Walpurgisnacht 1790

Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki made this print, Walpurgisnacht, sometime around 1790. Prints like these were a crucial part of the machinery of 18th-century intellectual life. The finely engraved lines, made with a tool called a burin on a copper plate, allowed images to be reproduced in multiples. This made it possible for ideas to circulate widely and cheaply. The image itself shows a scene from German folklore – Walpurgis Night is a witches' sabbath. Chodowiecki was an acute observer of social mores, and his prints often had a satirical edge. But he also clearly respected the skill involved in printmaking. It was no accident that so many Enlightenment thinkers, including Diderot and Voltaire, appreciated the democratic potential of the medium. Chodowiecki's work reminds us that even the most seemingly straightforward images have a material basis, and a social context. In this case, a context of expanding literacy, and an increasing demand for images that could both entertain and inform.