Jean-Jacques Karpff, called Casimir

Karpff was the son of a cabinet maker and studied painting with François-Joseph Hohr, Jacques-Philippe Joseph de Saint-Quentin, Bonaventure-Marie Lebert and, from 1790, with Jacques-Louis David in Paris. He was enrolled at the school of the Paris Academy on June 28, 1790 and was awarded prizes in 1791 and 1792. In 1793, he returned to Colmar, where he became a member of the art commission, designed revolutionary festivities and, starting in 1796, taught drawing at the École Centrale. At around 1803, he moved to Paris, where he may have studied with Jean-Baptiste Jacques Augustin in 1805. In the following year, he was called to St. Cloud to paint a portrait of Empress Josephine, for which he received a gold medal in 1809. He exhibited at the Paris Salon from 1808 to 1817. He produced paintings, drawings, and miniatures. Unlike other painters, he created his miniatures exclusively in black ink.