[1] In 1865 he moved with his family to Rio Grande do Sul when his parents (a violinist and a dancer), were contracted by the emperor Pedro II to be tutors to the imperial princesses.

In 1870 he enrolled in the Academia Imperial de Belas Artes (AIBA) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, studying with painters of outstanding importance such as Victor Meirelles and Agostinho José da Mota.

In 1891 he became a teacher of painting of the recently inaugurated Escola Nacional de Belas Artes.

He kept contact with the Italian figurative culture, constantly travelling to cities such as Rome, Naples and Venice.

There is a bust of him with his brother Rodolfo in Praça do Lido, Copacabana, by the sculptor Hildegardo Leão Veloso [pt].