Weimar Saxon-Grand Ducal Art School
In 1862, he followed his brother, the sculptor Reinhold Begas to the Weimar Saxon-Grand Ducal Art School, where he found work in the studios of Arnold Böcklin. He took a study trip to Italy in 1864, where he was influenced by paintings of the Madonna. On his return to Berlin, he earned his living primarily as a portrait painter, but was more enthusiastic about producing dreamy genre scenes and idealized (often allegorical) female figures.