Anna Margaretha Reining, known as Rita, was born as the eldest of three daughters of a family of tobacco manufacturers of Prussian descent in the Luxembourg capital.

Her father, Niels Christian Wilhelm Reining had immigrated from Barmen in Rhineland (nowadays part of the city of Wuppertal) and became a naturalised Luxembourger in the year his daughter Rita was born (“Demande en naturalisation”). Her mother, Catharina Magdalena, née Burger, who went by the name Käthe, originated from Bremen (“Avis mortuaire”; “Recensements de la Population Luxembourg-Ville”, 1895).

Rita Reining received an international education, which at that time was reserved for young women of the upper class: After completing her secondary education at the Pensionnat Sainte Sophie in Luxembourg, Reining spent the 1903-1904 school year at a boarding school in Boulogne-sur-Seine (now Boulogne-Billancourt), and the following school year in Richmond Hill, Surrey, UK (now London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames). According to the Luxemburger Wort, Reining passed a degree in Duployan Shorthand, a method of writing that allows for high-speed transcription by using simplified symbols, in 1903 (1). She sought to develop her artistic gift and took private lessons in drawing and painting with Luxembourg artist Pierre Blanc, then a professor at the Ecole des Arts et Métiers. Due to her talent for three-dimensional work, the young woman received a special authorisation, signed by Paul Eyschen, to study sculpture under J.B. Wercolllier at the Ecole des Arts et Métiers. The latter was only accessible to male students at that period. In 1907, Reining attended the Kunstgewerbeschule Bremen during an extended stay with family friends. In 1909, she entered the Damenakademie München (‘Ladies Arts Academy’), where she pursued studies in anatomy and sculpture as well as in drawing and illustration under Robert Engels and Albert Weisgerber until 1917 (Thomas, Deseyve 180).

Upon her return from Munich, in 1920, Rita Reining married Lucien Eugène Marcel Thomas, an engineer from Strasbourg who had been a board member of Niels Reining’s tobacco factory for many years (“Heiratsurkunden des Jahres 1920”). Until 1925, the couple lived in Paris before returning to Luxembourg. Their son, Eric Robert Thomas, was born in the year of the wedding, and passed away in an accident in the Black Forest at the age of 30 (“Monsieur Eric Thomas”). Their daughter Monique’s birth year is unknown. She outlived her parents and pursued artistic activities as well besides her career as a teacher.

Reining mastered a wide range of techniques, including sculpture (in wood, marble, plaster, bronze and terracotta), the design of monuments, engraving, and ceramic decoration.

Since the days of her academic training, Reining participated regularly in group exhibitions, such as the Salon du Cercle Artistique de Luxembourg (CAL) or the Salon de Nancy (Nicolas). Exhibition participations in Paris and Munich have not yet been confirmed. She continued exhibiting until 1934, after which no participation in in group or individual exhibitions has been recorded.

In 1933, she was the author of an extensive societal information article in the Women’s interest newspaper Die Luxemburgerin (“The Luxembourgish Woman”, published by Emma Weber-Brugmann, wife of Batty Weber), titled “Femmes algériennes” (“Algerian women”). Reining possibly acquired advanced knowledge of the life of women in Algeria due to the family enterprise, the “Société Anonyme Tabac du Globe” having its registered office in Alger (Thomas-Reining).

Reining produced ceramics decorations in collaboration with the porcelain manufacturing company Villeroy & Boch.

In 1928, she was the jury president of a national artistic poster competition (“Affichen-Wettbewerb der ‚Luxemburger Zeitung‘“).

The National museum for archeoloy, history and art in Luxembourg (MNAHA) owns a representative collection of Reining’s works, centered largely around her sculptures, but also encompassing drawings. The artist unofficially bequeathed five of the works to the museum before her death, a decision her family implemented in the year 1989.

Beginning in 1914, Reining was an elected member of the “Comité de Charité” of the “Bureau de Bienfaisance” of the Ville de Luxembourg (Charity Committee of the Welfare Office of the city of Luxembourg) for the duration of five years (Letter from the President of the Bureau de Bienfaisance to the Collègue Echevinal). Her membership in the Cercle Artistique de Luxembourg (CAL) is not confirmed.

By the early days of her exhibition activities, Reining was already mentioned alongside renowned artists such as her teacher Jean-Baptiste Wercollier or Frantz Heldenstein (Die neue Zeit – Les temps nouveaux, “Kunstausstellung.“). Every year, her participations in the CAL Salons earned her positive reviews: “Since the last exhibition, her works have attracted justified interest. Whether purely sculptural or decorative, they demonstrate a keen sense of style in terms of form and a confident understanding of material and technical aspects.” (Escher Tageblatt, translated by author). Towards the end of her academic training, in 1917, a Luxemburg critic considered Reining’s art as visionary and influential for the Grand-Duchy: “One day Rita Reining  will show the sculpture in our country new paths and goals.” (Luxemburger Wort (2), translated by author)

Works Cited:

“Avis mortuaire. Madame Niels Reining née Käthe Burger. “Luxemburger Wort 02.19.1932: 6. Print.

“Affichen-Wettbewerb der ‚Luxemburger Zeitung‘“ Luxemburger Zeitung 21.12.1928: 2. Print.

“Demandes en naturalisation. Mises à l’ordre du jour des sections. “ L'Indépendance luxembourgeoise 04.04.1888: 1. Print.

Deseyve, Yvette. Der Künstlerinnen-Verein München e.V. und seine Damen-Akademie. Eine Studie zur Ausbildungssituation von Künstlerinnen im späten 19. und frühen 20. Jahrhundert. München: Herbert Utz Verlag, 2005, 180. Print

“Etat civil de la ville de Luxembourg. Bureau de Luxembourg-Ville. Du 26 août au 1er septembre
Naissances. “ L'indépendance luxembourgeoise 08.09.1921: 4. Print.

Friedrich, Evy. “Cercle Artistique Luxembourg.” Revue 29.01.1949: 13. Print.

“Heiratsurkunden des Jahres 1920. Luxembourg." Luxembourg : Archives de l’État. Registres d'état civil, 1796-1941. Entry for Lucien Eugen Marcel Thomas and Anna Margaretha Reining, 9 Jun 1920. Blatt 64. Manuscript.
Via "Luxembourg, Luxembourg records," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS2B-5DJF?view=explore : Aug 14, 2025), image 198 of 289; Archives nationales (Luxembourg).

“Kunstausstellung in Luxemburg.“ Escher Tageblatt 27.06.1916: 2. Print.

“Kunstausstellung.“ Luxemburger Wort 19./20.07.1919: 1. Print.

Letter from the President of the Bureau de Bienfaisance to the Collège Echevinal, 21.12.1914: Composition des Comités de Charité. Manuscript-Archives Ville de Luxembourg LU 11 - IV/2, Akte No. 208 - Bureau de Bienfaisance - Correspondance.

“Luxemburger Künstler und der Salon des Luxemburger Kunstvereins.“ Die neue Zeit – Les temps nouveaux 05.07.1914: 5. Print.

Luxemburger Wort 24.12.1903: 3. Print.

Luxemburger Wort 14.07.1917: 2. Print.

Luxemburger Wort 25.07.1969: 14. Print.

"Madame Marcel Thomas née Rita Reining." Luxemburger Wort 21. 03.1963: 7. Print.

"Monsieur Eric Thomas." Luxemburger Wort 13.08.1951: 5. Print.

Nicolas, Émile. “Les Artistes luxembourgeois au Salon de Nancy. “ LIindépendance luxembourgeoise 06.11.1923: 5. Print.

“A) Verzeichnis aller in der Nacht vom 1. Dezember zum 2. Dezember anwesenden Personen. “ Recensements de la Population Luxembourg-Ville, 1895. Luxembourg : Archives de l’État. Manuscript.
Via images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89WMMC5?view=index: Aug 14, 2025), image 57 of 565) 

Thomas, Monique . “Rita Thomas Reining.” Notice biographique, 1989, Inventaire MNAHA. 1989.073.003. Manuscript.

Thomas-Reining, Rita. “Femmes algériennes. “ Die Luxemburgerin 01.08.1933: 71-75. Print.