Marie Ellenrieder

Who was Marie Ellenrieder?

Anna Marie Ellenrieder was a German painter.

She was born in Konstanz, Germany, the daughter of Konrad and Anna Maria Herrmann, and the granddaughter of Franz Ludwig Herrmann.

She studied under the miniature painter Joseph Einsle. Her portraits, similar in style to the ones of Angelica Kauffman, made her the first woman to enter the Academy of Fine Arts Munich.

She spent the time between 1822 and 1824 in Rome, where she became a disciple of Johann Friedrich Overbeck. After this journey, she started painting images, including Stoning of St. Stephen for the Church of St. Stephen in Karlsruhe. In 1829, she became court painter to Grand Duchess Sophie of Baden.

Ellenrieder returned to her home town in the 1840s and continued producing religious images. Her two paintings Der 12 jährige Jesus im Tempel / The 12 year old Jesus in the Temple of 1849 and Hl Felicitas und ihre sieben Söhne / Holy Felicitas and her Seven Sons of 1847 were acquired by Queen Victoria, who had been introduced to her work by the Prince Consort, who in turn had encountered the artist on his travels to Rome. They are now part of the Royal Collection in Osborne House.