Johann Conrad Gilbert (1734–1812) was an American

fraktur Fraktur () is a calligraphic hand of the Latin alphabet and any of several blackletter typefaces derived from this hand. It is designed such that the beginnings and ends of the individual strokes that make up each letter will be clearly vis ...

artist. An emigrant from Germany, Gilbert ultimately settled in

Berks County Berks County (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Barricks Kaundi'') is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 428,849. The county seat is Reading, the fourth-most populous city in the state. The ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. By profession he was a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

schoolmaster posted to several churches in Berks and Schuylkill Counties. He was married and had a large family; at his death he left his family Bible, with "writings therein", to a grandson, although this is now lost. Stylistically, Gilbert copied the work of Daniel Schumacher, borrowing also from the work of the Sussel-Washington Artist, whose own work is in turn informed by that of Johann Henrich Otto. His output consisted of baptismal records; presentation pieces, many depicting schoolmasters holding slates; religious texts; and images of the

Easter rabbit The Easter Bunny (also called the Easter Rabbit or Easter Hare) is a folkloric figure and symbol of Easter, depicted as a rabbit—sometimes dressed with clothes—bringing Easter eggs. Originating among German Lutherans, the "Easter Hare" origin ...

, the earliest American depictions of the figure. Hallmarks of his frakturs include careful lines, deep color, and exotically dressed angels. His designs are whimsical, and appear meant for children rather than for adults. Two examples of Gilbert's Easter rabbit paintings are in museum collections, one in the

Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum (AARFAM) is the United States' first and the world's oldest continually operated museum dedicated to the preservation, collection, and exhibition of American folk art. Located just outside the historic ...

and the other in the

Winterthur Museum Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library is an American estate and museum in Winterthur, Delaware. Winterthur houses one of the richest collections of Americana in the United States. The museum and estate were the home of Henry Francis du Pont ...

References

1734 births 1812 deaths Fraktur artists Schoolteachers from Pennsylvania Painters from Pennsylvania German schoolteachers American male painters 18th-century American painters 18th-century American male artists 19th-century American painters People from Berks County, Pennsylvania German emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies 18th-century American educators 19th-century American educators 19th-century American male artists {{US-painter-stub