After his primary education, he was apprenticed to the Bellis Brothers, a house painting and decoration firm, and received a master certificate in 1855.

One of his employees there was the Greek painter Périclès Pantazis, who became his lifelong friend, introducing him to the works of Gustave Courbet and Édouard Manet and showing him the techniques of painting with the palette knife.

The two apparently travelled together on study tours to England and the Netherlands and some critics cite Vogels as a significant influence on Ensor.

He kept no written records and left his works undated, which makes it difficult to establish a chronology showing the development of his style.

Some influence from the Old Masters seems to mark his later paintings, although many display a loose brushwork that appears to anticipate Expressionist techniques.