Maurice Sendak: Hansel and Gretel Poster

Engelbert Humperdinck's opera "Hansel and Gretel" was first performed in 1893 and has become a perennial favorite of the Christmas season. The Houston Grand Opera put on an English-language production in the fall of 1997. The stage sets were designed by illustrator Maurice Sendak, who previously had worked on the HGO's production of "The Magic Flute" (1981). A poster for the production, signed by the artist, is currently available on AbeBooks.

Maurice Sendak
AbeBooks listing accessed September 24, 2022

https://www.abebooks.com/art-prints/Poster-MAURICE-SENDAK-SIGNED-HANSEL-GRETEL/31309894686/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&cm_ite=viewbook

Note:  For more information on Maurice Sendak at the opera, read here.

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Arthur Rackham: The Robber Bridegroom

Arthur Rackham's original illustration for the Brothers Grimm story "The Robber Bridegroom" depicts the miller's daughter meeting an old woman in the cellar kitchen where she will soon have to hide from her bridegroom-to-be and his murderous band. The three bottles in the center contain the three different varieties of wine that play so gruesome a role in the story. Rackham, as is his wont, goes to extremes in contrasting the bride's beauty and the old woman's haggardness. How differently he handles their figures, posture, and garb, yet they are allies in the story. Rackham shades the brick floor with a loose hatching technique while the dark wall features elaborate crosshatching.

At last she reached the cellar, and there she found
an old, old woman with a shaking head.
Arthur Rackham

Arthur Rackham
AbeBooks listing accessed April 7, 2021

https://www.abebooks.com/art-prints/last-reached-cellar-found-old-woman/17861882956/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&cm_ite=viewbook_high

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