In 1870 he accepted the nomination for the professorship at the Imperial Russian Academy of Arts and moved to St. Petersburg for several years.

Godebski sent the infant girl to his late wife's family in Halle, Belgium to be raised for several years.

[1] After several years, Godebski had reclaimed his daughter Misia and brought her to Paris, where she was educated at Sacre Coeur, a convent boarding school.

[6][7] Misia (Godebska) Sert became a friend of Proust, poet Mallarmé, and artist painters such as Monet and Renoir, as well as musicians.

Sert was the business partner and best friend of Serge de Diaghilev, impresario of the influential Ballets Russes.

A collection on Godebski's life and work is held by the South-West Brabant Museum in Halle, Belgium, the longtime home of his father-in-law Servais.