Painter and engraver, Karl Girardet, was born in Switzerland in 1813, the most distinguished of a family of artists.  He arrived in Paris with his father, Charles-Samuel, at the age of nine.  Beginning in 1836, he exhibited at the Salon.  As the favorite painter of Louis-Philippe, he traveled to Egypt where he made a large number of sketches which were later published.

In 1837, he settled in Brienz with his brother, Edouard, and Edouard's sons Leopold Henri, Robert and Max.  They began inviting painter friends such as Maximilien de Meuron, Alexandre Calame and Benjamin Vautier, turning Brienz into a meeting place for artists and their admirers.  They are sometimes referred to as the "School of Brienz".

Girardet died in Paris in 1871.