Philip Foltz (1805-77) was the son and student of the painter Ludwig Foltz I. In 1825 he entered the Academy in Munich, and studied under Peter Cornelius. From 1835 to 1838 he undertook a study trip in Italy. On his return to Germany, he became a professor, and later director of the Academy in Munich. In 1855 he exhibited at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. Foltz painted many frescoes for the Munich Glyptothek, together with several important scenes from German history for the Maximilianeum in Munich. In 1865 he was appointed director of the Munich Pinakothek, where he undertook a comprehensive reorganisation of the collection, and embarked on a controversial programme of picture restoration.

Foltz's work is represented in the Royal Collection by three paintings of Tyrolese subjects (this one and a pair,  RCIN 403675 & 403676, all copied by Queen Victoria, see RCIN 408362), and by several engravings after his portraits of German royalty. In this example a mother and child kneel before a crucifix shrine at the side of a mountain path; she wears peasant clothing with a grey skirt and yellow apron, and carries a canvas bag over her shoulders; in the background mountains rise above a lake in the valley below.