Jean-Jacques Casimir Karpff (Colmar, 12 February 1770 - Versailles, 24 March 1829) was a French painter, designer and miniaturist.
Pupil of François Joseph Hohr in Colmar, Karpff went to Paris in 1790. Legend has it that when he appeared in Jacques-Louis David's studio, one of his future classmates, judging Karpff unpronounceable David gave him the nickname of "Casimir". In 1795, he returned to Colmar where he taught drawing in the new school of fine arts and specialized in monochrome portraits. In 1806, he was summoned to Saint-Cloud to paint the portrait of the Empress Josephine, which earned him some success. He became the hosted guest of the poet Victoire Babois, where in Versailles lived the rest of his life. Karpff was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery (27th Division).
References
- Pantxika Béguerie, Georges Bischoff Grünewald: le maître d'Issenheim 2000 - Page 15 "Jean-Jacques Karpff (1770–1829). peintre et dessinateur, élève de David, fut à l'origine du premier "Musée national de Colmar". Après avoir dressé l'inventaire des œuvres d'art du Haut-Rhin, il les réunit afin d'assurer leur protection et leur ...
- H. Lebert, "Note on Jean-Jacques Karpff Casimir", Journal of Alsace, in 1856, the seventh year, Colmar, 1856
- New dictionary of biography Alsatian, manual Gueth Francis, vol. 20, p. 1884
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