Henriette Marie Antonette Luplau (September 7, 1848 – August 16, 1925) was a prominent Danish artist, educator, and activist.Partner Emilie Mundt
Queer Places:
Académie Colarossi, 10 Rue de la Grande Chaumière, 75006 Paris
14 Rue de l'Université, 75007 Paris, France
Gl. Kongevej 136, 1850 Frederiksberg, Denmark
Solbjerg Parkkirkegård, Roskildevej 54, 2000 Frederiksberg, 2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark
Henriette Marie Antonette Luplau (September 7, 1848 – August 16, 1925) was a prominent Danish artist, educator, and activist.
Born in Varde, she was the daughter of Daniel Carl Erhard Luplau, a pastor, and Line Luplau, a noted feminist and suffragist.
Luplau studied under Vilhelm Kyhn, one of the few instructors in Copenhagen at the time willing to accept female students. Seeking further education, she and Emilie Mundt traveled to Munich and later to Paris, where they studied at the Académie Colarossi between 1882 and 1884.
In 1875, Luplau and Mundt—supported by the Danish Women's Association—applied for admission to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. They were rejected solely due to their gender, as the institution did not admit women until 1888.
In 1886, Luplau and Mundt established their own painting and drawing school for women in their home at Gammel Kongevej in Frederiksberg. The school operated until 1913, effectively preparing women for entry into the Academy.
Luplau was a landscape painter and also explored social themes. Her 1917 painting, In the Early Days of the Women's Suffrage Campaign, which features her mother among other early feminists, was displayed in the Danish Parliament for many years.
Marie Luplau and Emilie Mundt met in the early 1870s while students at Vilhelm Kyhn's school. They became lifelong companions and partners, living and working together until Mundt's death.
Beyond their domestic life, they were professional collaborators who founded and managed their art school together.
In 1891, the couple adopted a daughter, Carla Mundt-Luplau. Their life together, including depictions of their home life and their daughter, is considered a notable example of a 19th-century queer family.
Luplau was sometimes described as "mannish" in her habits and appearance, often wearing short-cropped hair, tailored clothing, and reportedly smoking cigars and riding a bicycle.
Following Mundt's death in 1922, Luplau lived for three more years, passing away in 1925 at the age of 76. They are buried together in Solbjerg Park Cemetery in Copenhagen. In recent years, their personal and professional partnership has been the subject of renewed academic interest and museum exhibitions, such as the 2021 exhibition Marie loves Emilie at The Hirschsprung Collection.
References:
Support this project
This website is a passion project researched, developed, and funded entirely by me. If you find the content valuable and would like to help support the ongoing research and hosting costs, any contribution is deeply appreciated.
Thank you for keeping this independent resource alive!
My books on Amazon: Elisa Rolle's books