Carl Haag was born in Erlangen, Bavaria and studied in Nuremberg and Munich where he acquired a reputation for his miniatures. He left Brussels where he had been working as a miniaturist and travelled to France, Egypt, Syria and finally arrived in England in 1847 to examine the English use of watercolour, a specialty little practiced as yet on the Continent. He selected mineral colours for their quality of permanency, and evolved his own technique of applying pure colours in layers of wash, stippling with the point of his brush and then scratching out the colour to obtain highlights. It was during a convalescence, after his hand had been damaged in a gun accident, that he formulated another original method, that of removing superfluous pigment, which had deliberately been laid on in extra strength, to arrive at the required tones. Such was his talent that he was soon able to join the Old Watercolour Society despite being a foreigner. It was, however his nationality as well as his ability that drew him to the attention of Prince Albert and he was commanded to attend Queen Victoria at Balmoral where he painted two pictures for her. In 1858, Haag made a trip to Cairo, Greece and Turkey, returning to Egypt that November. Here, he shared a house with Frederick Goodall, with whom he undertook many sketching expeditions in the desert. They entertained visiting artists and travellers, and gained quite a reputation for their hospitality. In 1859 he travelled to Jerusalem and the Holy Land in time for the Easter festivals. He stayed in Jerusalem until June, before proceeding on to Samaria, Galilee, Damascus and Palmyra. He was able to study the life and character of the desert tribes and made a number of watercolours.