The Organ Player and His Wife
1495–1503
Medium
Engraving in black on cream laid paper
Dimensions
15.7 × 10.8 cm (6 3/16 × 4 5/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
28699
Art Historical Context
Created around 1495–1503 by the prolific German engraver Israhel van Meckenem the Younger, *The Organ Player and His Wife* captures a tender domestic moment in exquisite detail. Working in the final years of the fifteenth century, van Meckenem was among the most productive printmakers of his era, producing hundreds of engravings that brought art into homes beyond the reach of painted panels or frescoes. Executed as a black-line engraving on cream laid paper, the small sheet (roughly postcard-sized) demonstrates the remarkable precision possible with the burin. Fine cross-hatching models the c...
About the Artist
Israhel van Meckenem, the younger
Israhel van Meckenem the Younger (c. 1440–1503) was a German goldsmith and engraver who became one of the most prolific printmakers of the fifteenth century. Born in Meckenheim near Bonn, he was trained by his father, Israhel van Meckenem the Elder, who was himself a goldsmith and engraver. The younger Israhel may also have worked in the workshop of the Master E.S., whose plates he later reworked ...