In Bayreuth: Marie Countess of Schleinitz-Wolkenstein (1842–1912) with her Husband and Cosima Wagner

This photograph shows Marie Countess von Schleinitz-Wolkenstein (1842–1912) (right) with her second husband Anton Count von Wolkenstein-Trostburg (1832–1913) (left) and Cosima Wagner (1837–1930) (centre) around 1890 in Bayreuth. The salon of Marie von Schleinitz, whose first marriage was to the Prussian minister of the royal household Alexander von Schleinitz (1807–1885), was among the most prominent of Imperial Germany. Influential guests from the court and cultural circles of Berlin gathered there. As an important patron of Richard Wagner, Countess von Schleinitz-Wolkenstein played a central role in establishing the Bayreuth Festspiele and helped the composer to make his breakthrough.

Anton Karl Simon Count of Wolkenstein-Trostburg (1832–1913), Cosima Wagner (1837–1930) and Marie ("Mimi") Countess of Schleinitz-Wolkenstein (1842–1912) in front of the Festspielhaus in Bayreuth, black-and-white photograph, 5 x 7 inches, ca. 1890, photographer: Bain News Service; image source: Library of Congress, Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-ggbain-21281, not subject to licence.