CASANOVA | Une aventure d'amour à Venise, 1927, illustrated by Wegener

CASANOVA DE SEINGALT, GIACOMO
Une aventure d'amour à Venise [illustrated by Gerda Wegener]. Paris: Georges Briffaut, 1927

4to, copy number 76 of 500 copies, one of 40 printed on vélin d’Arches containing 2 reject plates and a second suite printed in black and yellow bound at end, 10 aquatint illustrations in colour, additional illustrations, initials and vignettes throughout the text printed in sepia, half crushed burgundy morocco over marbled boards, marbled endpapers, original printed wrapper bound in, uncut, wrapper slightly defective

Gerda Wegener (1885-1940) was a Danish artist and prominent exponent of the Art Deco movement. Her paintings and work of lesbian erotica were viewed as too controversial for her native Denmark and she spent the majority of her artistic and adult life as a member of the Parisian art scene. She was known for her decadent and decorative style and a pioneering reconsideration of the female gaze in portraiture. In 1925 Wegener represented France at the world exhibition in Paris where she was awarded two gold and one bronze medals.

Wegener was married to Lili Elbe (previously known as Einar Wegener) who often posed as the model for the artist’s erotic works and was one of the first documented recipients of a gender reassignment surgery. Their relationship was the subject of the 2016 film, The Danish Girl.

Condition Report:
printed wrapper slightly defective