This David Hockney etching is from the Brothers Grimm tale of ‘Fundevogel’: picturing a foundling bird who has transformed into a rosebush. ‘The rose and the rose stalk’ is perhaps the most delicate image from the series, with the rose thorns outlined simply and the leaves filled with crosshatching. The rose petals are the darkest part of the composition, with a wash of grey, seen from the side.

Hockney chose the story ‘Fundevogel’, or ‘Foundling bird” for its detail, and the narrative of transformation. In ‘Fundevogel’, a forester finds a baby, Fundevogel, in a bird's nest and raises him with his daughter Lenchen. The family grows up happy and loving each other. When Lenchen sees the cook carrying buckets of water to the house and learns that the cook plans to boil Fundevogel the next day. She warns him, and they flee. The cook sends servants to find them, but Fundevogel transforms into a rosebush and later into a church with Lenchen as a chandelier, each time evading capture. Eventually, Fundevogel turns into a pond with Lenchen as a duck, and the cook drowns while trying to drink from it. The children return home safely.

The rose and the rose stalk (Six Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm) 1969
Etching on W S Hodgkinson paper watermarked "DH" and "PP"
Plate 10.9 x 4.7 in / 27.8 x 12 cm
Paper 17.75 x 16 in / 45.09 x 40.64 cm
Unique publisher’s copy aside from the edition of 400 books and 100 portfolios