Arthur Rackham's original illustration for the Brothers Grimm story "The Robber Bridegroom" depicts the miller's daughter meeting the old woman in the cellar kitchen where she will soon have to hide from her bridegroom-to-be and his murderous band. The three bottles in the center contain the three different varieties of wine that play so gruesome a role in the story. Rackham, as is his wont, goes to extremes in contrasting the bride's beauty and the old woman's haggardness. How differently he handles their figures, posture, and garb, yet they are allies in the story. Rackham shades the brick floor with a hatching technique while the dark wall features elaborate crosshatching.
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| At last she reached the cellar, and there she found an old, old woman with a shaking head. Arthur Rackham |
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| Arthur Rackham |
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