Prometheus wekt Pandora tot leven
Medium
etching
Dimensions
67; 106
About this artwork
height 106 mm x width 67 mm
Art Historical Context
Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki's etching *Prometheus wekt Pandora tot leven* (Prometheus Awakens Pandora to Life), created in 1781, a pivotal moment from Greek mythology. In the myth, Prometheus, the Titan who stole fire for humanity, molds the first woman, Pandora, from clay and breathes life into her as a gift—and curse—from the gods. This small-scale work (106 mm x 67 mm) exemplifies Chodowiecki's mastery of intimate, narrative-driven scenes, blending Rococo elegance with Enlightenment fascination for classical antiquity. As a leading German graphic artist and director of the Berlin Academy o...
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...