Chopin the Draftsman

The first attempts at composing music brought surprisingly mature results for a six-year-old composer. About the same age, little Frycek also revealed another ability...
 

In the first days of December 1816, Fryderyk prepared a nameday card for his beloved father, Mikołaj. He probably did not anticipate that his unusual gift would become a museum object.

On his father's nameday, little Fryderyk presented Mikołaj Chopin with a self-made card, drawn with a pencil on paper. A wreath of bay leaves and oak, tied with a decorative bow, surrounds the following wishes:
 

Searching for an answer to this question, we come across an interesting trace. An inconspicuous exercise book dating from 1813-1816, i.e. a few years later than the card, shows how diligently Chopin practiced the art of calligraphy, i.e. beautiful writing.  

However, we can assume that the calligraphy exercise book we know today was preceded by other, similar ones, filled with exercises typical of childhood.

In addition to the gift for drawing, the six-year-old Fryderyk Chopin's nameday card for Dad reveals one more talent of the Wunderkind: literary skills, the best proof of which will be found in the letters written by the composer.

While we can find little Chopin's card touching and surprising, they may also make us skeptical about the independence of Fryderyk's work. Who knows, perhaps his beloved sisters helped him create this amazing proof of affection for his father?