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A Fully Cut Fairy Tale

ca. 1864
Not on view
One of the world’s most remarkable storytellers, Andersen was also an enthusiastic amateur paper cutter. He folded this large sheet three times to create a fantastic scene filled with masks, pierrots, ballet dancers, angels, swans, and palm trees. Andersen often cut sheets as he told stories to entertain friends and their children, but none of the cut-outs directly correspond with his published tales. Rather, they communicate their own whimsical narratives, a "fully cut fairy tale," as his inscription indicates here. Andersen sold this work to raise funds to support the relatives of fallen Danish soldiers during the Second Schleswig War of 1864.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: A Fully Cut Fairy Tale
  • Artist: Hans Christian Andersen (Danish, Odense 1805–1875 Copenhagen)
  • Date: ca. 1864
  • Medium: Paper cutout
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 13 9/16 x 13 1/4 in. (34.4 x 33.7 cm)
  • Classification: Cut Paper
  • Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund and Mary Martin Fund, 2012
  • Object Number: 2012.379
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
Two Pierrots Balancing on Swans and Two Dancers, Hans Christian Andersen Danish, Cutout in blue paper, mounted on an album sheet
Two Pierrots Balancing on Swans and Two Dancers
Hans Christian Andersen
1820–75
Coastal Landscape, Anton Melbye Danish, Black chalk, colored chalks
Coastal Landscape
Anton Melbye
mid-19th century
The Harbor of Copenhagen from the Esplanade between Langelinie Park and Toldboden or the Customs House, Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg Danish, Pen and gray ink, brush and gray wash, over graphite; verso: graphite; framing line in pen and black ink
The Harbor of Copenhagen from the Esplanade between Langelinie Park and Toldboden or the Customs House
Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg
1809
Buchinger Family Tree, Matthias Buchinger German, Pen and ink on paper with cutouts
On loan to The Met
Buchinger Family Tree
Matthias Buchinger
May 28, 1729
View of Charlottenborg Palace in Copenhagen with the Old Botanical Garden and Figures, Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg Danish, Pen and gray ink, brush and gray wash, over graphite; an incised construction line at lower left
View of Charlottenborg Palace in Copenhagen with the Old Botanical Garden and Figures
Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg
ca. 1838–41

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