Natural Man Illumined: Johann Gichtel’s Mystical Figures at Ephrata By Nick Siegert Prelude Question: What does the figure above on the left have in common with the figure on the right?...........Up until recently, nothing, but after a recent chance discovery, they actually appear to be the same subject separated by about 70 years. Recently, anew examination ofsome illustrations found in the papers of Jacob Martin, a member of the 18 th century Ephrata Community have turned up some interesting results that may shed more light on the beliefs and world views ofthe Ephrata Community and one of its more interesting members. Introduction: The Ephrata Community The Ephrata Cloister, now a historic site and museum administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, began as a religious communal society (one of America’s earliest), founded by Georg Conrad Beissel on the banks of the Cocalico Creek in 1732. Born in Eberbach, Germany in 1691, Beissel immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1720. Before 1724 he moved into an area drained by the Conestoga River, seeking to live in a small fellowship of hermits. Eventually he became involved with the Brethren, or Dunkers, a group founded in 1 Fig.1 - Johann Georg Gichtel: “Finstere mensch”(1696) Fig.2–Jacob Martin: “Mystical Figure: (1760’s?)