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.