[1] He was the son of a court official and began his training as an architect in 1823 under church designer Georg August Lerch.

[2] In 1835, he was appointed to be a drawing teacher at the New Royal High School in Athens and, on 15 May, became a building inspector for King Otto I.

In 1847, he was appointed to succeed August von Voit as Professor of Architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich.

He is best known for a large series of lithographs (produced in conjunction with his brothers Georg, Gustav and Julius) depicting examples of Gothic architecture in the Rhine Valley; and (with Ernst Rauch) steel engraved views of prominent German cities.

[1] The Royal Villa in Berchtesgaden and the Museum der bildenden Künste in Leipzig (1856–1857) were built from his designs.