Israhel van Meckenem (ca. 1440/45–1503)

• Was a German printmaker and goldsmith.
• He was the son of Israhel van Meckenem the Elder, also a goldsmith, who settled in Bocholt.

• 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 probably trained in engraving with Master E. S. in South Germany.

• He copied many printmakers, but it is thought that he engraved some 150 of his own original compositions. • Israhel van Meckenem probably trained initially as a goldsmith and engraver with his father, before travelling to work with Master E. S. 

• In 1470 he is documented as working in Bamberg in Bavaria.

• He returned to Bocholt by about 1480, where he remained for the rest of his life.

• His famous series on the Life of the Virgin appears to have been based on drawings by Hans Holbein the Elder or his workshop.

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