Franz Karl Eduard von Gebhardt (1838–1925) was a Baltic German historical painter. He was born in Järva-Jaani

Järva-Jaani

Järva-Jaani is a borough in Järva County, central Estonia. It is the administrative center of Järva-Jaani Parish.-External links:*...

, Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

, the son of a Protestant clergyman, and studied first at the Academy of St. Petersburg (1855-58). In 1860 he became the pupil of Wilhelm Sohn at Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...

, where he permanently settled, and became professor at the academy in 1873. One of his students was the German-Brasilian painter Wilhelm Techmeier.

There is a religious tone defining many of his most highly-regarded paintings. Their chief characteristic is their deep and powerful yet varied expression of religious feeling. The more important among the many biblical scenes he painted are:

• "Christ on the Cross" (1866, St Mary's Cathedral, Tallinn)
• "The Last Supper" (1870, National Gallery, Berlin)
• "Crucifixion" (1873, Hamburg Kunsthalle)
• "Ascension of Christ" (1881, National Gallery, Berlin)
• "Taking Care of Christ's Body" (1883, Dresden Gallery)
• "Jacob and the Angel" (1893, Dresden Gallery)
• "Christ and the Rich Youth" (1892, Düsseldorf Gallery)
• "Sermon on the Mount" (1893, Düsseldorf Gallery)
• "Healing of the Palsied" (1895, Breslau Museum)
• "Christ upon the Waters" (1902)

Of episodes from the Reformation

Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...

 one is "The Reformer at Work" (1877, Leipzig Museum). In the former Cistercian monastery

Monastery

Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

 at Lokkum

Loccum Abbey

Loccum Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in the town of Rehburg-Loccum, Lower Saxony, near Steinhude Lake.-History:...

 may be seen six mural paintings: "Scenes from the Life of Christ". Mural paintings of similar subjects may be found at the Friedenskirche, Düsseldorf.

Gebhardt also painted many excellent portraits, and was awarded gold medals at Berlin, Dresden, Munich, Vienna, and Paris; and was elected a member of the academies of Antwerp, Berlin, Brussels, Munich, and Vienna. He died in 1925.

He took prototypes of local peasants which he draw down while visiting Estonia. He was a tutor to famous Estonian painters like Ants Laikmaa

Ants Laikmaa

Ants Laikmaa was an Estonian painter.-Life:...

, Kristjan

Kristjan Raud

Kristjan Raud was an Estonian painter and draughtsman.His parents were Jaan Raud and his wife Henriette Loviisa Raud...

 and Paul Raud

Paul Raud

Paul Raud was an Estonian painter. The twin brother of painter Kristjan Raud, he studied in Düsseldorf beginning in 1886, becoming influenced by the work of Eduard von Gebhardt. After his return to Estonia, he painted mainly portrait commissions for some time, before traveling with his brother...

.