Welcome to Litsy!

Reprinted for the first time since its original publication in 1969, David Hockney’s illustrations for the tales of the Brothers Grimm are like no other version. Although inspired by earlier illustrators of the tales, including Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac, Hockney’s extraordinary etchings reimagine these strange and supernatural stories for a modern audience, capturing their distinctive atmosphere in a style that is recognizably the artist’s own. Hockney’s book brings together some well-known tales, such as Rapunzel and Rumpelstiltskin, with others that are less familiar, like Old Rinkrank. Informed by great art of the past, attuned to idiosyncrasies of character and incident, and fresh in execution and content, his illustrations invite us to read each story as if for the first time.