His father, also named Johann Michael, originally came from
Ditzingen and was a Master baker. His mother, Elisabetha, née Bauder was from
Waiblingen. From 1808 to 1809, he attended the Polytechnic School in
Karlsruhe ( now part of the
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology). After 1815, he pursued his artistic studies with
Johann Heinrich von Dannecker. This was followed by an apprenticeship in
Milan (1818). He lived in Rome from 1819 to 1840. There, he was a member of the local , also known as the "Ponte Molle Society". He continued to design projects for his hometown. In 1820, together with
Giovanni Salucci, he drew the construction plans for the
Württemberg Mausoleum; on commission from Queen
Katharina Pawlowna. A trip to Naples in 1821 took him to
Pompeii. Later, from 1829 to 1832, he worked on researching and illustrating ancient
Etruscan and
Hellenistic monuments in Italy and Sicily. He was named a member of the
Pontifical Academy of Fine Arts and Letters of the Virtuosi al Pantheon in 1840. That same year, he accepted an appointment as Court Architect in Württemberg and returned home. In 1843, he and published
Denkmale der christlichen Religion oder Sammlung der christlichen Kirchen Roms. Rom 1822–27. Auch: Die Basiliken des christlichen Roms. Mit 50 Kupfertafeln (Monuments of the Christian Religion in Rome). He married Josephine Sofie Haag in 1837. They were divorced in 1849. == Major works ==