Georg Abraham Nagel was a well-travelled artist from Nuremberg, but almost nothing is known about his life and work. He was trained by the painter and engraver Johann Daniel Preissler. From 1736 to 1742, Nagel stayed in Florence and became a member of the Accademia di Belle Arti from 1741. In the years between 1742 and 1750, he lived in Copenhagen. Nagel then travelled to Rome with stays in Lübeck, Schwerin, Hamburg and Vienna. He spent the rest of his life in Rome.