Gold

David Hockney OM CH RA | Signed | Etching From Book Edition B of 100 | Unframed | 18 x 12 inches

This etching is the first illustration for the ‘Rumpelstilzchen’ tale. The fairytale recounts the story of a miller who tells the king his daughter can spin straw into gold, an imp helps her achieve this magical feat in return for her jewellery and finally the promise of her first-born child. For the opening image Hockney depicts the falling straw transforming into glistening gold, he said, “I show the straw as falling down but leave in signs that make the gold look shiny”.

This is one of 39 etchings that Hockney created for the series ‘Six Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm’. Hockney selected six stories for the series, from the 220 by the Brothers Grimm, which he’d delighted in since childhood: ‘The Little Sea Hare’, ‘Fundevogel’, ‘Rapunzel’, ‘The Boy who left Home to learn Fear’, ‘Old Rinkrank’ and ‘Rumpelstilzchen’. Hockney stated, “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.”

Signed by the artist in pencil. Numbered in ink on the reverse.

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