He was known for taking a scientific approach in his investigations of classical Greek and Roman art, being credited with introducing the method of determining the date and source of sculptural fragments by way of thorough analysis of the account of anatomic detail.
In 1843 he received his doctorate degree with the work Artificum liberae Graeciae tempora, afterwards moving to Rome, where for several years he was associated with the German Archaeological Institute (DAI).
[1] For a number of years, he collected artwork for the Glyptothek, being instrumental in making the museum an important center for the study of classical sculpture.
He was co-founder of Denkmäler griechischer und römischer Skulptur in historischer Anordung (1888), and was author of Geischichte der griechischen Künstler, a publication that helped establish a chronology of ancient Greek art history.
[1] His collection of smaller works, Heinrich Brunn's kleine Schriften gesammelt (1898–1906), was published in three volumes after his death.