Reinhold Begas was born into a renowned family of artists and is considered one of the most important representatives of the Wilhelmine neo-baroque. He was initially trained by his godfather Ludwig Wichmann, before attending the academy in Berlin, where he studied under prominent figures of German classicism such as Gottfried Schadow and Christian Daniel Rauch.

With the help of a grant, Begas traveled to Rome, where he was inspired by contemporaries such as Franz von Lenbach, Anselm Feuerbach, Arnold Böcklin and Heinrich Dreber as well as the Italian masters. Consequently his initially strictly classicist manner gave way to a powerful baroque style.

Upon his return to Berlin, he received numer...