Sir John Gilbert RA – English artist, illustrator and engraver
Paintings by Sir John Gilbert (1817-1897).
John Gilbert taught himself to draw, copying engravings. Using the technique of wood engraving, he created an impressive number of illustrations for Punch, Illustrated London News, The London Journal. The artist illustrated many books, only for the works of Shakespeare he created more than 750 drawings. He participated in many exhibitions, was a member of the community of watercolorists, and its head from 1871 until his death. In 1872, the artist was knighted, and in 1876 he became an academician of the Royal Academy, which he was unable to enter in his youth. Contemporaries called him “the Walter Scott of painting” for his passion for past eras and battle scenes.
The Vita Nova publishing house published plays by William Shakespeare with illustrations by John Gilbert: “Romeo and Juliet. Hamlet” (out of print), “Othello. King Lear” and “Macbeth. Antony and Cleopatra”.
