Atmosphaere 1920

Gerda Wegener made Atmosphaere using watercolour and pencil on paper. Look at how the figures emerge from the composition so delicately. Imagine the artist’s hand, lightly sketching the figures, building them from their core with gentle strokes. What was she thinking as she captured these women with such elegance? Wegener paints a moment of transformation; each of the women has their own prop, their own mirror to capture and consider their image. I see a connection to other artists here, like Kees van Dongen, who captured the demimonde of Paris. Perhaps, like them, Wegener felt a pull toward exploring and celebrating an underground scene. Each artist responds to what they see and feel around them. In painting there is no limit to what can be explored and there’s never a final answer. Instead, we find an open-ended exchange of ideas, each influencing the other across time.