Drawing Detail
Study of Prince Wilhelm in Sans Souci PalaceArtist: Johann Philipp Eduard Gaertner
Medium: Drawings, Watercolour and gouache, 23.7x38.8 cm
Date: 1837
Genre: History
Source: Library of the Winter Palace, 1927
Johann Philipp Eduard Gaertner (2 June 1801, Berlin - 22 February 1877, Flecken Zechlin, in Rheinsberg) was a German painter who specialized in depictions of urban architecture drawings.
It is believed that he made use of a camera obscura to sketch the layouts of his drawings. 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.