The Tower Had One Window
The Tower Had One Window
Signed Print
David Hockney
46 x 31cm, Edition of 100, Etching, 1969
£3,450-£5,000
$6,500-$9,500 Market Value Indicator
$6,500-$9,500 Market Value Indicator
¥30,000-¥45,000 Market Value Indicator
€4,150-€6,000 Market Value Indicator
$35,000-$50,000 Market Value Indicator
¥730,000-¥1,060,000 Market Value Indicator
$4,600-$6,500 Market Value Indicator
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Meaning & Analysis
The Tower Had One Window is a 1969 etching by David Hockney from Illustrations For Six Fairy Tales From The Brothers Grimm. A tall, narrow tower with a steep, many-faceted roof stands in a field of grass, with a long braid of hair hanging from its single window. The work is signed and published in an edition of 100.
The title refers to the tale of Rapunzel, in which a girl is shut in a tower that has neither door nor stairs, only a single high window. Hockney’s etching condenses the story to its central image. A square, windowless tower rises from a rectangular block of grass. At the top a small room with a pointed roof and two dormers opens at one dark window, from which a rope of hair falls the full height of the shaft.
The treatment of the tower is notable. One face is left as blank white paper, outlined with a single line, while the other is covered in a fine cross-hatched grid that darkens towards the bottom. The roof is hatched in a different direction, with vertical lines on one side and a dense mesh on the other. The grass at the base is drawn in short, quick strokes that contrast with the strict geometry above. The braid, in comparison, is drawn with soft, looping line and a few dark highlights.
This print is one of the best known images from the portfolio, showing how Hockney used the formal vocabulary of architecture to tell a story. The signature is in pencil at the lower right.
