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Hockney’s reference for this work is a painting by Carpaccio: Dream of St Ursula, with her bed frame’s crenelated fabric transferred to a border along the upper edge of Hockney’s etching. Instead of an angel bringing news of the saint’s martyrdom, there is a rush of water drawn with a splash (this technique is likely Spit Bite, and the resultant bold spattered brushstroke contrasts beautifully with the rest of the carefully crosshatched image).
This etching from David Hockney’s celebrated Six Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm portfolio regards ‘The boy who left home to learn fear’. Hockney chose this story for its obscurity: It was the only story from the Brothers Grimm that he had never read. To illustrate this story, the artist drew from Goya’s aquatints, with their dramatic lighting.
Cold water about to hit the Prince (Six Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm) 1969
Plate 15.2 x 10.6 in / 38.5 x 27 cm
Paper 24.75 x 17.5 in / 62.87 x 44.45 cm
Unique publisher’s copy aside from the edition of 400 books and 100 portfolios
