Illustrations For Six Fairy Tales From The Brothers Grimm by David Hockney Background & Meaning

A self-proclaimed ‘Literary Artist,’ Hockney’s Illustrations for Six Fairytales from the Brothers Grimm are among some of his most popular etchings. P. Cavafy, David Hockney’s Illustrations For Six Fairy Tales From The Brothers Grimm are among the artist’s best known etchings. Conceived over three years and published in 1969 they showcase the artist’s ingenuity for composition, his charm as a draughtsman and his mastery of the medium of print.

As with the aforementioned series, the Brothers Grimm prints are characterised by their mostly blank backgrounds, which in 1969 presented a break from his painting style where an almost photographic naturalism was beginning to take hold. The fairytale subjects allowed him to work with a more playful style, and experiment with soft ground technique which meant he could make marks as if he were merely drawing on paper. He also made use of aquatint for shading which allowed him to bring darker and lighter tones into works such as The Lake and The Boy Hidden in an Egg.

The series is also characterised by extensive cross hatching which allowed him to achieve a deeper black, and is a technique Hockney is said to have picked up not just from Hogarth but also Giorgio Morandi’s prints. These various techniques are another way in which Hockney ‘quotes’ the masters that came before him. Whether it’s Matisse in a still life or Picasso in a portrait, his works of art are always looking back as well as out at the viewer, their artifice brought to the fore by conscious referencing and overt display of technique.

Produced in an edition of 400 these are some of Hockney’s more accessible prints, offering an attractive entrypoint for new collectors. While more widespread than other series, they encapsulate Hockney's genius and, with their familiar subject and artful compositions, will remain timeless classics for many decades to come.

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10 Facts About David Hockney’s Six Fairytales From The Brothers Grimm

The tales Hockney decided to illustrate include ‘The Little Sea Hare’, ‘Fundevogel’, ‘Rapunzel’, ‘The Boy Who Left Home to Learn Fear’, ‘Old Rinkrank’ and ‘Rumpelstilzchen’ In Hockney’s own words, these stories particularly compelled him:“They’re fascinating, the little stories, 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.”

By using stark, monochrome imagery, Hockney’s depictions of The Brothers Grimm tales contrast with the traditional employment of beauty and colour, used in fairy tales to emphasise good and evil. The prominence of negative space, and portrayal of traditional characters as plain and unassuming, invites the viewer’s imagination and interpretations to roam freely.

Hockney’s style prior to his Six Fairy Tales From The Brothers Grimm was characterised by an almost photographic naturalism, seen in pieces such as Peter Getting Out Of Nick’s Pool (1966), with the fairy tale subject allowing him to explore a more playful, abstract style.