Portrait of the first transvestite of Great Britain acquired by the National Gallery Automatic translate

The National Portrait Gallery in London acquired the earliest known portraits of men in women’s clothing. Written in 1792, it depicts Britain’s first transvestite. A portrait of an eighteenth-century Chevalier d’Eon (Chevalier d’Eon) can be seen in the gallery since June 6, 2012. This will be the first public demonstration of the picture.

Charles de Beaumont, the Chevalier d’Eon, lived in London between 1762-1777 as a man, and from 1785 to 1810 as a woman, and during both periods enjoyed great fame in international politics and high society. D’Eon was known as a brave soldier, a champion in fencing, one of the authors of the Paris world in 1763. After living in England for 13 years, he refused to return to France, where he was persecuted, allegedly for selling French secrets to the British.

The painting acquired by the gallery was painted by Thomas Stewart, probably commissioned by Francis Rawdon Hastings, 2nd Earl of Moira and 1st Marquis of Hastings, a famous lascivious and dandy.

In 1928, Havelock Ellis coined the term “aeonism,” a long term term for transgender behavior. Dr. Lucy Peltz, curator of the eighteenth-century art section of the National Portrait Gallery in London, says: “Chevalier d’Eon was an eighteenth-century figure of international renown and fame for his military, diplomatic, and social exploits. But special courage was required by his decision to change sex in the conditions of the most severe punishment and censure in society. ”

Anna Sidorova