Eduard Gaertner

Johann Philipp Eduard Gaertner (Jun 2, 1801 - Feb 22, 1877) was a German painter who specialized in depictions of urban architecture.

It is believed that he made use of a camera obscura to sketch the layouts of his paintings. Although this is not expressly mentioned in his working notes, he does make oblique references to a "drafting machine" and some of his sketches are done on tracing paper. He also possessed a collection of photographs, but there is no indication that these were used as models.

n 1840, King Friedrich Wilhelm III died. His successor, Friedrich Wilhelm IV, preferred Italian-style paintings with Greek landscapes and bought very little from Gaertner who, without the income from his principal client, soon began to have financial difficulties.

He eventually made contact with a group that was interested in the protection and restoration of monuments and needed to have an illustrated inventory of them. As a result, Gaertner travelled to villages and towns throughout Prussia, making watercolor sketches, including scenic views meant to be sold on his return to Berlin. By this means, he was able to attract some middle-class customers, but they proved to be no substitute for Royal patronage. He began to turn away from architecture, producing romantic scenes full of steep cliffs, Gypsies, ruins and oak trees, but never restored that patronage. His paintings from this period are generally considered to be inferior.

As the century progressed, he increasingly suffered from competition with the newly emerging art of photography. In 1870, he and his family decided to leave the hectic atmosphere of Berlin and settle in Flecken Zechlin, a rural area near Rheinsberg. It was there that he died in 1877. His widow requested an annual allowance of 150 Marks from the Artist Support Fund of the Academy, but her application was denied. His works were virtually forgotten until the "Deutschen Jahrhundert-Ausstellung" of 1906, when they were shown again. Major exhibitions were staged in 1968, 1977 and 2001.
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