Daniel Chodowiecki (1726 Gdansk - 1801 Berlin), Four scenes, 1780.

pencil, paper, 19.2 × 12 cm
signed, dated, and described in pencil l. d.: "gez: von D. Chodowiecki in Dantzig 1780"

author's notes within the composition of the scenes themselves

The drawing presented in the auction catalog was drawn by Chodowiecki during the artist's only month-long stay in Gdansk in 1780. Chodowiecki arrived in Gdansk in July 1780 to settle inheritance formalities from his deceased mother. After a month's stay in his hometown, he returned to Berlin, taking with him his two unmarried sisters, Luisa and Henrietta. Few traces of this artist's stay in Danzig have survived, and completely absent are any of the artistic endeavors he undertook on this occasion. The fact that the drawing was created in Gdansk is evidenced by the information underneath it, and a specific reference to the city are the figures of monks in Dominican habits. The characteristic female figure is intriguing. Her presence on the two compositions cannot be accidental. She is the only lay person invited to the theological disputation of the monks ("Theologische Disputation"), and she also takes part in the farewell meeting ("Abschied"). Could this be Chodowiecki's farewell meeting before his return to Berlin? If one accepts this possibility, it is worth looking at the figures of the men sitting opposite each other. Is it possible to guess in one of them the image of the artist himself? One of them, slightly removed from the table, shows his face in profile, the other hides his image in a polite bow while responding to a toast made in his honor. The mysterious elegant lady I mentioned earlier is acting here in the role of mistress of the house, or hostess of the party. On either side of her sit two young women. Are they Luisa and Henrietta?