 His most influential instructor was Wilhelm von Diez, who led him away from genre painting to a more impressionistic style

In 1882, he took a long journey, which included visits to Paris, the Netherlands, Holstein, the German seaports and then back to Munich, where he became friends with Fritz von Uhde, Bruno Piglhein and Max Liebermann.The next year, he had a display at the Munich International Art Exhibition, then travelled again to Paris and the Netherlands.From 1884 to 1888, he lived in Berlin, but returned to Munich and began painting in naturalistic colors with strong lighting effects.