Curatorial notes
Curator: Oh, this instantly teleports me somewhere warm, somewhere…perfumed. There’s such a wistful quality in the light. Editor: You've captured the painting's essence beautifully. What we’re looking at is Lili Elbe's "Parti Fra Capri", an oil on canvas created around 1921. Elbe, of course, later became one of the first recipients of gender affirmation surgery. It's incredible to see this serene landscape given her story. Curator: Right? And this was pre-transition. Makes you wonder what Capri represented to her then. It’s almost like a dreamscape, all soft edges and diffused light. I get the impression Elbe wasn’t necessarily trying to reproduce a place perfectly, more like a feeling. Editor: I think you’re spot-on. Consider Capri at that time – a haven for queer artists and writers escaping the strict social norms of their home countries. Perhaps this image reflects not only a physical place but a psychological one, too – a refuge, or a space for imagining oneself anew. This use of a traditionally romantic impressionist style is her way of staking a claim. Curator: I hadn't thought of it that way, but it resonates! It makes those pastel shades—the dusty rose of the bougainvillea, that almost edible creamy dome in the background—even more potent, knowing the longing they might represent. You know, it’s funny; the painting's technically a "cityscape," but the overwhelming feeling is one of intimacy. Editor: Exactly! We have the built environment rendered with a sensuousness typically reserved for the natural world. Even the palm tree, that symbol of exoticism, is rendered in such a way that suggests the interiority of feeling. To think of Elbe then, on the cusp of such profound personal transformation, is incredible. Curator: It gives the whole composition this wonderful feeling of…potential. Of something about to blossom, much like those flowerpots in the foreground. Editor: Absolutely. I think that the location becomes a symbol in itself; and the choice to record it implies not just artistic documentation but an intimate engagement, as a safe haven that later becomes part of her journey of self-discovery and self-affirmation. It's an amazing example of a pre-trans artwork expressing what was yet to come. Curator: It certainly reframes how one can perceive any kind of “scape.” It’s less about the place, more about what it unlocks within you. Editor: A perfect point to conclude on; one Lili Elbe embodies so fully.