Early Life, Family and Training Maximilien de Meuron entered the world on 8 September 1785 in Corcelles-près-Concise, born into the quiet dignity of an aristocratic family. His early years were shaped by the expectations of his station, yet a different calling began to stir within him through the guidance of others. His first steps into the realm of visual art were taken in Neuchâtel, where he received his initial lessons from a Piedmontese artist named Matthieu Ricco. This early instruction provided the foundation upon which his later sensibilities would be built. As his interest in the br…