The Forest and the Canvas

Gerhard Löbenberg grew up in a forest house in Gemkenthal, a part of Altenau in the Harz. His father was a forester, and the woods were a constant presence from his earliest years. This proximity to the wild shaped his eye before he ever picked up a brush. By the age of eighteen, his drawings were already finding their way into the pages of Wild und Hund. He eventually moved toward formal training, studying at the art academies in Königsberg and Berlin, where he worked under K. Storch between 1909 and 1913.

His work focused on the life of animals and the landscape of the hunt. He often painted the deer of the Rominter Heide in East Prussia, frequently working from trophies to capture the physical presence of the animals. He had a specific way of arranging his subjects; he would sometimes use wooden supports to hold a fallen animal in a natural pose, ensuring the painting reflected how the creature lived rather than just how it lay. His total output reached approximately 2,000 works.

A Life of Changing Borders

The middle years of his life were marked by the shifting political landscapes of Germany. During the National Socialist era, he held a position of influence, serving as an advisor for hunting art and exhibitions in the Reich Hunting Office. He was even appointed a professor in 1938. His connection to the leadership of that time was noted through his role as a painter for Hermann Göring, particularly through portraits that were widely circulated in postcard form. This period of his life ended abruptly in 1945 when he was dispossessed and forced to flee to the West.

His career was defined by several specific roles and milestones:

• Studied at the art academies in Königsberg and Berlin.
• Organized the International Hunting Exhibition in Berlin in 1937.
• Appointed Professor on January 30, 1938.
• Worked as a referent for hunting art and exhibitions in the Reichsjagdamt.

Legacy and Presence

Löbenberg's paintings remain in various collections, including the Rijksmuseum Twenthe in Enschede. His depictions of wildlife are held in the Ostpreußisches Landesmuseum in Lüneburg. While his historical associations remain a part of his record, his technical focus remained fixed on the anatomy and environment of the animals he observed. He died in 1967, leaving behind a body of work that captures a specific, vanished way of seeing the natural world through the lens of the hunt.