Matthäus Merian

Engraver and publisher
Matthäus Merian was a Swiss-born engraver who worked in Frankfurt for most of his career, where he also ran a publishing house.

Born in Basel, Merian began studying in 1609 with Dietrich Meyer, a painter and engraver of Zürich. In 1613 he moved to Nancy, then Paris, Stuttgart, and the Low Countries. In 1618 he was in Frankfurt, where he married Maria Magdalena de Bry, daughter of Johann Theodor de Bry, publisher and engraver. Merian worked with his father-in-law at Oppenheim, then returned to Basel, but went back to Frankfurt after de Bry’s death in 1623 to take over his business.

Matthäus Merian became known for publishing a number of beautifully illustrated works, but his most important work was Topographia Germaniae. On his crown achievement he worked with Martin Zeiler, a German geographer, and later with his sons Matthäus and Caspar. The Topographia was published between 1642 and 1688, and it included more than 2,000 views of notable cities, monasteries and castles of the Holy Roman Empire. After his death the work was continued by his sons and was expanded to other European countries.