Marie Luise Gothein was a German art historian and one of the first scholars to conduct academic research into garden art. As women were not permitted to enrol at German universities in the 19th century, she was largely self-taught, regularly supplementing her studies with research visits to the British Museum in London. Her two-volume work Geschichte der Gartenkunst (A History of Garden Art) became a foundational reference in the field. In recognition of her scholarly achievements, the University of Heidelberg awarded her an honorary doctorate in 1931.