Very little is known about Catherine de Porada (1891–1985). She was born in Berlin into a family of intellectuals and grew up surrounded by avant-garde artists. In fact she took lessons in painting and drawing right up until her marriage at the age of twenty. Then, following her divorce several years later, she left Germany for Paris, where she began to take an interest in fashion. She lived in Monaco during and after the Second World War, then moved to Vence to work in Galerie Chave. At that point she started to paint pictures with a symbolist and mystical content, exploring the themes of paradise and reincarnation.