 He studied at the Accademia di San Luca, and then worked under Aurelio Tiratelli, who introduced him to the very best Italian artists of the period.He mastered the technique of watercolor very early in his career.He often traveled to the Paris Salon exhibitions, and was influenced by the styles and orientalist themes expressed by painters like Mariano Fortuny, Ernest Meissonier, and Gérôme.