During an interview shortly before her death in 1976, Jeanne Mammen revealed a portfolio containing about forty symbolist watercolors. No one had ever seen these works. Jeanne Mammen had become particularly known for her drawings from the 1920s, which were until then the earliest evidence of her artistic output. Consequently, her early work is hardly known to anyone. It indicates a keen interest in the figure of the ascetic, which became a popular subject in literature and art, especially towards the end of the 19th century. The depictions also suggest Mammen's personal sympathy for the figure of the solitary renouncer. The reclusive artist herself lived for 60 years in seclusion, alone and in impoverished conditions in a Berlin back house. Her artistic consciousness shows certain parallels with the figure of the ascetic and hermit.