Eduard Hau (Russian: Эдуард Петрович Гау; 28 July 1807 in Reval – 3 January 1888 in Dorpat) was a Baltic German painter and graphic artist who lived and worked in the Russian Empire.[1]
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 half-brother was the painter Woldemar Hau. From 1830 to 1832, he studied at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts.
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 interior portraits of rooms in the Winter Palace, the Peterhof Palace and other Royal residences. He was on the membership list at the Imperial Academy of Arts in 1854,[1] and probably remained in Russia until c.1880.
The Gatchina Palace was burned by German troops during World War II. When it was rebuilt, the interior was restored using Hau's paintings as a guide.