Background
The son of the landscape painter Jacob Gauermann (1773–1843), he was born at Miesenbach near Gutenstein in Lower Austria. lieutenant was the intention of his father that Gauermann should devote himself to agriculture, but the example of an elder brother, who, however, died early, fostered his inclination towards art Under his father"s direction he began studies in landscape, and he also diligently copied the works of the chief masters in animal painting which were contained in the academy and court library of Vienna.
Career
He was an early representative of the Veristic style devoted to nature in all its diversity. In the summer he made art tours in the districts of Styria, Tirol, and Salzburg. Two animal pieces which he exhibited at the Vienna Exhibition of 1824 were regarded as remarkable productions for his years, and led to his receiving commissions in 1825 and 1826 from Prince Metternich and Caraman, the French ambassador.
His Field Labourer was regarded by many as the most noteworthy picture in the Vienna exhibition of 1834, and his numerous animal pieces have entitled him to a place in the first rank of painters of that class of subjects.
The peculiarity of his pictures is the representation of human and animal figures in connexion with appropriate landscapes and in characteristic situations so as to manifest nature as a living whole, and he particularly excels in depicting the free life of animals in wild mountain scenery. He died at Vienna on 7 July 1862.
His art has influenced among others the works of Joseph Heicke.
