December 1777

This etching titled 'December' was made by Daniel Chodowiecki, likely in Berlin, sometime in the late 18th century. Here, we see a group of children building a snowman in a small urban alley. The print is accompanied by text that reflects on the children’s diligent efforts to build something that will soon be destroyed. The text asks: “what will their game teach us?” and answers, “nothing from last year’s many old lives.” The image and text suggest the cyclical nature of life, and perhaps the futility of human endeavor. Chodowiecki was interested in the everyday life of the rising middle class and the social structures of his time, often using his art to comment on social norms. His prints were popular, widely distributed and collected. Understanding this work requires research into the artist's biography, the cultural context of 18th-century Germany, and the social history of childhood and education. This print, like all art, is inseparable from the social and institutional context in which it was made and viewed.