Interior Scene
Daniel Chodowiecki
Basic information
- ID
- Г-IV-1238
- Author
- Daniel Chodowiecki
- Name
- Interior Scene
- Country
- Germany
- Technique
- etching
- Material
- paper
- Dimensions
- 10.7 x 6.2 cm (height x width)
Additionally
Information about author
Object description
The work is probably an illustration for Wilhelm Gottlieb Becker's novella "Beatrice Cenci. A Roman History" ("Beatrice Cenci, eine römische Geschichte"), as its characters and compositional solution are similar to those presented on the title page of the narrative. The artist collaborated with the historian and philanthropist Becker in the 1790s.
The scene takes place in the interior of a Renaissance palace. Portraits of representatives of a noble family hang on the walls in oval frames. In the foreground, the figure of an elderly woman with a walking stick is emphasised. Leaning forward, she addresses an elegantly dressed young woman in a feathered headdress, presumably Beatrice Cenci.
Behind them stand an anxious woman and a moustachioed man, listening intently to the conversation. They are all dressed in accordance with 16th–17th-century fashion. The story of Beatrice Cenci is a famously dark tale of a young Roman noblewoman who, together with her stepmother and brother, plotted the murder of her cruel and tyrannical father, who had raped her. Following the discovery of their crime, a high-profile trial ensued. Beatrice was executed in Rome in 1599. Chodowiecki's illustration visually conveys the tension and family intrigues that led to the tragic finale of Becker's story.
Prints of this engraving are held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Dresden State Art Collections, the British Museum, the Kupferstichkabinett (Museum of Prints and Drawings) of the National Museums in Berlin and the National Library of France in Paris.
The scene takes place in the interior of a Renaissance palace. Portraits of representatives of a noble family hang on the walls in oval frames. In the foreground, the figure of an elderly woman with a walking stick is emphasised. Leaning forward, she addresses an elegantly dressed young woman in a feathered headdress, presumably Beatrice Cenci.
Behind them stand an anxious woman and a moustachioed man, listening intently to the conversation. They are all dressed in accordance with 16th–17th-century fashion. The story of Beatrice Cenci is a famously dark tale of a young Roman noblewoman who, together with her stepmother and brother, plotted the murder of her cruel and tyrannical father, who had raped her. Following the discovery of their crime, a high-profile trial ensued. Beatrice was executed in Rome in 1599. Chodowiecki's illustration visually conveys the tension and family intrigues that led to the tragic finale of Becker's story.
Prints of this engraving are held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Dresden State Art Collections, the British Museum, the Kupferstichkabinett (Museum of Prints and Drawings) of the National Museums in Berlin and the National Library of France in Paris.
Inscriptions
In the bottom right corner, there is an artist's signature: "D. Chodowiecki inv. & sc". Written by hand in pencil below are the gallery inventory number and the accession book number.
Legal regulation
Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery
