Eduard Hau, sometimes erranously "Gau" (Russian: Эдуа́рд Петро́вич Га́у; 28 July 1807 in Reval, Russian Empire – 3 January 1888 in Dorpat or c. 1887 in Saint-Petersburg) was a Baltic German painter and draughtsman, best known for his interior portraits of the Russian imperial residences.
Life and work
He was the son of painter Johannes Hau, who had emigrated from Northern Germany in 1795, and he grew up in the German community of Tallinn ("Reval" in German). His mother was Annette Juliane, née Nielsen. His half-brother was the painter Woldemar Hau. From 1830 to 1832, he studied at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts. He was married to Nelly Strieker, from Altenburg.
From 1836 to 1839, he lived in Tartu ("Dorpat"), where he also spent the last years of his life. In between, he apparently lived in Saint Petersburg, where he produced numerous, very detailed interior portraits of rooms in the Winter Palace, the Peterhof Palace and other Royal residences e.g. The Cottage Palace in Alexandria village near Peterhof. His major works include: "The Main Staircase in the Hermitage" (1853), "Perspective View of the Hall of the Russian School in the Imperial Hermitage" (1855), "Cabinet of the Italian Schools" (1860), "Hall of the Coat of Arms" (1863), "Hall of the Field Marshal" (1866).
In Moscow, Eduard Hau painted the interiors of the Grand Kremlin Palace and the Nicholas Palace; in St. Petersburg, he painted the Mikhailovsky Castle, and in Khatsina, he painted the interiors of the Great Gatchina Palace. Hau's works are characterized by a jeweler-like precision in depicting the smallest details, which is difficult to achieve in watercolor painting.
He was on the membership list at the Imperial Academy of Arts in 1854,University of Tartu Library: Short Biography and probably remained in Russia until c. 1880. He also painted several portraits: "Two Girls" (late 1830s), "Portrait of a Woman" (Vera Arkadyevna Stolypina, early 1840s) and "Yulia Mikhailovna Greig".
The Great Gatchina Palace was burned by retreating German troops during World War II in 1944. When it was rebuilt, the interior was restored using Hau's 59 paintings from 1870's to 1880 as a guide.
Outside of Russia, he is primarily known for his portraits of the Professors at the Imperial University of Dorpat. They appeared from 1837 to 1839 and were distributed in a series of lithographs, in six issues, by the firm of Georg Friedrich Schlater. The portrait subjects included Friedrich Karl Hermann Kruse, Nikolay Pirogov and Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve.Eesti elulood. Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastus, Tallinn 2000, , S. 82 (= Eesti entsüklopeedia 14) He also produced well-known portraits of Friedrich Robert Faehlmann (1837, lithograph) and Johann Carl Simon Morgenstern (1838, oil painting).
Portraits
Selected lithographs of the professors
Watercolors
Interiors of the Winter Palace
Interiors of the Great Gatchina Palace
References
External links
"A walk through The Hermitage". Watercolors by Eduard Hau. Paintings by Eduard Hau in the digital collection of the Estonian Art Museum