Offered by Don Verboven - Exquisite Objects
9 Engravings - Watercolour (later hand-coloured) - By Christian von Mechel
Dance of Death - Memento Mori (1780) – after Holbein
The Priest, The Senator (with Devil and Death), The Count, The Lawyer, The King, The Abbot, The Fool, The Sailor, The Child.
Framed in a black frame with Artglass AR 70 (anti-reflective, 70% UV Protection, durable & easy to clean).
The price indicated (4250 Euro) is the total price for the set of 9 framed engravings (high quality frames of the same dimensions included).
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Christian von Mechel (1737-1817) was a Swiss engraver, copperplate engraver, publisher and art dealer. He was born in Basel on 4 April 1737 and died on 11 April 1817 in Berlin. His name was sometimes “Frenchified” as Chrétien de Mechel.
From 1757 onwards, he was trained in Nuremberg and Augsburg. He later moved to Paris to further his skills in engraving. In Paris, he first worked with Jean-Georges Wille and in 1760 opened his own studio, which grew into a renowned institution for art printing and trading in art objects.
In 1764, he started as a publisher in Basel and founded his own company, employing many engravers. He specialised in reproducing works of art.
Between 1778 and 1793, he regularly stayed in Vienna, where he worked as curator/publisher for the painting collection of the imperial gallery in Vienna. Emperor Joseph II of Austria invited von Mechel to Vienna to reorganise the imperial art gallery. For more than ten years, he worked to make the collection accessible to the public and published catalogues of the works based on historical and artistic principles.
During this period, he also made numerous business trips throughout Europe. He played an important role in the artistic world of the 18th century and contributed to the spread of Neoclassicism. Through his work as an engraver, publisher and art dealer, Christian von Mechel played a crucial role in documenting and disseminating the art of his time. His efforts contributed to the fame of many artists and artistic movements. He was also known for the art collection he exhibited, including prints and drawings by famous masters.
In the late 18th century, Christian von Mechel made new engravings of Hans Holbein the Younger's original Dance of Death. The engravings in this series depict the inevitability of death for everyone, regardless of social status. This theme is closely related to the concept of memento mori (Latin for “remember to die”).
The Dance of Death was originally a series of woodcuts by the German artist Hans Holbein the Younger, created around 1526. This famous series shows allegorical images of Death taking various people with him, from the emperor to the farmer.
The French Revolution led to his financial ruin, but he made a fresh start in Berlin in 1805 and remained active there as an art dealer and publisher of works of art.
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Sizes:
12,8 cm > 15 cm
x
9,5 cm > 12,4 cm
Frame:
22 cm x 27 cm
