Friedrich von Nerly

He received his first drawing lessons from his aunt, then from another uncle, Heinrich Joachim Herterich, a lithographer, and was employed in his workshop.

Through them, he made the acquaintance of the person who would become his patron; the painter and art historian, Carl Friedrich von Rumohr.

In 1840, he married Agathe Alginovich (1810–89), adoptive daughter of the Marchese Maruzzi, and they had one son, Friedrich Paul, who also became a painter.

In 1852, King William I of Württemberg awarded him the Knight's Cross in the Order of the Crown, which gave him the right to use the noble prefix "von".

[1] In 1883, his entire art collection was donated to the city of Erfurt by his son, Friedrich, with the stipulation that it be used to create a museum.