Maria von Sundhain schudt de hand van een van de broeders

About this artwork

height 125 mm x width 75 mm

Art Historical Context

Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki’s 1791 etching captures a tender moment of human connection in “Maria von Sundhain schudt de hand van een van de broeders.” Measuring just 125 by 75 millimeters, the small print likely served as a book illustration, a format in which Chodowiecki excelled. A leading German artist of the late Enlightenment, he specialized in finely detailed etchings that depicted moral and sentimental scenes drawn from contemporary literature and everyday life. The intimate scale and precise line work typical of etching allowed Chodowiecki to convey subtle emotional exchanges with remarkable clarity. Such prints circulated widely among middle-class readers, helping to popularize both new literary works and the emerging taste for empathetic, character-driven narratives. Through this modest yet expressive medium, Chodowiecki bridged art and literature, offering viewers a glimpse into the social values of his time.

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...