Lanassa en Palmira in gesprek

About this artwork

Linksboven genummerd: 2. Met onderschrift in het Duits.

Art Historical Context

**Lanassa en Palmira in** is a delicate etching by Daniel Nikolaus Chowiecki, a leading Polish-German artist of the 18th century, created in 1782. just 97mm by 58mm, this intimate print captures a moment of conversation between two women, Lanassa and Palmira— characters from literature or moral tale. Numbered "2" in the top and accompanied by a German caption, forms part of a series, Chodowiecki's output as an illustrator for books and periodicals during the Enlightenment era. Chodowiecki, director of the Berlin Academy of Arts, excelled in the Rococo style with its graceful lines and narrative focus, bridging to Neoclassicism. His etchings often depicted everyday scenes, historical events, or literary vignettes, making high art accessible through affordable prints. Etching, a technique using acid to bite designs into metal plates, allowed for precise, expressive details in small formats—ideal for mass reproduction and wide distribution across Europe. This work exemplifies Chodowiecki's cultural impact: over 2,000 prints in his lifetime popularized moral and social themes, influencing public taste and education. Visitors, imagine holding this tiny gem, its intricate lines whispering stories from 1782 Berlin—a window into 18th-century imagination.

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...