Moigniez studied sculpture under the tutelage of Paul Comoléra (a student of François Rude) in Paris.

His first submission in a major art exhibition was his plaster, Pointer Stopping at a Pheasant, at the Exposition Universelle of 1855.

[1] In contrast with other animaliers of the period such are P. J. Mêne and Antoine-Louis Barye, Moigniez's bird sculptures often incorporated highly detailed bases complete with bushes, extensive foliage and undergrowth.

[1] His Chien braque arrêtant un faisan (1859), cast in bronze, was acquired by the French government for the château of Compiègne.

[1] As early as December 1869 his sculptures had begun to be imported to the United States by the Philadelphia jewelry firm of J. E. Caldwell & Co. who had a store at 902 Chesnut Street.