Simon Glücklich attended the Academy in Vienna between 1880 and 1890, studying under Leopold Carl Müller. Prior to his relocating to Munich in 1890, he went on a study trip to Italy.

St. Cecilia, whom he depicts, is patroness of church music. According to tradition, she promised herself to God and lead a marriage in name only with her husband, the Gentile Valerianus, before she converted him. Cecilia also converted her servants. Her persecutors attempted to boil her alive, but she survived unscathed. Consequently, an executioner tried, and failed, to behead her three times. She lived for a further three days until her death, before which she distributed her wealth among the poor. The legend ...