A New Edition of "The Snow Queen"

My friends at Andersen Press have just sent me copies of a lovely new edition of The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by me.

The Snow Queen Re-issued

We've been tweaking the cover of The Snow Queen again as Andersen Press is going to reissue the book this winter.
I think the festive red type works well against the icy Queen in her palace.

Borrowing from Dulac

I was delighted to find a very nice page about my version of the Snow Queen on Sur La Lune Fairy Tales Blog by Heidi Anne Heiner.
Heidi makes a very good point about how a couple of my pictures from The Snow Queen are very reminiscent of Edmund Dulac's illustrations.
I absolutely agree.
I think at the time I was consciously echoing Dulac's work as a kind of an homage to one of my all time favourite artists. But looking back on the books now I think his snowy rooftops scene had just made such a strong impression on me that I couldn't think of any other way to approach that spread.
It's a failing that young artists in thrall to an older master have continuously made through the years, and I am happy to admit to it here, especially as it was done quite early in my career, and now I look back on my young self as being almost a different person.
I have no problem pointing out that young guy's shortcomings.


The second image is a different matter though.
I have a very strong memory of seeing Dulac's picture of the Snow Queen on her throne and thinking that, beautiful as it was, it didn't quite capture the icy regality of one of Hans Andersen's strangest characters.
The Snow Queen is not evil, but she is uncaring and selfish. Dulac makes her look rather gentle and girly which I thought was off the mark. So it was with some arrogance that I decided to try to out-do Dulac by taking on a very similar composition for this key scene in the book. I think I was actually inviting the comparison. I had quite a nerve in those days.
Although Dulac wins hands down on the snowy rooftops, I think my version of the Snow Queen enthroned stands up pretty well, particularly since I digitally enhanced the image for the new edition.
I still think Dulac's work is sublime, and I often look to him for inspiration. In his Golden Age work his sense of design and sureness of touch are second to none....not even the great Arthur Rackham.
And somehow, I don't think he would mind my borrowings too much.

The Snow Queen

This October Andersen Press are publishing a new edition of my version of The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen.
It was originally published in 1993, so I think it was overdue for a re-vamp.
Andersen have completely redesigned the book and I have digitally reworked the image of the Snow Queen on her throne for the new cover.
I had always wanted this to be the cover image, so many thanks to Klaus, Beccy and everyone at Andersen for making a little dream of mine come true.

The Snow Queen

Here's a picture I haven't looked at for quite a while. In some ways it doesn't really look like one of my pictures.
I hunted it out for our upcoming on-line exhibiton which will go live in about two weeks on the main website.
This scene is from the Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen.
What an amazing story it is. There is an awful lot in it, which makes it quite unwieldy as a picture book text, but so much of the imagery is so inventive that I had to have a go at it.
My version came out in 1994. The publisher, Andersen Press, will be issuing a new edition with a new cover next year hopefully.
Here's a chunk of the text that this image illustrates.

"She ran on as fast as she could. There then came a whole regiment of
snow-flakes, but they did not fall from above, and they were quite
bright and shining from the Aurora Borealis. The flakes ran along
the ground, and the nearer they came the larger they grew. Gerda well
remembered how large and strange the snow-flakes appeared when she
once saw them through a magnifying-glass; but now they were large and
terrific in another manner--they were all alive. They were the outposts
of the Snow Queen. They had the most wondrous shapes; some looked like
large ugly porcupines; others like snakes knotted together, with their
heads sticking out; and others, again, like small fat bears, with the
hair standing on end: all were of dazzling whiteness--all were living
snow-flakes.

Little Gerda repeated the Lord's Prayer. The cold was so intense that
she could see her own breath, which came like smoke out of her mouth.
It grew thicker and thicker, and took the form of little angels, that grew
more and more when they touched the earth. All had helms on their heads,
and lances and shields in their hands; they increased in numbers; and
when Gerda had finished the Lord's Prayer, she was surrounded by a whole
legion.
They thrust at the horrid snow-flakes with their spears, so that
they flew into a thousand pieces; and little Gerda walked on bravely and
in security. The angels patted her hands and feet; and then she felt the
cold less, and went on quickly towards the palace of the Snow Queen."