Brief Biography-Michael Sittow was born in what is now Tallinn, Estonia. His father was a successful artist and craftsman who taught Michael in his early years. In 1484, he went to Bruges, where he trained in the atelier of Hans Memling. He worked in various places during his life; in 1492, Queen Isabella of Castile engaged him as a court painter, and he later went to the Netherlands and worked for Margaret of Austria and other patrons in Flanders. Sittow undertook commissions for Christian II of Denmark and the Church of Saint Peter in Siuntio in Finland. In 1518, he travelled to Tallinn to settle estate matters, and there he became a member of the Artists Guild. He spent time in Spain working for the Spanish Courts for a period before returning to Tallinn circa 1516, where he died of the plague in 1525. His works were predominantly portraiture; not very many established works of his are extant.