neyde lantyer

1810, GERMANY:
Ludwig van Beethoven drafted the notes for his “bagatelle no. 12”, known as “Für Elise”, one of the most romantic pieces of the classical repertoire. It is well-known that the piece was composed for a woman, however, she was never identified. Did she really exist at all? Or was the name “Elise” a mistake and the song was, in fact, meant for Therese, the student Beethoven was in love with? Or perhaps Elisa was Ludwig secret lover? Elise, was never identified, and the woman remain mysterious.

2010, BRAZIL:
Another woman named Eliza became a mystery 200 years later. Murdered and quartered by her boyfriend, the father of her baby, and her body disappeared without a trace. A witness told the justice that her body was cut into pieces and thrown to the dogs. After five years in jail, the murderer was free and ready for a new beginning, eventually, to rebuild his romantic life. Her remains were never found.

FEMICIDE X ROMANTIC LOVE
The obliteration of the body and the identity of women plus the vanishing of their memory have been a patriarchal practice along the centuries. Femicide is one of the main causes of women’s death in Brazil and Latin America, having a high rate in most other countries. The offense carries a reprehensible and distressing aspect: typically, the perpetrator is the romantic partner. The problem speaks to the failure of one of the most ingrained myths of patriarchal society, namely, the romantic love. 

“For Eliza”,“Ocupação Jardim” at Museu de Arte da Bahia, 2018. Exhibition view.