Julie ontmoet St. Preux na zijn wereldreis

About this artwork

verzamelaarsmerk, verso, gestempeld: Lugt 2228

Art Historical Context

**Julie Meets St. Preux His World Journey** *Daniel Nikolaus Chowiecki, 1782, Etching, 87 × 57 mm* This delicate etching by Daniel Nikolaus Chodcki captures a poignant moment from Jean-Jacques Rousseau's wildly popular epistolary novel *Julie, or the New Hel* (1761). Titled *Julie ontmoet St. Preux na zijn wereld* ("Julie Meets St. Preux After World Journey"), it depicts emotional reunion between the virtuous heroine Julie and her passionate lover St. Preux who returns transformed from his global travels. Created in 1782, during the height of Enlightenment sentimentality, the print reflects the era's fascination with romantic longing, moral dilemmas, and the transformative power of experience—ideas central to Rousseau's philosophy. Chodowiecki, a Prussian artist and influential engraver (1726–1801), was renowned for his intricate small-scale etchings that illustrated books and moral tales. Working in the Rococo style with a shift toward neoclassical clarity, he produced thousands of prints like this one, blending expressive figures with subtle line work to evoke deep emotion. The etching's intimate dimensions made it ideal for collectors' albums or book embellishments, showcasing the technique's precision: acid bites into a metal plate create fine, tonal lines for nuanced shading and texture. Bearing a collector's mark (Lugt 2228) on the verso, this piece highlights Chodowiecki's enduring appeal among 18th-century connoisseurs. It stands as a window into how visual art popularized literary sensations, bridging personal drama with broader cultural shifts toward individualism and feeling.

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...