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Christian David Gebauer (1777–1831) was a German-born Danish animal and landscape painter. He was also known for etchings. His father was superintendent of the Moravian Church. When he was still very young, his family moved to Christiansfeld in Schleswig. Although his father had wanted him to become a priest, he contracted measles at the age of three and his hearing was permanently damaged. After displaying some talent for drawing, he enrolled at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied with C.A. Lorentzen. His primary inspiration, however, came from the Dutch Masters. He exhibited his student works, a mix of ink drawings and oils, and captured the attention of Nicolai Abildgaard. Shortly afterwards, Count Reventlow became his sponsor. He married in 1807. That same year, the beginning of the Gunboat War aroused his interest in battle painting, so he applied for Royal travel benefits, which were eventually granted. In 1813, he used some of his money to travel to Germany, where he witnessed the aftermath of the Battle of Dresden. He was particularly attracted to the captive Cossacks and their horses, which resulted in a number of drawings and etchings.
Gebauer was named a member of the Royal Academy in 1815. Two years later, he was given an apartment at Charlottenborg Palace and an annual pension. He lived there for many years and painted at several Royal properties throughout Denmark, creating architectural works (such as overdoors) in addition to his oils. In 1826/27, he made a trip to Bavaria, but the journey proved to be too taxing for his steadily declining health. While staying in Munich, he received news that his wife had died. Upon returning, he learned that three of his grown children had also died. He then relocated to Aarhus, where he lived with a surviving daughter and her husband, and opened a drawing school. In 1830, he was appointed a Professor, but died without assuming his duties.
There are currently four etchings by Gebauer in Te Papa's collection; all of them were presented in 1869 to its foreunner, the Colonial Museum, by Bishop Ditlev Monrad, a former prime minister of Denmark. It seems natural that Gebauer should be represented accordingly. The stirring scene represented in this etching shows the high adventurousness that characterised Romanticism, the movement with which Gebauer's career coincided. The etching would almost certainly date from 1807 or later and would relate however indirectly to his wartime experiences. On the left, two bandits approach at speed a horse-drawn buggy. On the right the man in the buggy returns their fire while the woman bravely drives her horse onwards. What will happen? What do you think? These are questions Gebauer surely asks the viewer.
See: Wikipedia, 'Christian David Gebauer', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_David_Gebauer
Dr Mark Stocker Curator, Historical International Art March 2019