Georg Wilhelm Timm

Painter, graphic artist, engraver, illustrator, ceramist. Son of Friedrich Gottlieb Timm (mayor of Riga) and brother of Emilija Timm (briefly wife of Karl Brullov). Studied battle painting under Alexander Gottlob Sauerweid at the Imperial Academy of Arts (1835–39). Awarded a minor silver medal (1837) and a large silver medal (1839). Travelled to Dresden and Teplice to observe the sites of the Battle of Kulm and the Battle of Leipzig (1839). Took up lithography (1840) and illustrated satirical books and magazines (1840–44). Awarded an imperial pension to live and work in Paris (1843), where he studied under Horace Vernet (1844–48) and visited Algeria (1845). Forced to return to Russia following the outbreak of the February revolution (1848). Fought with the Russian army in the Caucasian War (1849–50). Accompanied Tsar Nicholas I to Haapsalu, Reval and Helsinki (1852). Took part in the Crimean War (1854–55) and was elected an academician of battle painting for graphic works depicting the defence of Sebastopole (1855). Published the Russian Art Leaflet (1851–62) and attended the Academy Fridays (1857–62). Developed his own method of lithography (1861). Lived and worked in Berlin (1867–95), where he took up ceramics after his sight began to fail (1870) and was elected a professor of the Preußische Akademie der Künste. Contributed to exhibitions (from the 1840s). Contributed to the exhibitions of the Imperial Academy of Arts (1840s–50s), Paris Salon (1844, 1848) and retrospectives in Riga (1906, 1951).