Religious Verse1793Sheet: 6 5/8 x 8 " (16.8 x 20.3 cm)Watercolor and ink on paperAnonymous gift2012.17.10fraktur1540502677P3.201P3.2000.1Johann Conrad GilbertDrawingsThe American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain.Pennsylvania GermanUnited StatesPennsylvaniaWorks on PaperAmerican Folk Art MuseumWatercolorA strong tradition of illuminated texts was transmitted to Pennsylvania and other areas with early Germanic immigration to America. These documents featured an ornate style of broken lettering known as fraktur, a term that in America came to refer to the tradition of such drawings whether or not they included text. The art of fraktur was practiced from the early eighteenth century through the middle of the nineteenth. It was primarily the artistry of schoolteachers and ministers who made personalized documents for their local constituencies. The texts included birth and baptismal certificates, writing samplers, bookplates, house blessings, and rewards of merit. This is a decorated religious verse by John Conrad Gilbert, a German-born teacher in the townships of Brunswick and Tulpehocken.The term fraktur originally referred to an ornate style of "broken" lettering, but it is used today to refer to a variety of illuminated texts and watercolor drawings in the Pennsylvania German tradition, including birth and baptismal certificates, writing samplers, bookplates, and, as in this example, decorated religious verses. John Conrad Gilbert, the German-born fraktur artist who created this illuminated text, was a schoolteacher in the townships of Brunswick and Tulpehocken, Pennsylvania.
Gilbert uses stylized birds and floral motifs to frame his texts, a convention seen in the art of fraktur. The German text reads: "Where is Paradise, with its beautiful trees, / in which God placed the very first married couple? / Oh, Adam had to leave it soon with Eve, / as God's image was broken. / What is now to be done? / I will strive myself to enter the other Paradise, / where Christ dwells."
Gerard C. Wertkin, "Religious Verse," in Stacy C. Hollander, American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 300.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.orgP3.201P3.2000.117931793 2012 17 1 WatercolorA strong tradition of illuminated texts was transmitted to Pennsylvania and other areas with early Germanic immigration to America. These documents featured an ornate style of broken lettering known as fraktur, a term that in America came to refer to the tradition of such drawings whether or not they included text. The art of fraktur was practiced from the early eighteenth century through the middle of the nineteenth. It was primarily the artistry of schoolteachers and ministers who made personalized documents for their local constituencies. The texts included birth and baptismal certificates, writing samplers, bookplates, house blessings, and rewards of merit. This is a decorated religious verse by John Conrad Gilbert, a German-born teacher in the townships of Brunswick and Tulpehocken.The term fraktur originally referred to an ornate style of "broken" lettering, but it is used today to refer to a variety of illuminated texts and watercolor drawings in the Pennsylvania German tradition, including birth and baptismal certificates, writing samplers, bookplates, and, as in this example, decorated religious verses. John Conrad Gilbert, the German-born fraktur artist who created this illuminated text, was a schoolteacher in the townships of Brunswick and Tulpehocken, Pennsylvania.
Gilbert uses stylized birds and floral motifs to frame his texts, a convention seen in the art of fraktur. The German text reads: "Where is Paradise, with its beautiful trees, / in which God placed the very first married couple? / Oh, Adam had to leave it soon with Eve, / as God's image was broken. / What is now to be done? / I will strive myself to enter the other Paradise, / where Christ dwells."
Gerard C. Wertkin, "Religious Verse," in Stacy C. Hollander, American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 300.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org