Biography

German miniature painter, watercolorist and etcher. He comes from a farming family. He received his schooling at Görlitzer Gymnasium. He received drawing lessons from Johann Gottfried Schultz (1734-1819). In 1774 he went to Leipzig where he studied with Adam Friedrich Oeser (1717-1799). Between 1783 and 1784 he traveled to Switzerland.

In 1787 he took over the post as director of the Görlitz Drawing School and taught at the high school. In 1795 Nathe married Caroline von Meyer, who died in 1798. Due to the inherited wealth of his wife, he could terminate the position of Director in 1799. In 1801 he was invited by a former college friend to Rome where he learned Italian.

Nathe drew mainly landscapes. The most extensive collection of his works is preserved Graphics Cabinet in the Kulturhistorischen Museum, Görlitz.