Haag was born in 1820 in Bavaria, and trained at the Academy of Fine Arts Nuremberg. In 1850, he became an associate of the Royal Society of Painters in Water colours before becoming court painter to the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Haag travelled across the Middle East, building a portfolio of Holy Land scenes. Another preferred subject of Haag’s was mountain scenes, the production of which resulted in a stay at Balmoral in 1854 where he recorded the Royal Family’s time at the estate. Subsequently, a large body of Haag’s work can be found in the Royal Collection.