Eight and a Half Weeks: Daniel Chodowiecki. Science, education and reform
Schedule
- 11.09–31.10
- Monday: closed
Tickets
Reduced: PLN 20
Students and pupils aged 7–26: PLN 1
Group ticket (min. 10 people, organised groups), per person: PLN 18
7-day ticket: PLN 60 regular / PLN 45 reduced
The ticket entitles the holder to one-time admission to the permanent and temporary exhibitions at each branch of the Museum within seven days of the date of purchase.
Annual pass, transferable: PLN 150
The pass entitles the holder to unlimited admission to the permanent and temporary exhibitions at each branch of the Museum for one year from the date of purchase.
Guided tour for adults (for groups of up to 30 people) in English: PLN 300 + admission ticket
Wednesday: free admission
We would like to inform you that all war refugees and their accompanying persons are entitled to free addmission. All you need to do is to give a verbal declaration.
Daniel Chodowiecki was not only a highly regarded illustrator, but also an active participant in the intellectual and scholarly life of his time. The Department of Old Art at the National Museum in Gdańsk presents the fourth and final instalment of the series Eight and a Half Weeks, featuring Chodowiecki’s prints and drawings under the theme Science, education and reform.
As part of the series, curators Alicja Andrzejewska-Zając and Maja Mociewicz explore the key themes in the work of this important Gdańsk-born artist, whose 300th anniversary of birth is being commemorated this year. The first exhibition focused on the Enlightenment’s new approach to family life, the second highlighted Chodowiecki’s remarkable social sensitivity and powers of observation, the third explored his work related to education, while the fourth reveals the artist’s broad intellectual horizons and his numerous contacts with prominent figures of his time.
“Chodowiecki illustrated innovative textbooks for children, working with Enlightenment educators Johann Bernhard Basedow and Johann Michael Friedrich Schulze. His work attests to numerous personal contacts with 18th-century thinkers, historians and writers, including Peter Christian Friedrich Reclam, Jean-Pierre Erman, Moses Mendelssohn and David Friedländer. His modern approach to scholarship, emphasis on observing the world and commitment to empiricism found expression in his close contacts with Johann Caspar Lavater, the founder of physiognomy, and Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, author of a revolutionary biological treatise on the instinct of the drive,” says Maja Mociewicz, one of the curators of the Eight and a Half Weeks exhibition series.
The artist led a rich and varied social life, characterised by intellectual ferment, an exchange of ideas and creative debate – all hallmarks of the Enlightenment and its belief in a better future.
“Chodowiecki’s illustrations also helped disseminate new discoveries and up-to-date scientific knowledge. His prints accompanied texts on new geographical, medical and astronomical discoveries. He was both a skilled artist and an intellectual deeply attentive to the world around him, which enabled him to translate complex scientific theories into clear and emotionally engaging images,” adds Alicja Andrzejewska-Zając.
Although Daniel Chodowiecki was not a court artist, many of his works depict the modern, reformed Prussian state under the enlightened rule of Frederick the Great. His illustrations for numerous almanacs and pocket calendars celebrated the achievements of the Prussian king, his family and his circle, above all the reforms he introduced and his military successes.
Daniel Chodowiecki was born in Gdańsk but spent most of his life in Berlin, where he moved at the age of seventeen. He initially pursued art as an amateur, practising the fashionable techniques of enamel painting and miniature painting. He studied at the private painting academy of Christian Bernhard Rode with the aim of becoming a history painter, but from around 1754 he increasingly turned to graphic art. He quickly established a reputation as a skilled engraver, which brought him numerous and lucrative commissions for illustrations. In 1764, Chodowiecki became a member of the Berlin Academy of Arts, and in 1797 he became its director.
The fourth exhibition devoted to the artist will be accompanied from 16 to 18 October by the autumn edition of the Chodowiecki Festival – a three-day celebration of 18th-century culture and customs. The event will take place at the Department of Old Art.
The events organised by the National Museum in Gdańsk form part of the city-wide celebrations marking the 300th anniversary of Daniel Chodowiecki’s birth.
Exhibition credits
Curators: Maja Mociewicz, Alicja Andrzejewska-Zając
Graphic design: Joanna Michniewska (Fromline)
Conservation: Alicja Krawczyk
Framing: Daniel Starzyński
Installation: Paweł Powirski, Alfred Szkudlarek, Sławomir Wojtkowski, Krzysztof Ruciński, Jacek Ciechanowicz
Editing and proofreading: Agnieszka Kochanowska
Translation: Piotr Andrzejewski, Anna Zbróg
Promotion: Klaudia Ficak, Justyna Sobotka
Education: Barbara Czarnek-Plasota, Kamila Glazer
Director of the National Museum in Gdańsk: Piotr Stasiowski
The series of exhibitions, entitled ‘Eight and a Half Weeks: Daniel Chodowiecki’, is held under the honorary patronage of Karl-Matthias Klause, the German Consul General in Gdańsk.
Regular: PLN 25
Reduced: PLN 20
Students and pupils aged 7–26: PLN 1
Family/Friends ticket (3–8 people), per person: PLN 18
Group ticket (min. 10 people, organised groups), per person: PLN 18
7-day ticket: PLN 60 regular / PLN 45 reduced
The ticket entitles the holder to one-time admission to the permanent and temporary exhibitions at each branch of the Museum within seven days of the date of purchase.
Annual pass, transferable: PLN 150
The pass entitles the holder to unlimited admission to the permanent and temporary exhibitions at each branch of the Museum for one year from the date of purchase.
Guided tour for adults (for groups of up to 30 people) in English: PLN 300 + admission ticket
Wednesday: free admission
We would like to inform you that all war refugees and their accompanying persons are entitled to free addmission. All you need to do is to give a verbal declaration.
Concessions and ticket exemptions are available. Reduced-price tickets are offered, among others, to school and university students, holders of the Large Family Card, and people with disabilities and their carers. Free admission is available, among others, to museum professionals, ICOM and AICA members, tourist guides and journalists.
For the full list of concessions and exemptions and the applicable terms, please click here: Discounts and Exemptions and Documents Confirming Eligibility
The Medieval and Early Modern Art Collection of the National Museum in Gdańsk is located at 1 Toruńska Street, in the historic Stare Przedmieście district, in the listed building of the former Franciscan monastery, next to the Church of the Holy Trinity. The Museum is within easy walking distance of the Main Town and can be conveniently reached on foot or by public transport.
By train – SKM and POLREGIO
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Visitors getting off at Gdańsk Główny can reach the Museum by public transport or on foot. The walk from the railway station takes approximately 20–25 minutes.
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The nearest bus stop is Muzeum Narodowe, located on Toruńska Street, directly next to the Museum.
The stop is served by bus routes 106 and 111. Route 111 provides connections to, among others, the Dworzec Główny and Brama Wyżynna stops.
Other nearby stops include Toruńska, Żabi Kruk and Brama Wyżynna, served by additional public transport routes.
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The nearest tram stops are SKM Śródmieście and Okopowa. The Museum can be reached on foot from either stop in a few minutes.
Another convenient interchange is Brama Wyżynna, served by numerous tram and bus routes. From there, the Museum is approximately a 10-minute walk.
On foot from the Main Town
The Museum can be reached from Długi Targ and the Neptune Fountain in approximately 10–15 minutes. Head towards the Upland Gate (Brama Wyżynna), then continue through the area around Okopowa Street towards Stare Przedmieście and the Church of the Holy Trinity. The entrance to the Department of Old Art is on Toruńska Street.
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