Painter and Printmaker Wilhelm Leibl was born in Cologne, where his father was the director of the Cathedral choir. In 1861, he began his artistic training with the painter Hermann Becker and entered the Munich Academy in 1864, studying with several artists including Carl Theodor von Piloty. Leibl joined three colleagues in establishing a joint studio in Munich, where Gustave Courbet exhibited his work at about the same time, making a considerable impression on many artists including Leibl, whose work became less formal and academic as a result.

At Courbet's urging, Leibl went to Paris where he met Édouard Manet, but was forced to return to Germany in 1870, where he settled in rural Bavaria, where he painted everyday scenes in a realistic and unsentimental manner. During the first half of the 1870s, Leibl executed a series of 19 etchings. His work was included in the Berlin Secession exhibition the following year. He died in Würzburg.