Carlo's father, Károly Markó the Elder, was born in Hungary and died in Italy.
At the age of 16 years, Carlo left his family as they were travelling through Italy and settled in Florence, where he pursued his studies.
He was Professor of the Academy of Fine Arts of Florence, as well as in Genoa, Perugia, and Urbino.
[2] Among his pupils were Serafino De Tivoli, Adolfo Tommasi, Ulvi Liegi, and Domenico Bresolin.
He later moved to Russia, possibly with a promise of employment (as Italian painters were very much in vogue there at the time) and died in Moscow.