This younger Gerard Melder made copies on ivory after Rosalba Carriera whose miniatures he collected. He became acquainted with the works of Rosalba after Theodoor Wilkens returned from Italy with a few of them. Melder became, through practise, quite good at making Rosalba-like miniature copies of Dutch masters for snuffboxes, and later tried his hand at larger works.
Van Gool mentioned copies by his hand of works by Gerard Dou, Adriaen van der Werff, and Hans Rottenhammer.
Van Gool used a portrait of Margaretha Wulfraet that was in Melder"s possession for his engraved portrait of her. He died in Utrecht.