 His art career began while he was working as a bell-ringer at the Church of Our Lady of Candelária in Itu.Some small works Júnior created on religious themes impressed the head priest enough to hold a fundraiser for him so he could go to Rio de Janeiro for formal art lessons.In 1869, he enrolled at the Academia Imperial de Belas Artes (Imperial Academy of Fine Arts), where he studied with Victor Meirelles and Pedro Américo.