Premiere promenade de Berlin

The composition presents two men in contemporary attire—tricorn hats, long coats, one with a walking stick, the other with a folded umbrella—walking side by side. Their leisurely pace and the quiet street suggest a nascent public culture of promenade, reflecting the emerging habit of strolling as a social activity in eighteenth‑century Berlin.

Executed as an etching, the work relies on fine line work to render the texture of cobblestones, the simple façades, and the delicate details of clothing and accessories. Chodowiecki’s restrained palette of black ink and his clear, observational drawing style emphasize the ordinary character of the scene without decorative excess.

Chodowiecki, of Huguenot and Polish descent, spent most of his career in Berlin and later directed the Berlin Academy of Art. This print, produced early in his printmaking output, exemplifies his interest in documenting urban life. It remains part of collections that focus on eighteenth‑century German prints and the visual record of Berlin’s pre‑industrial streets.