Illustration til "Prindsessen paa Ærten" i H.C. Andersen, "Eventyr og Historier", Bind 1 1870 - 1873

Curator: Oh, this meticulous drawing immediately conjures the classic tale, "The Princess and the Pea"! Doesn't it just reek of bedtime anxiety? Editor: Yes, it's a striking piece. We're looking at an illustration by H.P. Hansen, created between 1870 and 1873, intended for H.C. Andersen's "Fairy Tales and Stories". It’s currently housed here at the SMK. The detailed line work is captivating. What strikes me is the sheer domestic theatre—a queen so theatrical, even just supervising bed-making. Curator: Domestic theatre, love it! Exactly, the over-the-top drama of it all! Look at the way the queen gesticulates at the monumental bed! And those candlesticks! All this preparation for… a single pea. I can practically feel her aristocratic agitation. Is it me, or is there something quietly subversive about Andersen's story too? A satire on class anxiety and absurd privilege, no? Editor: Precisely! And Hansen’s choice to render it in such intricate detail amplifies that feeling. Consider how the narrative artwork underscores the absurdity of the situation. The bed, a stage for the test of "true" princesshood, becomes a symbol of societal expectations. It makes you question the societal institutions that prioritize such frivolous standards. The drawing almost mocks these ideas, even as it presents them with such seriousness of technique. Curator: Mocks! Yes, but with a gentle hand, I feel. Hansen lets the humor shine through, without resorting to outright caricature. He allows the story's own inherent absurdity to carry the weight of the critique. And think about how universal the pea-under-the-mattress is as metaphor - discomfort, no matter how small, can unravel us! Editor: That's it, and this drawing visualizes that tension brilliantly. A blend of societal critique, dark humor, rendered with fine lines that speaks volumes about the politics embedded even within children’s stories. Curator: A marvelous little moment, so perfectly captured, it still prickles doesn't it?