 He received his first lessons in drawing, modelling and carving wood from his father, the painter Christian Carl Magnussen.In 1882, he began his formal training in Munich with Nikolaus Gysis, Gabriel von Hackl and Ludwig von Löfftz.Despite being in Munich, he was most impressed by works from the Berliner Bildhauerschule (Berlin School of Sculpture) and went there in 1888, where he obtained a position in the studios of Reinhold Begas, remaining for five years.