Gotthard en Alexander op jacht

About this artwork

blad: hoogte 148 mm (binnen de plaatrand afgesneden) x breedte 80 mm (binnen de plaatrand afgesneden)

Art Historical Context

Daniel Nikolaus Chodowie, a prolific Polish-German artist and director of the Berlin of Arts, created *Gotthard en Alexander jacht* in 1779. This intimate etching captures a dynamic hunting scene featuring the titular figures, Gotthard and, rendered in meticulous detail on a compact plate measuring just 148 mm high by 80 mm wide. Chodowiecki's work reflects the Enlightenment era's fascination with narrative vignettes, often drawn from literature or everyday life, blending Rococo elegance with moralistic storytelling. Etching, Chodowiecki's preferred medium, allowed him to produce thousands of affordable prints—over 2,000 in his lifetime—making art accessible beyond elite patrons. The technique involves drawing lines into a wax-coated metal plate, which acid etches to create fine, expressive lines full of texture and movement. Here, the trimmed sheet edges emphasize the artwork's precision, ideal for book illustrations or collections, highlighting his mastery in conveying action and emotion within tiny formats. This piece exemplifies Chodowiecki's cultural impact in 18th-century Europe, where prints like this educated and entertained middle-class audiences on themes of camaraderie and nature. Its small scale invites close viewing, revealing the artist's keen observation of human gesture and landscape, a hallmark of his enduring legacy in graphic arts.

About the Artist

Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki · 1726–1801

Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki (1726–1801) was a German painter and printmaker of Polish-Huguenot descent who became the most celebrated graphic artist in 18th-century Germany. Born in Danzig (now Gdańsk), he created approximately 2,000 etchings that serve as an invaluable visual record of German bourgeois life during the Enlightenment. Largely self-taught, Chodowiecki moved to Berlin in 1743 and ach...