Hess studied at the Academy in Munich from 1813-1817 under Peter von Langer. With the latter's rejection of the Nazarenes, Hesse left the Academy and, in 1821, visited Italy for four years, where he came under the influence of Overbeck. On his return in 1826, he received a professorship at the Munich Academy from Prince Ludwig.

This recently discovered picture displays his mastery of form through his soft application of colour and it is these religious landscapes, rather than the monumental creations for the Prince, which establish the importance of his oeuvre of this period with that of Joseph Anton Koch and Ernst Fries.