Afscheid van Jean Calas in de gevangenis

About this artwork

verzamelaarsmerk, verso, gestempeld: Lugt 2228

Art Historical Context

Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki, a prolific German etcher and illustrator of the Enlightenment era, captured a poignant moment of human tragedy in his 1767 etching *Afscheid van Jean Calas in de gevangenis (Farewell of Jean Calas in the Prison). Measuring 346 × 447 mm, this detailed print depicts the heart-wrenching scene of Jean Calas, a French Protestant merchant, bidding farewell to his family before his execution. Chodowiecki's realistic style, blending Rococo expressiveness with emerging Neoclassical clarity, excels in etching—a medium prized for its intricate line work and ability to convey ...

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...