She was a double major in art history and botany at the universities of Greifswald, Halle and Berlin.
Her doctoral thesis was titled Das ungegenständliche Bauornament der Gotik.
After graduation she worked at the Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin and became a professor for medieval art and ornaments at the University of Jena in 1953.
Two years later she received her habilitation at the Humboldt-University Berlin and became associate director of the institute of art history at the university of Jena.
[1][2] Her research focus were the iconography of plants in medieval art and late mediaval drawing.