Brief Biography-Carl Timoleon von Neff was born in Püssi, Estonia in 1804. He was the illegitimate son of a governess in a manor house. Carl first received lessons from the Russian artist Karl von Kügelgen and went on to study at the Dresden Academy of Arts. He made trips to Italy, Russia, and Estonia during this period. A portrait Carl did of the daughter of Nicholas I in Saint Petersburg propelled him into a successful career painting for nobility. He became close to the emperor and received several commissions for church decorations throughout Europe. He was a member of the Russian Imperial Academy of Arts and an honorary member of the Academy of Florence.