The younger brother to fellow painter Carl Wenig, he is most remembered among the fourteen protestants who, led by Ivan Kramskoi, left the Imperial Academy of Arts to establish the Artel of Artists in 1863.

[4] In 1848, he and his family moved to Saint Petersburg, where his father had found employment with the Directorate of the Imperial Theatres.

In 1851, he joined his brother Carl at the Imperial Academy of Arts, studying historical painting with Fyodor Bruni.

[5] In 1863, he was one of the artists involved in the "Revolt of the Fourteen"; refusing to participate in the 100th anniversary competition for a large gold medal.

In 1865, together with Kramskoi and Nikolay Koshelev, he worked on painting the main dome at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.