Daniel Chodowiecki

Daniel Niklaus Chodowiecki, a Polish-German painter, was born in Gdansk (Danzig), on October 16, 1726. Daniel Chodowiecki was offered an artistic education with the painter Haid in Augsburg. Soon he was able to earn a living by painting. He was admitted to the Berlin Academy in 1764. He had found his true calling and became the most famous German graphic artist of his time. His works include several thousand drawings and paintings. He illustrated nearly all of the great classics. His drawings represent in great detail the life of the burghers during the Zopfstil period, a time between Rococo and the upcoming Classicism. In 1797 Chodowiecki was appointed director of the Academy of Arts in Berlin, where he died on February 7, 1801. He also painted many portraits of Polish gentry and was interested in Hugenot- and Polish history as well, creating few paintings on the topic.