In this self-portrait, the then 27-year-old painter presents herself modestly, but self-confidently. She dispenses with all accessories that would betray her profession. Instead, she poses in the tradition of bourgeois portraiture that emerged in the late 18th century. Yet Marie Ellenrieder is exceptional: she was the first woman to be admitted to the Munich Art Academy in 1813. Later, she was highly regarded for her strictly Catholic religious artworks and became court painter to the Grand Duke of Baden.