This mosaic representing Peter Vischer of Nuremberg is part of a cycle of monumental mosaic portraits depicting famous artists. The series of originally 35 mosaics was created between 1864 and circa 1875 for the South Court of the South Kensington Museum, the later V&A. The mosaics were originally installed on the side walls as part of a decorative scheme celebrating the arts. It is made after a painting by William Belll Scott.

Peter Vischer the Elder (about 1460-1529) was the most important member of the eminent family of sculptors and bronze-casters based in Nuremberg; his work unites the late northern Gothic tradition with the more classicizing influences of the Italian Renaissance. Vischer's most important work was the tomb of St Sebaldus, in the church of that name in Nuremburg, probably begun in 1508 and finished 1519. A cast of the tomb had been acquired by the Museum in 1864. Vischer included his own full-length self-portrait among the figures on the tomb, and this is the image reproduced by Scott: a similar pose, identical full-bearded features, wearing the same leather apron and holding a chisel and mallet (monogrammed 'PV'). The significance of the 'Star of David' emblem on his cap is unclear.

William Bell Scott (1811-1890) was a portraitist and history painter. He entered a cartoon for the Westminster Hall competition in 1842, the Free North Britons Surprising the Roman Wall between the Tyne and Solway, which was, however, unsuccessful. The following year he accepted the Mastership of the Government School of Design at Newcastle upon Tyne, where he worked for 20 years. His most important commission came in 1857 when he was invited by Sir Walter and Lady Pauline Trevelyan to paint murals at their home Wallington House, Northumberland. In the event Bell Scott opted to execute the works in oil on canvas rather than in fresco. The eight scenes of Northumbrian history began with the Building of the Roman Wall and ended with Iron and Coal.
Bell Scott played a significant part in the decoration of the museum galleries at South Kensington. Not only was he commissioned to execute a Valhalla portrait, he was also commissioned by Cole in 1867 to design glass for two windows in the Ceramic Gallery, and later to prepare a whole series. The overall scheme was to illustrate successive periods of ceramic manufacture. Scott also designed windows on the Lecture Theatre staircase, illustrating the arts and crafts of civilized life. A portion of this scheme was related to the Valhallas in theme, representing incidents in the lives of Giotto and Raphael. Scott might have been asked to represent Vischer in the Valhalla series because of his admiration for German art. He published a book on Dürer in 1869.

The series of mostly idealised portraits against gold backgrounds soon became known by the public as the Kensington Valhalla. The term alludes to the Vallhall as eternal home of heroes in Norse mythology. It also refers to the concept of a reunion of outstanding personalities of different periods by the means of art. An earlier example of such a hall of fame is the Walhalla near Regensburg in Germany (opened in 1842).

The selection of the Kensington Valhalla includes many famous artists, from Phidias and Apelles as representatives of ancient Greece to contemporaries such as the Irish painter William Mulready who had died only five years before his mosaic was completed.

Mosaics played an important part in the canon of materials and techniques used for the interior decoration of the new South Kensington Museum. The ambitious project of a revival of the art of mosaics involved one of the major Venetian mosaic companies of the time, Salviati & Co. It also led to the innovation of the technique by the introduction of vitrified ceramics mosaics made by Minton, Hollins & Co. These ceramics mosaics were created following the cartoons of professional artists by female students, including members of the family of Henry Cole.

The Kensington Valhalla remained in place until 1949. Some of the mosaics are now on display in other galleries of the museum. In addition to the mosaics themselves, preparatory sketches and cartoons by established contemporary artists such as Edward Poynter or Lord Leighton are part of the V&A collection.