Heinrich Ludwig Philippi

His father, Johann Friedrich Hector Philippi [de] was a jurist and member of the Prussian House of Representatives for Elberfeld.

After completing his secondary education in 1857, he took an extended study trip to Berlin, Frankfurt and Dresden, with the intention of becoming an artist.

In Dresden, Eduard Bendemann, a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, to whom he was distantly related, advised him to attend the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, which he did.

In 1859, Bendemann was named Director of the Kunstakademie and Philippi became engaged to his daughter Marie.

The engagement was short-lived however, as Philippi's father ordered him to break it off, on the grounds that he would not be able to support a wife and family while still a student.