It is no secret that Hans Christian Andersen was a man of many talents. His imagination was constantly in motion and he expressed himself in many different ways from fairytales, stories and novels to collages, drawings and fabulous papercuts. Thematically they range from exquisitely pretty to hilarious funny motives, demonical, horrifying and profoundly poetic. In this papercut Andersen cut out something that looks like a curtain and scenery from a puppet theater. Technically there is a contrast between the primitivist look of the curtain and the airy loveliness of the scenery. Andersen used the two protrusions on each side at the top to show that the curtain was hung with a rod - since this is how decorative curtain rods looked at the time. But its slightly stump-like design might bring to mind truncated arms or writing pens. Above the curtain is a theater mask whose coarsely cut grimace provides a sharp contrast to the scenery: two ballet dancers holding a wreath between them. The curtain is like a demonical mask that consumes the poetic ballet scene.

Reference: (Johan de Mylius: “H. C. Andersen: Papirklip / Paper cuts”, Komma & Clausen, p. 16.)

Provenance: Descendants of Aron and Fanny Henriques.