Thérèse Schwartze (Amsterdam 1851-1918) came from an artistic and affluent family. Both parents had German ancestors. Georg was born and raised in America, and Elise grew up in Germany. Her father, Johann Georg Schwartze, was a painter, and her sister Georgine was a sculptor.

Initially, Thérèse was trained by her father. Since art academies were not yet accessible to girls, he sent her for expensive private lessons first to Franz von Lenbach in Munich, and then to Jean-Jacques Henner in Paris. There, she copied the works of Rubens and Velasquez, which significantly contributed to her receiving the advice from Von Lenbach to take photographs in order to continue working in the studio.

Schwartze's ability to weave emotion and story through her portraits and historical scenes makes each work an intriguing masterpiece that invites the viewer to delve deeper into the context and meaning behind the image. Thérèse achieved success by painting with pastel chalk, which she applied to the canvas with a quick, clear stroke. The majority of her work (more than 1000 pieces are known) consists of portraits, but Thérèse also created genre pieces, depicting scenes from real life. She portrayed members of the Dutch royal family, among others. The recognition she gained from this led to more and more commissions.

She married Anton van Duyl, editor-in-chief of the Algemeen Handelsblad, in 1906. Not only her artistic talent but also her keen business sense made her the most successful Dutch female artist of the nineteenth century. Shortly after her husband's death in 1918, she passed away herself due to grief and an underlying illness.