Born in Soldin in 1791, August Bedřich Piepenhagen was a self-taught painter. He came from modest circumstances and was apprenticed to his father throughout his childhood and adolescence. Upon a trip to Switzerland, he was greatly inspired by the artwork he encountered there and led him to autodidactic painting practices. He briefly stayed in Zurich with the landscape painter Johann Heinrich Wuest, who introduced him to some artistic techniques. Piepenhagen was greatly inspired by the works of Caspar D. Friedrich, which is evident in his style.

Piepenhagen’s atmospheric and grand landscapes were a source of influence and inspiration for the Association of Moravian Artists (SVUM). Painting largely during the Romanticism period, Piepenhagen showed a mastery of the movement by capturing expansive, natural scenes. He remains a prominent painter in the Czech art history canon.