Portret van Ernst August van Hannover en Fama met een eenhoorn en een leeuw

About this artwork

height 113 mm x width 131 mm

Art Historical Context

Daniel Nikolaus Chodowie, a prolific Polish-German engraver and illustrator (1726–1801), created *Portret van Ernst August Hannover en Fama met eenhoorn en eenuw* in 1779. This intimate etching, measuring just 113 mm high by 131 mm wide, Chodowiecki's of small-scale printmaking during the late Rococo era. As director of the Berlin Academy Arts, he was renowned for his detailed vignettes that blended portraiture with moral and allegorical themes, often disseminated widely through books and collections. The composition centers on a portrait of Ernst August of Hanover—likely the young prince (born 1771), son of King George III—accompanied by Fama, the Roman goddess of fame, who holds a unicorn (symbolizing purity and grace) and a lion (evoking strength and nobility). These emblematic figures elevate the work beyond mere likeness, celebrating royal lineage amid Europe's Enlightenment courts, where such iconography reinforced dynastic prestige. Chodwiecki's etching technique shines here, with its precise lines and tonal gradations capturing delicate textures and expressive faces in a compact format ideal for aristocratic patrons. This piece reflects the era's shift toward neoclassical clarity while retaining Rococo ornamentation, offering visitors a window into 18th-century European portrait traditions and the enduring allure of mythological symbolism in royal imagery.

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...