His father was a gold plater. He received his first drawing lessons from his older brother, Günther, as did his younger brother, Martin [de]. This was followed by studies with Wilhelm Tischbein in Eutin, then with Gerdt Hardorff and Siegfried Bendixen in Hamburg. From 1828 to 1831, he attended the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich. In 1832, he was one of the founding members of the Hamburger Künstlerverein [de].
His etchings of sailors, and illustrations for the folk ballad, "Der Edelknabe und die Müllerin" (The Noble Boy and the Miller, from Lieder und Bilder, 1844) were among his most popular. After the completion of reconstruction, following the Great Fire of Hamburg, he designed the "certificates of thanks" that were presented to Prussia, Sachsen-Meiningen, Bremen, Nassau, the Netherlands and England; using a Medieval miniature painting technique.
All three Gensler brothers were members of the Hamburger Turnerschaft von 1816 [de]. He was interred in the family grave at Ohlsdorf Cemetery. A street was named after them in Hamburg's Barmbek district.
In 2019, his works were part of a major exhibition: "Hamburger Schule – Das 19. Jahrhundert neu entdeckt", at the Hamburger Kunsthalle.
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