Rudolf Koller began his artistic training in 1843 to 1845 under Jacob Schweizer, Rudolf Obrist and Johann Jakob Ulrich II, to whom he owed important suggestions. According to a study visit to the stables of the Württemberg king, he was accompanied by Arnold Böcklin via Brussels to Antwerp and Paris. He attended repeats to the Louvre, but also learned the art of modern animal painting from artists such as Rosa Bonheur and Constant Troyon.

In 1848 he returned to Zurich, but the following year went to Munich, where he made the acquaintance of Johann Gottfried Steffan and Friedrich Voltz. In 1851 he finally settled in his native city. In 1862 he bought the house "to Hornau" Lake Zurich, where he lived until...