Johann Eleazar Zeissig, also known as Schenau, was born in Saxony in 1737. He moved to Dresden at the age of 12 to become an artist, and to Paris in 1756 under the patronage of Louis de Silvestre (the son of Israël Silvestre, director of the Dresden Akademie). Schenau was introduced to the French court and during his time in Paris painted portraits of, amongst others, Maria Josepha and Madame de Pompadour. By 1765 Schenau had built a reputation as a popular genre painter and in 1773 he was appointed professor of design at Meissen (under the directorship of Count Camillo Marcolini). Both painters and modellers adapted and copied his paintings, drawings and designs.

The Botany Lesson was engraved by J. Chevillet and the subject included allegorical symbols, including the 'senna' plant in the foreground, which could be taken medicinally for 'regularity', alongside the watch and the lesson itself, all of which could refer to constancy, diligence or fidelity.