Schwartze received her first training from her father, before studying for a year at the Rijksacademie van Beeldende Kunsten.

Schwartze exhibited her work at the Palace of Fine Arts at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois.

As Schwartze was in bad health at that time (and tried to hide this), the death of her husband was a blow that she could not overcome easily.

Later she was reburied at the Nieuwe Ooster cemetery in Amsterdam, where her sister created a memorial to her, modelled after her death mask, which is now a rijksmonument.

Her portraits, mostly of Amsterdam's elite, are remarkable for excellent character drawing, breadth and vigour of handling and rich quality of pigment.