In 1848, his financial circumstances forced him to leave the Academy. He didn"t find a secure position until he became a student/employee at Carl Rahl"s studio in 1856. He eventually obtained a professorship at the Academy in 1872.
He also established a private school where he taught Rahl"s style of monumental painting.
Rudolf Ernst was one of his best known pupils there. IHe died in Vienna in 1907.
In 1913, a street in Vienna"s Döbling district was named after him. Later, that street was removed for an industrial site and a new street was dedicated to him in the Favoriten district in 1959.