The beloved British artist David Hockney, who died last week at the age of 88, is celebrated for his vibrant paintings, his innovative techniques, and his joyful kookiness. He also, like many visionaries and other people who know what’s good for them, loved fairy tales.
In 1969, Hockney created 39 etchings based on six of his favorite stories by the Brothers Grimm: “The Little Sea Hare,” “Fundevogel,” “Rapunzel,” “The Boy who left Home to learn Fear,” “Old Rinkrank,” and “Rumpelstilzchen.”
“They’re fascinating, the little stories,” Hockney said, “told in a very very simple, direct, straightforward language and style, it was this simplicity that attracted me. They cover quite a strange range of experience, from the magical to the moral.” Hockney’s etchings are fascinating too: weird, irreverent, and expressive, but in a minimalist black and white. “My choice of stories was occasionally influenced by how I might illustrate them,” Hockney added. “I included other stories simply because they were strange.”
The etchings were collected in Six Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm with Illustrations by David Hockney, published in 1970 by London’s Petersburg Press. Here are just a few favorites:
David Hockney, “A Black Cat Leaping,” 1969 (from “The Boy Who Left Home to Learn Fear”)
David Hockney, “The Sexton Disguised as a Ghost,” 1969 (from “The Boy Who Left Home to Learn Fear”)
David Hockney, “Inside the Castle,” 1969 (from “The Boy Who Left Home to Learn Fear”)
David Hockney, “Cold Water About to Hit the Prince,” 1969 (from “The Boy Who Left Home to Learn Fear”)
David Hockney, “The Boy Hidden in an Egg,” 1969 (from “The Little Sea Hare”)
David Hockney, “The Princess in Her Tower,” 1969 (from “The Little Sea Hare”)
David Hockney, “A Room Full of Straw,” 1969 (from “Rumpelstilzchen”)
David Hockney, “The Cook,” 1969 (from “Fundevogel”)
David Hockney, “The Enchantress with the Baby Rapunzel,” 1969 (from “Rapunzel”)
David Hockney, “The Tower Had One Window,” 1969 (from “Rapunzel”)
David Hockney, “The Older Rapunzel,” 1969 (from “Rapunzel”)
Find more from this series here.