von Mechel, Christian

About the artist

Name

Biography

Christian von Mechel was born in Basel on the 4th of April 1737. He became an engraver, publisher, and dealer, and worked across Europe but especially in France and Germany. From 1753 onwards, Mechel was apprenticed to the engraver, Georg Daniel Heumann in Nuremberg. Mechel was also in contact with the Preissler brothers, Johann Justin and Georg Martin. After working with Johann Georg Pintz in Augsburg, Mechel continued his education at the Academy of Jean-Georges Wille in Paris. From 1760, Mechel ran his own engraving studio in Paris; there he printed his own work and that of a number of other artists, including Jean-Honoré Fragonard. During this period, Mechel gained many patrons and was admitted into the royal court, partly through his connection to Fragonard. Later Mechel moved to Basel; he taught at the university there from 1770 to 1806. In 1780 he completed his Dance of Death series. Mechel also travelled widely, and stayed for varying amounts of time in Rome, Florence, Naples and Vienna. In 1800, he became an editor in Berlin. Mechel died in Germany on the 4th of November in 1817. There is a copy of Mechel's Dance of Death in Central Library's Dance of Death Collection.

Creator of