 As the nephew of Ernest Ritschel, a German sculptor and founder of the Dresden Art School, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, under Karl Raupp (1837–1918) and Wilhelm von Kaulbach (1805–1874) between 1888 and 1894 and became a member of the Kunstverein München.His seascapes and studies of horses were exhibited throughout Germany and in Paris.Responding to an invitation from his physician-cousin, he sailed in November 1895 to New York City.