Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm Illustrated - Where the Wild Things Really Are
A dialogue in darkness and light across two centuries of magic and genius.
It is always an immeasurable delight when a beloved artist reimagines a beloved childrens book take, for instance, the various illustrations for Alice in Wonderland and The Hobbit from the past century but I have a special soft spot for reimaginings of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, which remain among humanitys most exquisite and enduring storytelling. The roster of notable interpretations is lengthy and impressive including Lorenzo Mattotti for a retelling by Neil Gaiman , Andrea Dezs for the little-known original edition of the tales , Edward Gorey for three of the best-known ones , David Hockney for an unusual vintage edition , and Wanda Ggs seminal early-twentieth-century illustrations . But the most bewitching Grimm interpreter of all is Maurice Sendak (June 10, 1928May 8, 2012).
To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the tales in 1973, exactly a decade after Where the Wild Things Are transformed Sendak from an insecure young artist into a household name, FSG invited the 45-year-old artist to illustrate a translation of the Grimm classics by Pulitzer-winning novelist Lore Segal. Sendak had first envisioned the project in 1962, just as he was completing Where the Wild Things Are , but it had taken him a decade to begin drawing. He collaborated with Segal on choosing 27 of the 210 tales for this special edition, which was originally released as a glorious two-volume boxed set and was reprinted thirty years later in the single volume The Juniper Tree: And Other Tales from Grimm ( public library ).
The Poor Miller's Boy and the Little Cat
The Goblins
Bearskin
The Goblins
To equip his imagination with maximally appropriate raw material, Sendak even sailed to Europe before commencing work on the project, hoping to drink in the native landscapes and architecture amid which the Brothers Grimm situated their stories. Aware of the artists chronic poor health, legendary childrens book patron saint Ursula Nordstrom Sendaks editor and his greatest champion beseeched him in a lovingly scolding letter right before he departed: For heavens sake take care of yourself on this trip.
The Twelve Huntsmen
Hans My Hedgehog
The Golden Bird
Fitcher's Feathered Bird
The Frog King, or Iron Henry
Many-Fur
Rapunzel
That Sendak should gravitate to such a project is rather unsurprising. His strong opinions on allowing children to experience the darker elements of life through storytelling were rooted in an early admiration for the Brothers Grimm, who remained an influence throughout his career. He was also not only a lifelong reader, writer, and dedicated lover of books, but also a public champion of literature through his magnificent series of posters celebrating libraries and reading .
The Devil and the Three Golden Hairs
Snow-White and the Seven Drawfs
Ferdinand Faithful and Ferdinand Unfaithful
Brother and Sister
The Fisherman and His Wife
The Master Thief
Brother Gaily
The Goblins
The Story of One Who Set Out to Study Fear
Complement The Juniper Tree: And Other Tales from Grimm with Sendaks equally bewitching visual interpretations of three other classics Tolstoys Nikolenkas Childhood in 1961 , E.T.A. Hoffmanns Nutcracker in 1984 , and Melvilles Pierre in 2005 then revisit his own darkest, most controversial, yet most hopeful childrens book .
http://www.brainpickings.org/2015/04/29/maurice-sendak-juniper-tree-brothers-grimm/
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Illustrations that show the truly scary side of the Grimm Brothers fairy tales.
Magnificent illustrations of may of our favorite stories
Enjoy
These are wonderful!
Creepy, but wonderful!
I thought of Dr. Foster, that one where the man is in water up to his neck...
These are wonderful!
Creepy, but wonderful Agreed !! Thanks for posting these!!
Dowser
A perfect description
Thanks for the feedback and
Nona
Thanks for stopping by, glad you enjoyed the illustrations
You are most welcome!
A bit creepy, but interesting.
R W
They could be indeed
I agree they are fantastic
KAvika
Very interesting
I memorized that poem as a little girl, so I could pronounce Glouchestershire properly! What fun!
And that is tough one to pronounce to this day
A Gemini of course!
Isn't it just pronounced: "Gloster" or "Glostersher" - sort of like pronouncing "Worcester Sauce" as "Werster Sauce"?
Black and white is more dramatic and it forces you to use your imagination.
Wonderful illustrations, though that and anything I say about them will seem like something less then they really are! Bravo!
Are we not the most intriguing, Mac?
Really great find, Robert.
I love the Brothers Grimm (So much so that I even watch the TV show Grimm)
I think that this marriage betweenSendak's art and their stories were the perfect match. Talk about major creep factor. Maybe, not so much for children.
Perrie
Glad you liked it and thanks for the feedback.
I think you are right that at least the artwork, and in the view of many the stories, are fairy material for adults rather children
Mickey
Appreciate that feedback and perspective - glad you liked the drawings.
A Mac
Thanks for sharing that info with us
I have been checking into other illustrations since I found this article
As always your perspective is appreciated
Buzz
I agree, for me the black and white drawings are even more compelling and seem to fit with the Grimm Brothers' stories from so long ago.
Excellent point.
By a mile!