Marél von Steinling
Marie-Gabrielle Spies von Büllesheim née von Steinling (born 16 Juni 1933 in Eichstätt /Bavaria) is an artist – known as "MARÉL". 2006 she received the Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande (Federal German Order of Merit in the name of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany) for her art as well as her cultural and caritative contributions. She lives in the Castle Metternich near Bonn since 1960. Family. Marél von Steinling, Daughter of Johanna née Hoenning O'Carroll, artist. Life and work. Marél von Steinling studied from 1954 until 1958 at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich, including painting  with Professor Erich Glette and sculpturing with Professor Heinrich Kirchner. Additionally, she took a training in the pedagogy of the arts. Already as a young artist she had exhibitions worldwide, – see description of the exhibition in the Bois de Boulogne, Paris. On the 30th of June 1960, she married Franz-Leo Freiherr Spies von Büllesheim. At 1962, only 29 years old, she received an offer of a position by Professor Gerhard Gollwitzer at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart, / Academy of Fine Arts, which she could not accept because of the imminent birth of her second son, Already during  her studies she repeatedly had exhibitions in one of the (formerly) most well known German art galleries, Galerie Karin Hielscher, – which had gained international importance for providing talented artists, a supportive forum. Her work consists mainly of still life, landscape, and religious as well as abstract paintings, whereby the so-called 'Marél blue' ("Marél Blau") became her trademark. As portraitist she represents a late impressionistic style. She portrays people unembellished and with much character. She is included in the Great German Art Encyclopedia / das grosse ALLGEMEINE KÜNSTLER-LEXIKON / AKL (K. G. Saur Verlag / de Gruyter Berlin/New York – formerly THIEME -BECKER)