Though Anne Marie Bruun was interested in art from an early age, financial hardships drove her to apply for a job at Den Kgl. Porcelainsfabrik (The Royal Danish Porcelain Factory). Subsequently she received drawing lessons from Frederik Helsted (1809–1875) and Vilhelm Kyhn (1819–1903), and at Kyhn's recommendation she became a student of Jorgen Roed (1808–1888). Shortly after her debut in Charlottenborg in 1879, she travelled to Paris, where she attended Académie Julian. That same year she married the medical doctor, Gilbert Lauri Jespersen (1851–1929). Her paintings and drawings stemming from the time of their posting in Indonesia may be the work she is best known for. She ecxecuted several studies of people and nature in Indonesia - however the present painting may have been created after her return to Denmark. After their posting she undertook yet another study tour to Paris. The couple was divorced in 1900 and from then on Gilbert-Jespersen had to support herself and their seven children. The artist made a living as an illustrator and furthermore opened a drawing school in 1902 with her colleague, Caroline van Deurs (1860–1932).