Behind the Brush - First Episode

Series Behind the Brush looks at the glorious work of 19th Century portrait artist Gottfried Lindauer. Each episode expands on the people he painted. The descendants of these tūpuna tell their stories as they have been passed down. In this debut episode, three portraits go under the microscope: famed beauty Pare Watane of Ngāti Maru, Kamariera Te Hau Takiri Wharepapa of Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Tuhoe leader Eru Tamaikoha Te Ariari. Accounts of the tūpuna tell of heartbreak, new beginnings and the fight to reserve Māori culture. In 2014 a second season studied 21 further subjects of Lindauer's work. 

[Gottfried Lindauer] painted hundreds of subjects, many of them noted figures in the colony. But the work that has received most of the attention attention are his portraits of Māori from the nineteenth century. These paintings have provided a portal into our past.

– Narrator Rio Hemopo introduces the work of Gottfried Lindauer

Key Cast & Crew

Rio Hemopo

Narrator

Steven Ray

As: Gottfried Lindauer

Julian Arahanga

Director, Executive Producer, Camera Operator

Ben Milsom

Art Director

Jeff Hurrell

Lead Editor

Maramena Roderick

Producer