Israhel van Meckenem
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Israhel van Meckenem (c.1445 – 10 November 1503), also known as Israhel van Meckenem the Younger, was a
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proce ...
and
goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), pl ...
, perhaps of a
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
family origin. He was the most prolific engraver of the fifteenth century and an important figure in the early history of
old master print An old master print is a work of art produced by a printing process within the Western tradition. The term remains current in the art trade, and there is no easy alternative in English to distinguish the works of "fine art" produced in printmakin ...
s. In total, he produced over 620 engravings, most of which were copies of other prints; they represent about 20% of print production by all Northern European artists in the period of his working life. His career lasted long enough for him to copy Dürer prints. He was active from 1465 until his death, and continued to work as a goldsmith; there are some surviving pieces, and many documented commissions from the city of Bocholt. He probably trained in engraving with
Master E. S. Master E. S. (c. 1420 – c. 1468; previously known as the ''Master of 1466'') is an unidentified German engraver, goldsmith, and printmaker of the late Gothic period. He was the first major German artist of old master prints and was gre ...
in South Germany, and may well have been with him at his death c. 1467, since he acquired and reworked forty-one of the master's plates. Another two hundred of van Meckenem's "own" prints were also copies of Master E. S. engravings. He copied many other printmakers, but it is thought that he engraved some 150 of his own original compositions.


Life

His birth date is merely an estimate. Recent guesses range from the early 1430s to 1450. His father arrived in
Bocholt, Germany Bocholt () is a city in the north-west of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, part of the district Borken. It is situated 4 km (2½ miles) south of the border with the Netherlands. Suderwick is part of Bocholt and is situated at the border an ...
, near the border of
the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, in 1457, and though his place of birth is uncertain,
Joachim von Sandrart Joachim von Sandrart (12 May 1606 – 14 October 1688) was a German Baroque art-historian and painter, active in Amsterdam during the Dutch Golden Age. He is most significant for his collection of biographies of Dutch and German artists the ''Te ...
referred to him as ''Israel von Mecheln'', and
Karel van Mander Karel van Mander (I) or Carel van Mander I (May 1548 – 2 September 1606) was a Flemish painter, poet, art historian and art theoretician, who established himself in the Dutch Republic in the latter part of his life. He is mainly remembe ...
referred to him as ''Israel van Mentz''. He was the son of Israhel van Meckenem the Elder, also a goldsmith, who settled in Bocholt. Attempts have been made to identify the father as the ''Master of the Berlin Passion'', an early engraver, but this remains uncertain. Some writers also assign to the father works traditionally given to the son. The very unusual name "Israhel" suggests the family may have had Jewish origins, but Israhel the Younger was buried in a
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...
, and it might not have been possible for Jews to work as goldsmiths. The "van" suggests a
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
origin for the family; various places in Germany and the Netherlands have been suggested as "Meckenem", as no place generally called exactly that existed at the time. The ''Master of the Berlin Passion'' probably worked mainly in the Netherlands, so his identification with Israhel Senior would have implications for the issue of the family origin. Israhel van Meckenem probably trained initially as a goldsmith and engraver with his father, before travelling to work with
Master E. S. Master E. S. (c. 1420 – c. 1468; previously known as the ''Master of 1466'') is an unidentified German engraver, goldsmith, and printmaker of the late Gothic period. He was the first major German artist of old master prints and was gre ...
, the leading Northern European engraver of the day. His earliest dated print comes from 1465, and indicates that he created it in
Cleves Kleve (; traditional en, Cleves ; nl, Kleef; french: Clèves; es, Cléveris; la, Clivia; Low Rhenish: ''Kleff'') is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century ...
, modern Kleve, on the Dutch border and then Dutch-speaking, where the family had moved. In 1470 he is documented as working in
Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castle. C ...
in
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
; he returned to Bocholt by about 1480, where he remained for the rest of his life. He continued to work at goldsmithing. Some surviving pieces are widely accepted as his and many commissions from the Bocholt council are documented between 1480 and 1498. He was evidently a prosperous and established figure in the town. One of his prints is a double portrait of himself and his wife, Ida, whom he married in the late 1480s; another print is believed by some to show his father. He is documented in various lawsuits against neighbours, and Ida was fined for "unseemly speech" as well as for "mocking and scolding public officials". He was buried in the Georgskirche in Bocholt.


Work

As well as the very numerous copies of Master E. S.'s prints, described above, he copied prints by the
Housebook Master Master of the Housebook and Master of the Amsterdam Cabinet are two names used for an engraver and painter working in South Germany in the last quarter of the 15th century. He is apparently the first artist to use drypoint, a form of engraving, ...
, including some now otherwise lost,
Martin Schongauer Martin Schongauer (c. 1450–53, Colmar – 2 February 1491, Breisach), also known as Martin Schön ("Martin beautiful") or Hübsch Martin ("pretty Martin") by his contemporaries, was an Alsatian engraver and painter. He was the most important ...
, and many other German engravers. His famous and very fine late series on the ''
Life of the Virgin The Life of the Virgin, showing narrative scenes from the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a common subject for pictorial cycles in Christian art, often complementing, or forming part of, a cycle on the Life of Christ. In both cases the nu ...
'' appears to have been based on
drawing Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, ...
s by
Hans Holbein the Elder Hans Holbein the Elder ( , ; german: Hans Holbein der Ältere; – 1524) was a German painter. Life Holbein was born in free imperial city of Augsburg (Germany), and died in Issenheim, Alsace (now France). He belonged to a celebrated family o ...
or his workshop, and he may have entered into a regular commercial relationship with Holbein. However, some 20% or more of his prints, around 150, seem to be original compositions. His early works were fairly crude, but in the 1480s he developed an effective personal style and made increasingly large and finished works. His own compositions are often very lively, and take a great interest in the secular life of his day. One famous print, supposed to illustrate the story of
St John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
and Salome, pushes the specific incidents of the story far in the background to allow space for a scene of court dancers, dressed in the height of contemporary fashion, which takes up most of the plate. He was sophisticated in self-presentation, signing later prints with his name and town, and producing the first self-portrait print of himself and his wife, which was also the first portrait print of an identifiable person. Some plates seem to have been reworked more than once by his workshop, or produced in more than one version, and many impressions have survived, so his ability to distribute and sell his prints was evidently equally well developed. He was apparently the first to issue engraved (as opposed to
woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...
)
indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins". The '' Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission before God o ...
s, apparently "bootlegged version ... never subject to papal review"; one print promises 20,000 years reduction of time in
Purgatory Purgatory (, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations (mostly Catholic), an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgatory ...
per set of prayers, increased in a second
state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
to 45,000 years. In the Heures de Charles d'Angoulême, an important manuscript showing the links between printmaking and illumination in the late 15th century,
Robinet Testard Robinet Testard (fl. 1470–1531) was a French medieval illuminator and painter, whose works are difficult to attribute since none of them was signed or dated. He is known to have worked for the family of Charles, Count of Angoulême (1459–9 ...
incorporated sixteen of van Meckenem's prints, gluing them directly on to the vellum then overpainting. File:Print, Dance at Herod's Court, ca. 1490 (CH 18420585-2).jpg, ''Dance at Herod's Court'', ca. 1490, at 21.4 x 31.8 cm (8 7/16 x 12 1/2 in.) his largest print. File:The Falconer and the Lady, from the series Scenes of Daily Life MET 271188.jpg, ''The Falconer and the Lady'', from the series Scenes of Daily Life File:Woman Spinning and Visitor LACMA 59.5.1.jpg, ''Woman Spinning and Visitor'' File:The Fool and the Lady MET DP841589.jpg, ''The Fool and the Lady'' File:Israhel van Meckenem - Garden of Love - Google Art Project.jpg, Ornament print with pair of lovers File:Head of an Oriental MET DP835365.jpg, ''Head of an Oriental'' File:Le baiser de Judas Heures Charles d'Angoulême XVe.jpg, Hand-coloured ''Kiss of Judas'' from Passion series, Heures de Charles d'Angoulême File:The Annunciation, from The Life of the Virgin MET DP841606.jpg, ''Annunciation'' from the ''Life of the Virgin'' series (with ''Visitation'' above. File:The Beheading of St. John the Baptist MET DP841594.jpg, Hand-coloured ''Beheading of St. John the Baptist'' File:The Holy Family with St. Anne MET DP841609.jpg, ''The Holy Family with St. Anne''


Notes


References

* * * (Parshall): David Landau & Peter Parshall, ''The Renaissance Print'', Yale, 1996, *


See also

*
Old master print An old master print is a work of art produced by a printing process within the Western tradition. The term remains current in the art trade, and there is no easy alternative in English to distinguish the works of "fine art" produced in printmakin ...


External links


Prints & People: A Social History of Printed Pictures
a book from The
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
(fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Israhel van Meckenem (see index)
The Wild Man: Medieval Myth and Symbolism
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Ishrahel van Meckenem (see index)
nine prints from the National Gallery of Art, Washington
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meckenem, Israhel van German printmakers Gothic artists German goldsmiths People from Bocholt, Germany 1440s births 1503 deaths 15th-century engravers