Roughly contemporary to the Venetian genre-painters Pietro (1702-1785) and Alessandro (1733-

1813) Longhi, Chodowiecki's work, like theirs, was typically anecdotal and illustrative of contemporary

life. These four gentlemen gather in discussion around an easel, in a tradition of images

of amateurs of art to which Chodowiecki made many contributions-the theme of artists, their

studios, and their patrons appeared frequently in his vast oeuvre of drawings and prints. The

spontaneity of the descriptive and expressive draftsmanship and the lightly satiric humor are

Probably this drawing is a preparatory study for one of the many Kalendar or almanac illustrations

designed by the artist. 1 The similarity to Hogarth should not pass unobserved, for while not his

imitator, Chodowiecki was familiar with his oeuvre.