Bonatzi and Elsie were two well-known people in Skagen. The painters often used them as models. Josef Bonatzi (1845-1913) was a Bohemian shoemaker who came to Skagen in 1885. He built a house "Lyrehuset", of what he could find of materials. After his death the house was used for the Midsummer bonfire. Merry Elsie Hellesen (1842-1920) was a berry picker and a maid. She picked berries for the Ancher, the Locher and the Brøndum families. She lost her sanity when her fiancé drowned a few days before their wedding.