A Wooded Landscape
Signed Print

A patchwork of fields spreads across the land and up a steep hill where a lone house is perched, its windows placed at the gable end like eyes searching the landscape for something. In the foreground we are shown a path bordered by a dead branch and then, in contrast, a section of a tree, its trunk straight and dark, its leaves coming together in clouds of ink and abundance. The path appears to lead towards the mysterious house and the viewer feels as if they are about to embark on it, filled with a sense of foreboding that comes from the dark tones of this monochrome etching. Published in 1969, David Hockney’s Illustrations For Six Fairy Tales From The Brothers Grimm, of which A Wooded Landscape forms a part, is one of the artist’s most famous and beloved print series. It is mostly made up of scenes from the fairy tales, such as the story of ‘Fundevogel’, with strange and alluring figures, interspersed with quiet and yet unsettling landscapes such as this. Hockney was immediately taken by the subject and undertook extensive research before beginning work on the series, even travelling along the Rhine to get a feel for the German landscape which is captured here.