Born in Barcelona as Amélie Beaury, she added "Saurel" to her name in recognition of her mother's family who could trace their lineage to the Byzantine emperors of the 11th century.

Her family lived in Spain and Corsica, but eventually settled in France where she enrolled in the Academie Julian and paid for her studies by carrying out administrative duties and managing the finances.

[1] At various times, she was a pupil of J. Lefebvre, T. Robert-Fleury and J.P. Laurens in Académie Julian, and became a very popular portrait painter, thanks to Léon Bonnat.

In her publications, Marie Bashkirtseff (also a Julian pupil) talked distrustfully about "l'espagnole" (the Spanish woman).

[3] Mlle Amélie Beaury-Saurel also exhibited a self-portrait, a drawing, at the Salon of 1887, a work which received superlative praise.