He was known for landscapes and coastal scenes in North Germany, and in 1880 and 1881, he made a sketching trip through Syria, Palestine and Egypt. In 1882 he became a Professor of Landscape Painting at the Prussian Academy of Arts. In 1885 he painted the Battle of Chattanooga for the "Philadelphia Panorama Company", a cyclorama which was installed in Philadelphia and Kansas City.
Bracht was supported by Anton von Werner, the conservative director of the Berlin Academy, but broke off with him during the affair of the closure of Edvard Munchs Berlin exhibition in 1892.