Hans Christian Andersen (F. & S. II.400)

F. & S. II.400 is the most physically energetic print in the Hans Christian Andersen series, presenting a contorted acrobatic figure drawn from the grotesque or fantastical register of Andersen’s world. The posture — a wide-legged squat, arms raised to balance a tray bearing a miniature cityscape — suggests a juggler, jester, or court performer. A small pink fish hovers above the figure’s head; spires and buildings crowd the tray above. The composition reads as both exuberant and destabilising, the weight of the city held aloft on human effort.

The rendering applies the white-silhouette-on-dark-ground approach used across the series, but here the figure’s dynamic posture fills the square composition almost entirely, pressing against all four edges. Red and pink marks on the limbs and torso, and yellow and blue outlines, give the white form a sense of energy and instability. The near-black ground — very dark brown rather than pure black — is broken by gestural marks suggesting smoke, shadow, or dense crowd.