Marie Ellenrieder was a pioneer in many ways, making her one of the most celebrated portraitists and religious painters in 19^th-century Germany. She was the first woman in Germany to receive specialised art training, to paint altarpieces for a Catholic church, and to live from her art while remaining unmarried and choosing to lead an independent lifestyle. Her talent for giving her portraits vivid, personalised features made her a sought-after portraitist for both aristocrats and the less high-born in southwest Germany and neighbouring Switzerland. Later in life, she felt a connection to the Nazarene school of thought, and although she did not define herself as a representative of the movement, she mainly devoted her art to religious scenes and themes.

Ellenrieder was born the fourth daughter of a wealthy Episcopal court watchmaker. The family supported and encouraged her early artistic inclinations and as early as 1810, she took private lessons from miniaturist Joseph Bernhard Einsle (1774–1829), who instilled in her an attention to detail that would later be appreciated in her portrait painting. She soon attracted the attention of the Vicar General of Constance, Ignaz Heinrich von Wessenberg (1774–1860), who used his connections to enrol M. Ellenrieder as the first female student at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, which had been founded in 1808 and where she studied from 1813 to 1817, with a one-year interruption.

Soon after completing her studies and returning to Constance, she gained recognition as a skilled portraitist, with clients amongst the nobility. In 1820, M. Ellenrieder achieved a significant milestone in her career when she was commissioned to paint altarpieces for a church in Ichenheim near Offenburg. The substantial payment for the commission allowed her to make a long-awaited trip to Italy, where she had the opportunity not only to study the art of the Italian Renaissance, but also to become acquainted with the artists of the Nazarene movement. These artistic encounters solidified her belief that art should serve religion. Upon her return to Germany, she completed multiple large commissions (mainly portraits and altarpieces), and devoted her art to religious scenes in the style of Nazarenes that reflected her Catholic beliefs.

Die Taufe der Lydia [Baptism of Lydia, 1861], in the Nationalgalerie Berlin, is one of M. Ellenrieder’s late works. Lydia, a seller of purple dye from Philippi, is shown surrounded by her family as she is baptised by the Apostle Paul. Alluding to Lydia’s trade, the figures in the painting wear robes in various shades of red, pink and purple that blend harmoniously with the greens and blues of the landscape in the background, and with the gold ornamentation. The careful arrangement of the figures, the soft lines and shapes of the depicted elements, the precise use of light and the smooth colour gradations all contribute to a clear composition that conveys a sense of serenity and harmony characteristic of her work.