Painter and poetess Hermione von Preuschen (1854-1918) studied under Ferdinand Keller in Karlsruhe. She travelled to Italy, Holland and France. She married Dr Oswald Schmidt in Munich in 1882, and then the writer Konrad Telmann. She exhibited her work in Munich in 1876, and is known chielfy for a series of symbolic compositions of flowers.

This is a trompe l'oeil a 'deception of the eye'. The trick with this type of painting is to paint something which might in reality occur in this position, to keep the relief as low as possible (so the flatness of the painting does not give itself away as the viewer moves) and to stress the texture of the surfaces as much as their colour. Though this panel is conventionally frame, it could theoretically form part of a real wooden door or cupboard in which case it would be impossible to tell if it were real or painted. The thistles and flowers project only slightly from the flat surface of the wood, the grain of which is a perfect example of textured painting.