As interest in his work began to wane, he received an appointment to the Stuttgart Academy, through the mediation of his former teacher, Neher. He was head of the drawing department there from 1877 until his death. Among his students were Karl Bauer, Georg Jauss und Hermann Pleuer. As a member of the "Society for Christian Art in the Evangelical Church of Württemberg" he had a major influence on contemporary religious art.
