Huon de Bordeaux wordt toegesproken door de feeënkoning Oberon 1782

Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki made this print depicting Huon de Bordeaux and the fairy king Oberon sometime in the late 18th century. Prints like this one were often made as book illustrations. Here, we see Chodowiecki illustrating a scene from medieval French romance, but in a style that is self-consciously modern. The architecture in the background, for instance, recalls the Neoclassical style then in vogue in Prussia and across Europe. The artist’s emphasis on clarity and simplicity likewise chimes with Enlightenment values. Chodowiecki was director of the Berlin Academy of Arts from 1797. His position at the heart of the Prussian art establishment gave him considerable influence over artistic taste. His prints offered accessible, easily reproducible images to a wide audience. To understand this work better, we might research the history of book illustration, the social role of academies, or the visual culture of the Enlightenment. Each of these research areas helps us understand the print in its original context.