Madonna with child, surrounded by musical angels
1935
Gerda Wegener, famous for her glamorous illustrations and her marriage to Lili Elbe (the subject of The Danish Girl), brings a distinctly 1930s flair to this sacred scene. Instead of traditional solemnity, the Madonna and baby Jesus are surrounded by angels sporting chic, bobbed haircuts and rosy cheeks that look straight out of a Jazz Age magazine. The angels strum guitars and violins against a backdrop of palm trees and Italian architecture, signed and dated in Rome in 1935. It's a beautiful blend of religious iconography and the fashionable aesthetic that made Wegener a star of the Parisian illustration scene.
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