Maria Elisabeth Wrede

Maria Elisabeth Wrede (Salzburghofen, 1898 - Paris, 1981). A student of Fernand Léger and Amédée Ozenfant, Wrede was part of the circle of Paul Valéry and Ivan and Claire Goll and was friends with painter Robert Delaunay and his wife Sonja Delaunay-Terk. 

Wrede was a talented painter, with a special inclination for watercolour. She became known mainly for her portraits of famous people, such as Jean Cocteau, Valéry and his wife, André Maurois, Colette, Picasso e.a., which she drew in pencil. Wrede’s drawings are included in other travel accounts, such as “Cyclades” by Aloys de Marignac of 1936.