Mechel thrived in Paris, learning how to deal with rich clients and developing a feel for the art market. Soon, the businessman, the art dealer and the artist were combined into one; he began signing his name to works produced by talented apprentices and selling them as his own. He returned to Basel in 1765 and in 1766 opened a large art dealer's business and engraving workshop in the St. Johannes quarter of the city (the
Vorstadt). He no longer produced anything himself, but supervised 12-15 artists. His shop became a tourist destination in and of itself, promoted by his own excellent connections. As his reputation grew, travelers stopped at his shop in the
Vorstadt to buy his prints. He maintained a large magazine of prints, and carried on a sizable trade. The gallery opened five years later, making it one of the first public museums in the world. The opening of the
Musée du Louvre during the
French Revolution in 1793 as a public museum included much of the former French royal collection marked an important stage in the development of public access to art by transferring the ownership to a republican state; but it was a continuation of trends already well established. Michel was also instrumental in organizing and cataloging this material. During the mid-1790s he speculated, often unwisely, in the purchase of art from large collections from the French emigre noble families. These ventures, mostly unsuccessful, forced him into bankruptcy. The political and economic turmoil caused by the
French revolutionary wars made him country-less and homeless and in 1797 he fled Basel. For several years, Mechel traveled throughout Germany, moving from city to city, often on foot, plying his knowledge of art, cataloging and organization in exchange for shelter and sustenance. At a stop in
Frankfurt am Main, he cataloged the artwork of the
Dominican monastery, then moved on to
Kassel and Weimar, where he met again with Goethe, and made the acquaintance of
Schiller. In
Dresden he furthered his acquaintance with the Swiss painters
Anton Graff and
Adrian Zingg and finally settled in Berlin in 1805. There he negotiated his membership in the Royal Academy of Art. In 1806disbanded his ruined business in Basel and seemed to find some stability. Afterward, he produced, in collaboration with
Wilhelm von Humboldt and others, luxurious printed editions showcasing the work of such Reformation artists as
Lucius Cranach the Younger. He never again attained the wealth and influence he had wielded for those twenty years in Basel. He died in 1817 in Berlin. ==Importance==