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Daniel Chodowiecki - The Polonica

Chodowiecki portrays the Prince-Primate, Danzig 1773. Collotype from: From Berlin to Danzig. An artist’s journey in the year 1773 by Daniel Chodowiecki, Berlin 1895

Mediathek Sorted

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  • Ill. 1: Chodowiecki’s Grave  - Grave of honour in the cemetery of the French Reformed parish, Berlin.
  • Ill. 2: Cabinet d’un peintre [Cabinet of a painter] - Etching, 18 x 23 cm. Depicted is part of Chodowiecki's family.
  • Ill. 3: In a Kashubian village - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk. An artist's journey ..., Berlin 1895.
  • Ill. 4: In the stable of the Donnemörse post office - Collotype from: From Berlin to Danzig.
  • Ill. 5: Country house with chapel near Oliva - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 6: On the suburban moat in Gdansk - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 7: A Catholic priest - Collotype from: From Berlin to Danzig.
  • Ill. 8: Two Carmelite Monks - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 9: In the stables of a noble Pole - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Abb. 10: On the side of the "English House" - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 11: A visit to Kaufmann Gerdes - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 12: A monk. Rear view - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 13: Three Polish raftsmen - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 14: Kneeling woman with prayer book and fan in the Dominican church - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 15: People praying in the Dominican Church - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 16: Praying woman with rosary - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 17: Chodowiecki portrays the voivode Przebendowska - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 18: Chodowiecki portrays the prince primate - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 19: The Voivode Przebendowski - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 20: Chodowiecki draws the prince primate - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 21:Miss Ledóchowska - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 22: Chodowiecki portrays the Countess Czapska - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 23: Half-length portraits of Miss Chrzaszczewska and Father Matthy - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 24: Miss Chrzaszczewska - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 25: The Prince-Primate - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 26: Chodowiecki draws Madame Öhmchen - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 27: Countess Podoska and Chevalier du Bouloir - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 28: Lunch with the prince primate - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 29: Starost Ledóchowski and Countess Podoska - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 30: A woman praying in the Dominican church - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 31: Praying, kneeling woman - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 32: Kneeling in the church - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 33: Standing woman in cape - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 34: Miss Gousseau kisses the hand of a Dominican priest - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 35: The younger Miss Ledóchowska and Miss Gousseau - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 36: Madame Öhmchen - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 37: Strażnik Czapski and Starostin Ledóchowska - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 38: In the Dominican Church - Collotype, from: From Berlin to Gdansk.
  • Ill. 39: Three Polish Figures - Etching.
  • Ill. 40: Der Polnische Vlies / L’esclave Polonnois - Etching, from: Marriage Proposals, 2nd sequence, print 1; Pocketbook for Usage and Pleasure for the year 1782, Göttingen 1782.
  • Ill. 41: Title copper to Krasicki's rejuvenated old man - Etching, from: A found story by Ignacy Krasicki, 1785.
  • Ill. 42: The Eye of Providence - Etching. Vignette for a prayer, "ordered by the priest Thomas Grem in Bertung near Allenstein in the Ermeland diocese..."
  • Ill. 43: Forcible abduction of the King of Poland Stanislaus Augustus in 1771 - Etching, in: Portraits from the new history, 1790.
  • Ill. 44: The Polish Diet of 1789 - Etching, in: Portraits.
  • Ill. 45: The new Polish Constitution - Etching, in: Begebenheiten aus der neueren Zeitgeschichte [...], Göttingen 1793.
  •  Ill. 46: The celebration of Poland's great revolution - Etching, in: Sechs Blätter zur neueren Geschichte [...] 1793.
  • Ill. 47: Conference with the King of Poland concerning the conquest of Moravia - Etching, in: Twelve Prints on Brandenburg History, 1794.
  • Ill. 48: The piast and his wife are hosting two unknown travellers - Etching, in: Six Prints on the History of Poland, 1796.
  •  Ill. 49: Boleslaw II compels Polish women to carry small dogs at their breast - Etching, in: Six Prints on the History of Poland, 1796.
  • Ill. 50: Knights of the Teutonic Order - Etching, in: Six prints on the history of Poland, 1796.
  • Ill. 51: Rafał Leszczyński reminds King Sigismund August that he is only the first citizen of the state - Etching, in: Six Prints on the History of Poland, 1796.
  • Ill. 52: Sobieski regains the booty robbed by the Tartars - Etching, in: Six Prints on the History of Poland, 1796.
  • Ill. 53: Sobieski terminates the boring conversation with Leopold on the plain near Vienna in 1683 - Etching, in: Six Prints on the History of Poland, 1796.
  • Ill. 54: Casimir the Great falls during a stag hunt and dies - Etching, in: Six Prints on the history of Poland, 1796.
  • Ill. 55: Duke Konrad of Masovia challenges King Johann Albrecht to a duel - Etching, in: Six Prints on the history of Poland, 1797.
  • Ill. 56: The Grand Master of the Teutonic Order let interrogate Luther - Etching, in: Six Prints on the history of Poland (Conclusion), 1797.
  • Ill. 57: A brawl between two Senators in which a third man is killed - Etching, in: 6 prints on the history of Poland 1797.
  • Ill. 58: Religious dialogue in Thorn - Etching, in: 6 sheets on the history of Poland 1797.
  • Ill. 59: Stanisław Leszczyński flees in disguise from Gdansk to Marienwerder - Etching, in: 6 sheets on the history of Poland 1797.
  • Ill. 60: Suwarow before Prague - Etching, in: 8 sheets on the history of Catherine II, 1798.
  • Between Bach and Goethe - Daniel Chodowiecki on a wall relief at the entrance to the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin (detail).
  • Between Bach and Goethe 2 - Larger detail of the relief.
  • Daniel Chodowiecki - Hörspiel von "COSMO Radio po polsku" auf Deutsch - In Zusammenarbeit mit "COSMO Radio po polsku" präsentieren wir Hörspiele zu ausgewählten Themen unseres Portals.

    Daniel Chodowiecki - Hörspiel von "COSMO Radio po polsku" auf Deutsch

    In Zusammenarbeit mit "COSMO Radio po polsku" präsentieren wir Hörspiele zu ausgewählten Themen unseres Portals.
Chodowiecki portrays the Prince-Primate, Danzig 1773. Collotype from: From Berlin to Danzig. An artist’s journey in the year 1773 by Daniel Chodowiecki.
Chodowiecki portrays the Prince-Primate, Danzig 1773. Collotype from: From Berlin to Danzig. An artist’s journey in the year 1773 by Daniel Chodowiecki, Berlin 1895

In 1793 Chodowiecki wrote the following about his origins “To some extent I am also one of these good people [the respectable réfugiés who were forced to leave their fatherland 100 years ago and who were revered and loved everywhere they arrived, and who also did a lot of good in Germany], for my grandmother on my mother’s side was a réfugiée, although my father was a Polish citizen, a descendant of a courageous nation that will soon no longer exist.”[1] 1793 was the year of the Second Partition of Poland. The so-called réfugiés were therefore refugees, Huguenots, French Protestants who had been repressed by the clergy and monarchy in France since 1530. The Edict of Fontainebleau issued by Louis XIV in 1685 was as good as the equivalent of a ban on Protestantism. It triggered off the flight of a 250,000 Huguenots in the areas of Europe that were dominated by Protestants. Daniel’s mother, Marie Henriette Ayrer (*1702), came from a Huguenot refugee background on both sides of the family. According to Daniel, his Polish ancient ancestors could traditionally be traced back to the aristocrat Bartłomiej Chodowiecki, who lived in Greater Poland in the mid-16th century. But as early as the 17th century it was not possible to prove their aristocratic title, nor is it mentioned in Polish books on coats of arms.[2] Daniel’s direct forefathers were theologians and corn dealers in Thorn. His grandfather Christian (*1655) moved to Danzig because trading conditions were better there: here he ran a corn business that was taken over by his son, Gottfried/Godfryd (*1698). This was Daniel’s father. After Daniel’s parents were married they joined the Reformed Church in Danzig and orientated themselves around the culture of French immigrants. The upshot was that they spoke French. French was therefore Daniel Chodowiecki’s mother tongue. But he also spoke German and a little Polish. From their grandfather’s inheritance the family bought a house in Heiliggeistgasse.

Biography

Daniel Chodowiecki was born in Danzig (Gdansk) on 16th October 1726. He seemed to have had a happy childhood. One of his father’s hobbies was painting cameo portraits and he taught Daniel how to draw. After his father died in 1740 Daniel began training as an apprentice dealer in spices and food. Alongside these studies, and with the support of his aunt, he continued studying the art of drawing on his own initiative. In 1743, at the age of 16, like his younger brother before him, he moved to Berlin to work in the hardware store of his uncle Antoine Adrien Ayrer. Here both brothers made cameo copies of etchings, with which they decorated tins. In 1748/49 Daniel was taught enamel painting by the Augsburg copper engraver, Johann Jacob Haid (1704-1767). True, Daniel’s earliest extant drawing, “A Polish Jubilee year and Repentance Homily drawn in Kraków“ (1750), had a Polish motif, but it was probably a copy of a work by a man named Georg Christoph Kilian (1709-1781)[3] : it was entitled “A Polish Jubilee year and Repentance Homily drawn in Kraków“ (1750).[4] In 1754 he decided to become an artist in his own right, took up lessons in drawing from the Berlin history painter Bernhard Rode (1725-1797) and attempted to make contact with other successful young painters and etchers like Antoine Pesne, Joachim Martin Falbe and Blaise Nicolas Le Sueur, who became the director of the Berlin Akademie der Künste in 1756.

In 1755 Chodowiecki married a woman by the name of Jeanne Barez (1726-1785), who was part of the French colony in Berlin. In 1757 he began experimenting in intaglio printing as can be seen from the fact that his first etching was dated in the same year. Based on one of his earliest intaglios, he probably finished his earliest oil painting in 1758: “A Young Peasant with a Bandaged Face” (National Museum Danzig / Muzeum Narodowe w Gdańsku). In the summer of the same year he began studying drawings of natural anatomy and specialised in red chalk and pencil drawings of women doing domestic work. However, after the birth of his first child in 1761, his interest in this theme began to wane. The Chodowieckis had five children in all, the last of whom was born in 1770: all of them were later artists of one kind or another. In 1764 Daniel was named a member of the Royal Prussian Academy of Arts and Mechanical Sciences in Berlin. After his first creative periods as an etcher between 1758 and 59 and 1763 and 64, he began a continuous period of small format etchings in 1767. The result was more than 2000 works. That said, he earned the necessary livelihood to support his family mainly from cameo portraits and porcelain painting on tins.[5] In 1773 he travelled to Danzig and Silesia. In the same year he met up with two artist friends in Dresden, Anton Graff (1736-1813) and Adrian Zingg (1734-1816). In 1779 the first list of his etchings was published, and in the following year he published his autobiography. After his mother’s death he travelled once more to Danzig in 1780. From 1782 onwards he was committed to reforming the Berlin Academy and he managed to push through these reforms in 1786 as its secretary and one of the six rectors. In 1790 he became a vice- principal, and in 1797 he succeeded Bernhard Rode as the Director of the Academy. Daniel Chodowiecki died in Berlin on 7th February 1801. (Ill. 1)

[1] Daniel Chodowiecki’ letters to the Countess Christiane von Solms-Laubach, edited by Charlotte Steinbrucker, Straßburg 1927, page 180. Already quoted in the book, Chodowiecki. Zwischen Rokoko und Romantik [1916], page 71

[2] For comprehensive deatils on Daniel Chodowiecki ancestors, see Maria Bogucka 1997, pages 33-36

[3] Helmut Börsch-Supan 1998, page 605

[4] Klassik Stiftung Weimar, Kunstsammlungen. Pictured in Elżbieta Budzińska 1986, illustration 1

[5] Martin Klar: Porcelain box by von Daniel Chodowiecki, in: Pantheon. Internationale Jahreszeitschrift für Kunst, München 1931, pages 38-44