His father, a merchant, died while Julius was still young. After displaying his talents by modelling animals in clay, he received his basic artistic training from the sculptor, Ernst Gottfried Vivié [de]. In 1847, he was able to attend the Prussian Academy of Arts and work in the studios of Ludwig Wilhelm Wichmann. He spent 1859 in Italy, working on a commission for a statue of Venus and Adonis.
In 1860, he took part in a competition to design the Schiller Monument [de], and his draft design was accepted. He was, however, able to complete only two of the four base figures ("Drama" and "Story"), when he died of tuberculosis, aged only thirty-four. The monument was completed by his friend and associate, Carl Börner [de]. Just prior to his death, he had been awarded second place in a competition to create an equestrian monument, honoring Frederick William II of Prussia, in Cologne.
From 1832, he was a member of the Hamburger Künstlerverein [de]. He was interred at the Ohlsdorfer Friedhof.
