Images of a city and its people in the work of the artist Daniel Chodowiecki (1726–1801)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the work of Daniel Chodowiecki (1726–1801) and focuses on  his  record of a visit to Danzig (now Gda?sk, Poland), which had been the city of his birth and the early years of his life. Despite the lack of any formal training in art, he became famous as a book illustrator and went on to become the director of the Academy of Fine Arts in  Berlin. In 1773 he returned to Danzig for several months, during which he made detailed notes, accompanied by sketches, in the form of a “journal de voyage,” a genre popular in  European culture during the Enlightenment. Through this he conveyed a personal view of  incidents that took place on the long journey and during his stay in Danzig. The effect is  that of a panorama of the life of the city, enlivened by details, presented somewhat critically, of everyday life and leisure. The illustrations form expressive images of the streets of  the city and its inhabitants. The artist noted meetings both with Polish noblemen and with commoners and vividly conveyed the city’s street life of artisans, vendors and the poor. The  journal is full of brief reflections and sketches of scenes from the city’s social life. He  draws on  a range of experiences, from the minor inconveniences of travel to the diet and health of his neighbors. The drawings that accompany the journal are, arguably, among the  best in the artist’s oeuvre.