In 1862, he enrolled at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied under Franz Adam.
[1] He specialized in rural genre scenes, occasionally treating more dramatic subjects such as soldiers and acrobats.
His chief influences were his uncle Lorenzo Quaglio and Carl Theodor von Piloty, later deriving some techniques from the impressionists.
He was a very prolific painter and travelled extensively, visiting Turkey, Greece and the Caucasus.
[1] Although he never held a formal teaching position, he often gave private art lessons.