Christian Mertel (1739 - 1802) was an American

fraktur Fraktur () is a calligraphic hand of the Latin alphabet and any of several blackletter typefaces derived from this hand. The blackletter lines are broken up; that is, their forms contain many angles when compared to the curves of the Antiqu ...

artist. A native of Herborn, Mertel was the son of John Jacob and Elizabeth Mertel. He immigrated to the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of Kingdom of Great Britain, British Colony, colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Fo ...

in 1773 aboard the ''Crawford''; a fellow passenger was John Contrad Trevitz, who would also go on to become a teacher and fraktur artist. Mertel followed his father's profession, becoming a dyer of

indigo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...

cloth. By 1793 he had acquired land in Conewago Township,

Dauphin County Dauphin County (; Pennsylvania Dutch: Daffin Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 286,401. The county seat and the largest city is Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's state capital and ninth ...

; during this period he began to produce fraktur, primarily for his neighbors. He taught school, most likely at the institution operated by Hoffer's Brethren Meeting; even so, he produced mainly baptismal certificates during his career. Raised in the

Reformed Reform is beneficial change Reform may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine *''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...

tradition, he created work for

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

families as well. Mertel's paintings bear the influence of other fraktur artists, including

Johann Henrich Otto Johann Henrich (sometimes Heinrich) Otto (1733 - c. 1800) was an American fraktur artist. Otto came to the Thirteen Colonies as a young man, arriving aboard the ship ''Edinburgh'' on October 2, 1753, his age given as 20 years. He was possibly a ...

and

Johann Jacob Friedrich Krebs Johann Jacob Friedrich Krebs, commonly known as Friedrich Krebs (c. 1749–1815) was an American fraktur artist. He was the most prolific of the Pennsylvania German fraktur artists. Born in Zierenberg, Hesse, Krebs was one of the Hessians who ...

, who was a neighbor; nevertheless they are marked with the stamp of individuality, containing images of castles, fish, mermaids, lions, unicorns, the Princess of Brunswick, and flowers of many varieties. He also produced

zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the Sun path, apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. ...

s, and sent family and other acquaintances New Year's greetings every year. He died in Conewago Township; a list of effects at his death included a box of pictures, an inkstand, and a musical instrument. Three works by Mertel are held by the

Winterthur Museum Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library is an American estate and museum in Winterthur, Delaware. Pronounced “winter-tour," Winterthur houses one of the richest collections of Americana (culture), Americana in the United States. The museum and es ...

, and five are in the collection of the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...

. In 2016, a piece of his appeared on ''

Antiques Roadshow ''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local people (g ...

'', where it was appraised for between $4,000 and $6,000.

References

1739 births 1802 deaths American male painters 18th-century American painters 18th-century American male artists People from Dauphin County, Pennsylvania Fraktur artists Painters from Pennsylvania Schoolteachers from Pennsylvania German emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies 18th-century American educators {{US-painter-stub