Charles Hoguet was born in Berlin to French parents. He began his studies with the marine painter Wilhelm Krause in Berlin. In 1839 the artist moved to Paris where he continued his studies with the landscape painter Bertin, who had also been the master of Corot, as well as with the Barbizon painter Eugène Cicéri, and finally with Louis-Gabriel-Eugène Isabey, a landscapist and one of the leading proponents of Romantic school. After his sojourn in Paris, he traveled extensively, briefly stopping to sketch in England, Holland, and along the Belgian and Norman coasts. He returned permanently to Berlin in 1848.