Painter, born in Grodek in what is now Poland (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire). Ryszard Richard Schneider Edler von Marientreu’s father was Austrian military governor for the area. Although von Marientreu (pronounced Marientroy) wanted to be a painter, he was sent to the military school in Cracow, then the academy in Vienna to continue his training. In 1918, while serving in the Austrian Army, he was badly wounded and had two years in hospital. Against the wishes of his family, von Marientreu left for Vienna and later Prague to study for four years at the Academy of Painting. In 1925 his professor engaged him to paint large frescoes in the cloisters of the Church of Maria Schein, near Karlovy Vary, Czechoslovakia. He was discovered and brought to England by his early patron Marie Ludlow-Symons.