During the 1860s, he studied law in Pozsony (now Bratislava) while taking art lessons from Károly Steinacker (1801-1873) in Sopron. In 1870, he enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, where he studied with Carl Wurzinger, followed by studies at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, where he took lessons from Wilhelm von Diez and began producing genre scenes of folk-life.
Upon obtaining his law degree, the bibliographer and scholar Lajos Eötvös encouraged him to continue his artistic studies. Attempts at painting landscapes en plein-air were not to his liking. He remained in Munich until 1890, where he shared a studio with Béla Spányi and sent his paintings to exhibitions in Paris and London as well as Budapest.
He returned to Hungary every year for a few months and, apparently a bit homesick, decided to remain there in 1890.
Soon, he became the most sought-after painter for portraits of children. He was a regular participant in the Nemzeti Szalon (National Salon) and briefly served as its Director.
Three years later, he settled in the small village of Magyarkeresztúr and lived there until his death. In his later years, his paintings began to show the influence of Mihály Munkácsy.
His last exhibition was in 1921.
He also produced numerous book illustrations for works by József Kiss, Sándor Bródy and Mór Jókai, among others
