Artwork
Illustrations to La Fontaine
Illustrations to La Fontaine is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki. It dates from 1800 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Created in 1800, this etching is part of a series that visualizes the fables of the French poet Jean de La Fontaine.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1800, this etching is part of a series that visualizes the fables of the French poet Jean de La Fontaine. The work presents two distinct tableau: a domestic interior where a mother attends to her children, and an outdoor scene in which a woman gestures toward a group of figures beneath a tree. Both are rendered in monochrome, relying on line work to convey texture and narrative.
Subject & Meaning
The left panel captures a quiet, intimate moment of maternal care, illuminated by daylight filtering through a window. The right panel shifts to a more public setting, suggesting a moral lesson or interaction drawn from one of La Fontaine’s tales, with the gesturing woman possibly guiding the attention of the surrounding characters.
Technique & Style
Executed with fine etching lines, Chodowiecki renders fabric folds, facial expressions, and spatial depth through careful hatching and cross‑hatching. The contrast between light and shadow is achieved solely by varying line density, giving the black‑and‑white medium a sense of movement and three‑dimensionality.
History & Provenance
German artist Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki, of Huguenot and Polish heritage, produced the print while residing in Berlin, where he later directed the Berlin Academy of Art. The piece was issued as part of his broader program of illustrated La Fontaine fables, a popular subject for printmakers at the turn of the 19th century.
Context
During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, illustrated fable books were a common vehicle for moral instruction and entertainment. Chodowiecki’s series aligns with this tradition, translating La Fontaine’s literary wit into visual narratives that could be disseminated widely through the reproducible medium of etching.
Artist & collection
Artist
Daniel Niklaus Chodowiecki (16 October 1726 – 7 February 1801) was a German painter and printmaker of Huguenot and Polish ancestry, who is most famous as an etcher.
