A Fully Cut Fairy Tale
ca. 1864
Medium
Paper cutout
Dimensions
Sheet: 13 9/16 x 13 1/4 in. (34.4 x 33.7 cm)
Classification
Cut Paper
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund and Mary Martin Fund, 2012
Accession Number
2012.379
Tags
Art Historical Context
Hans Christian Andersen, the beloved Danish author of fairy tales such as “The Little Mermaid” and “The Ugly Duckling,” was also an accomplished creator of paper cutouts. Dating to around 1864, “A Fully Cut Fairy Tale” exemplifies his playful use of scissors and folded paper to conjure intricate scenes. The medium itself—cut paper—allowed Andersen to produce delicate, symmetrical designs that often accompanied his storytelling, blending literary imagination with folk-art traditions popular in nineteenth-century Europe. This work belongs to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection of Drawin...