Ruffin de schoorsteenveger maakt voorbijgangers zwart
Medium
etching
Dimensions
111; 66
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
verzamelaarsmerk, verso, gestempeld: Lugt 2228
Art Historical Context
**Ruffin de Schoorsteenveger Maakt Voorbijgangers Zwart** *Daniel Nikolaus Chodcki, 1779, etching, 111 × 66 mm* Daniel Nikolaus Chodowie, a prolific Prussian engraver and illustrator active in 18th-century Berlin, a lively moment of everyday mischief in this intimate etching. Titled *Ruffin de Schoorsteenveger Ma Voorbijgangerswart* ("Ruffin the Chimney Sweep Makes Passers Black"), the scene humorously depicts a sooty chimney sweep playfully dirtying unsuspecting pedestrians, a nod to the gritty realities of urban life during the Enlightenment era. Chodwiecki's small-scale works like this one were designed for wide distribution, often appearing in books, magazines, or affordable print series, making art accessible to the emerging middle class. Etching allowed Chodowiecki to achieve fine lines and expressive details in this compact format, blending Rococo elegance with sharp social observation. Chimney sweeps, symbols of the laboring poor, frequently starred in his satirical vignettes, highlighting class contrasts and human folly amid Berlin's bustling streets. Created in 1779, this piece reflects the period's growing interest in genre scenes—ordinary life elevated to moral commentary—while showcasing Chodowiecki's mastery of over 2,000 such prints. A collector's mark (Lugt 2228) on the verso attests to its prized status among connoisseurs. Visitors, imagine the laughter and surprise as Ruffin's soot sparks a fleeting encounter, freezing 18th-century street theater in ink.
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...