Chodowiecki, though speaking only French and German (due to his offices in the Huguenot French community in Berlin he often spoke French), many times also declared his Polish allegiance and had his son Isaac Heinrich, born in Berlin, painted as a very young child with a Polish outfit and haircut. After Partitions of Poland Chodowiecki wrote to Gräfin Solms-Laubach: "From father's side I'm Polish, a descendant of a brave nation which will soon vanish". In a letter to Józef Łęcki, the Polish astronomer, he wrote: ""I consider it an honour to be a genuine Pole, even though I am now living in Germany"". Because of his mother's and his wife's Huguenot descent he was very close to the Huguenots of Berlin. Nearly all his life and career was spent in Germany, writing in German and living in Berlin from the age of almost 17.