Johan Georg Gerstenhauer got the artistic talent from his father, Jan Wendel Gerstenhauer Zimmerman, painter, draftsman and lithographer. Johan Georg became known for his landscapes, anecdotal urban, beach and genre scenes and portraits.

At the invitation of the Teeken Academy in Middelburg, he started painting and drawing lessons at home, after which he was appointed to the Academy in 1862. He will continue to live and work in Zeeland until 1870, after which he will reside successively in Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht.