Huwelijksaanzoek 1775

Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki created this etching, "Huwelijksaanzoek," now held at the Rijksmuseum. It is a commentary on marriage practices, reflecting the social norms and power dynamics of 18th-century European society. Child marriage was not unusual at the time, especially among the aristocracy. Here we see the negotiation of a marriage contract where the young girl seems to be one of the items on the table. Chodowiecki uses his work to reflect the emotional and experiential dimensions of these arrangements. How would it feel to be bartered as a teenager? The text included in the image suggests a conversation about the girl's age, questioning whether she should be fourteen years old, with the response being "No, fourteen years and seven weeks." Through this work, Chodowiecki invites us to consider the personal impact of societal norms, urging us to reflect on the values that shape our understanding of relationships and individual autonomy.