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From David Hockney’s celebrated Six Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm portfolio, an image of the story ‘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. Hockney drew this dramatic image from life, positioning lights beneath a group of people. The dark background and harshly lit faces call to mind Goya’s theatrical etchings, many of which convey a foreboding mood.
Per the British Council: “In this tale a farmer had two sons. The older son was hard working and clever, the younger son whilst stupid and good for nothing was utterly fearless; indeed his only wish in life was to learn to shudder with fear. He was granted his wish and was sent to meet with ghosts and ghouls: first the sexton disguised as a ghost to spending the night with corpses taken down from the gallows to be warmed by a fire, all without a shudder of fear. His fearlessness came to the attention of the King who promised his daughter’s hand in marriage if the younger son could spend three nights in the haunted castle.
After enduring three nights of mayhem and horror without a shudder of fear, the younger son and princess married. Although he lived happily with the princess, he still wished he could shudder with fear. One night the princess’s maid crept into his room, pulled back the blankets and threw a bucketful of cold squirming fish onto the sleeping man who woke with a start, and a shuddered in fear.”
Corpses on fire (Six Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm) 1969
Etching, aquatint and drypoint on W S Hodgkinson paper watermarked “DH” and “PP”
Plate 10.2 x 9.7 in / 25.8 x 24.5 cm
Paper 17.75 x 16 in / 45.09 x 40.64 cm
Unique publisher’s copy aside from the edition of 400 books and 100 portfolios
