The Aperitif by Gerda Wegener is a portrait of the artist's partner Lili Elbe, the first few people who received a gender reassignment surgery in the history. Elbe and Wegener met in the school while they studied to become artists. They were married and both worked as artists. Sometimes Elbe would dress in trendy women's outfit to model for Wegener's illustrations for fashion magazines. The Aperitif is one of those drawings in which Elbe appears as a stylish urban woman in the restaurant with her friend. It was around these time it became clear to Elbe that she is a woman.  In 1930, Elbe went to Germany for the gender reassignment surgery with Wegener's support. It was a courageous decision being made because gender transitioning was very rarely in her time and it was dangerous. The surgery turned out successfully but she passed away a year after due to uterus infection. Her story was made into a feature film The Danish Girl. And the LGBT film festival in Denmark, MIX Copenhagen, named their awards "Lili" to commemorate Lili Elbe.