Elisabeth "Else" Johanna Martha Maria Sohn-Rethel (14 March 1853 – 22 January 1933) was a German painter and singer, active in the mid and late 19th-century.

[1] Elisabeth Johanna Martha Maria Rethel was born 14 March 1853 in Rome, Papal States into an upper class German Jewish family.

[2] Her mother was Marie Elisabeth Henrietta Philippina Grahl and her father was history painter, Alfred Rethel.

[4] Between 1860 and 1900, she took up the profession of singing because they needed more income, and as result she was welcomed in to Düsseldorf high society and would often perform at salons and other social gatherings.

[4] Sohn-Rethel died on 22 January 1933 at her home in Düsseldorf, a few days before Adolf Hitler seized power.