ERHARD, Johann Christoph

German painter, etcher, and draftsman. He began his apprenticeship with the Nuremberg copper engraver Ambrosius Gabler (1762-1834). There he learned the etching and developed a special passion for the landscape. In this time, Erhard closely followed the artists Johann Adam Klein (1792-1875) and Georg Christoph Wilder (1797-1855). He undertook excursions with them to the surrounding areas, to study nature. The Russian troops, who were frequently drawn through Nuremberg from 1812 to 1814, gave him the opportunity to draw horses and military groups.

In 1816 Erhard traveled to Vienna together with Johann Adam Klein and worked in the surrounding landscape. In 1817 he traveled with friends in the Schneeberg region, and in the following year he visited Upper Austria, Salzburg and the Pinzgau. The result of these journeys were numerous landscape drawings and etchings, which he also made for art publishers.

In 1819 Erhard went to Rome. There he did landscape studies and worked for various artisans. Soon, however, a severe mental illness befell him, whose signs had already appeared in Germany. He committed suicide in January 1822.