Carl Haag

Carl Haag was a preeminent late 19th-century Romantic watercolorist and traveler, one of the most famous Orientalists of his day.  Born in Erlangen, Germany in 1820, he was trained at the academies of Nuremberg and Munich.  He became court painter to the duke of Saxe-Coburg and GothaIn 1847, he traveled to London to study watercolour technique, and was fortunate enough to attract the patronage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. He made many visits to Balmoral, recording the life of the royal couple and their children in numerous stunning watercolours.  He eventually became a naturalized British subject. From 1850, he exhibited at the Society of Painters in Water-Colours and was elected a full member in 1853. He returned to Austria and Germany for a visit in 1857, the date of the present watercolor. In 1858 Haag made his first visit to Egypt, where he joined forces with the English painter, Frederick Goodall. Both artists were captivated by the beauty of the landscape, and the exotic quality of Arab life. In 1859, Queen Victoria commissioned Haag to paint The Dome of the Rock, becoming the first artist to do so—he was under heavy guard even with the permission of the Pasha of Egypt.  Haag continued his travels throughout the Holy Land, painting views of Palestine and of Jerusalem. He died in 1915.