The Boy Hidden In An Egg
Signed Print

A raven stands in the shadow of a large speckled egg, its translucent shell revealing a boy sitting inside, his arms folded around his legs looking like a bored teenager. This is the protagonist of 'The Little Sea Hare', a story collected by the Brothers Grimm and illustrated by David Hockney as part of his 1969 portfolio dedicated to six classic fairy tales. In the story, a princess lives in a tower; many men wish to be her suitor but she will only pick someone whom she cannot see from one of the many windows in her tower. While out hunting one day the boy chooses to spare a raven, in return the bird offers to hide him from her sight in his egg, however he is soon spotted by the princess. He then spares a fish who swallows him whole but is caught out by the princess again. He eventually is turned into the ‘Little Sea Hare' of the fable’s title and wins her affections. As well as being a delightful subject, the scene of the boy in the egg allows Hockney to demonstrate his mastery of the medium of etching as he presents us with the figure of the boy behind a shell of black ink.