He was accepted to the Athens School of Fine Arts, where he studied painting along with Nikiphoros Lytras during the years 1871–1872.

With a scholarship of King George I, he was able to continue his studies in Copenhagen from 1873 to 1876 near Carl Frederik Sørensen.

In 1878, the year of his death, two of his works (Destruction of the Ottoman flagship by Papanikolis in Eressos and the Naval battle of Captain Miaoulis) were presented at the International Exhibition of Paris.

His marine scenes show the influence of 17th-century Dutch seascapes and French plein-air painting.

The vivid light, the bright blues, greens, yellows and greys, the open horizons and the motion in his works show that he was gradually discarding the strict perfection of academic realism and favouring more impressionism.