The Glass Mountain Shattered

Taken from the fairy tale of ‘Old Rinkrank’, this scene depicts a mountain made of glass, rising up in the landscape and refracting the image of the tree behind it. The rest of the scene is bare, enhancing the artificiality of the mountain which is covered in light lines to denote its transparency, recalling cartoon depictions of glass. The mountain has been shattered on one side and fragments of glass appear like chunks of ice on the ground around it.

A strange scene, this mountain belongs in the story of Old Rinkrank, a fairytale in which a princess becomes imprisoned in a glass mountain built by her father the king. Captured by Old Rinkrank she is forced to become his servant until one day she cleverly traps him and manages to escape, shattering the mountain in the process.

The story is one of six from the celebrated Brothers Grimm collection which David Hockney illustrated for his 1969 portfolio. Speaking of his interest in these fairy tales, Hockney said, “They're fascinating, the little stories, told in a very very simple, direct, straightforward language and style, it was this simplicity that attracted me. They cover quite a strange range of experience, from the magical to the moral.” Here the simplicity is laid bare in spare and beautiful composition, as he captures the improbability of a glass mountain beautifully through just a handful of lines.