As it turned out, he was more interested in art and began painting miniatures that he displayed in 1719 at a fair in Braunschweig.

In 1720, with the financial support of Augustus William, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg, he went to Paris, where he studied with Hyacinthe Rigaud and Nicolas de Largillière.

[2] After that, he was supposed to become court painter to the Duke but, while passing through Darmstadt in 1724, Ernest Louis, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt offered him 400 Florins per year if he would remain there.

[citation needed] He accepted the offer, working for Ernst-Louis and his son, Louis VIII until at least 1752 or 1754, although he may have remained until his death.

[citation needed] He probably died of cachexia and was buried next to the Stadtkirche Darmstadt, with a monument bearing a medallion and a poetic inscription.