Carl Timoleon von Neff was born at a manor house in Püssi in what is today eastern Estonia, but was then a part of the Russian Empire as the Governorate of Estonia, in 1804. His mother was a French governess at the estate. He was an illegitimate child.
He graduated from there in 1825.
He began studying art in Estonia under the tutelage of Karl von Kügelgen and continued at the Academy of Arts in Dresden, present-day Germany. Following his graduation, he travelled and divided his time between his native Estonia, Italy and Saint St. Petersburg, the Imperial capital. In Saint St. Petersburg he received a commission to paint the daughters of the emperor Nicholas I.
The portrait was apparently well received as he from this time onward became tied to the court, and made a career as an artist working for the higher echelons of society.
He received prestigious commissions in both Saint St. Petersburg and abroad.
In recognition for his work, especially for contributing to the artistic embellishment of several churches, he was generously awarded with different forms of official recognition, such as orders and titles. In addition, he became one of the emperor"s closest advisers in questions related to art
Following his many successes he built an Italianate manor house to house his personal art collection in Muuga, Estonia.
In 1846, he was made an honorary member of the Academy of Florence and after finishing the decoration of parts of the iconostasis of Saint Isaac"s Cathedral in Saint St. Petersburg, was nominated to become a member of the Russian Imperial Academy of Arts.
