result of an inverted “soul”—for example, a “female soul” in the body of a man. Around 40 years after the term “homosexual” was first mentioned in print in 1869, the first terms for trans people appeared—that is, for people whose gender identity does not correspond to the sex assigned to them at birth. During this period, new ways of naming and understanding identity emerged. Sexuality and gender increasingly came to be understood as separate concepts.

Lili with a Feather Duster by the Danish artist Gerda Wegener depicts her wife, the artist Lili Elbe, holding a feather duster. Elbe became one of the first known people to undergo gender-affirming surgeries. Her legal recognition as female was established, and her marriage to Gerda Wegener was consequently annulled. Same-sex marriages were not legal at that time.

P.S. Discover the unique story of Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener through their paintings!

P.P.S. Gerda Wegener’s works are featured in both our Women Artists 50 Postcards Sets, highlighting pioneering women artists and their extraordinary contributions to art history.