 After finishing his studies at the Munich Polytechnicum Edmond went to study for 10 years at the Fine Arts school in Paris.Van Saanen-Algi married Aurelia Vasiliu-Bolnavu, the daughter of Romanian philanthropist .Later (before 1914), he was married to the New York-born author Marice Rutledge ("Maryse Rutledge") who from 1915 to 1918 wrote under the name "Marie Louise van Saanen".