The Real Princess - Edmund Dulac

Edmund Dulac's 1911 illustration for The Princess and the Pea, capturing the iconic scene of the princess atop a towering stack of mattresses.

This illustration by Edmund Dulac depicts the climactic scene from Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea. Created for a 1911 edition of the author's stories, the work demonstrates Dulac's mastery of atmospheric colour and composition. The princess is perched atop a towering stack of mattresses, her small figure dwarfed by the sheer height of the bed. Dulac employs a muted, moody palette to suggest the interior of a medieval chamber, using deep purples, teals, and earthy tones to construct the space.

The composition is dominated by the verticality of the four-poster bed, which draws the eye upward to the princess. Dulac uses fine, precise brushwork to render the textures of the various quilts and the heavy fabric of the canopy. The lighting is soft and directional, emanating from the candles in the foreground, which casts long shadows and creates a sense of quiet intimacy. The background features a suggestion of wall hangings, adding to the period atmosphere of the scene.

Dulac was a central figure in the early twentieth-century British illustration scene. His work often drew upon orientalist influences and a refined, decorative approach to form. This particular piece shows his ability to balance narrative clarity with a dreamlike quality. The attention to detail in the bedding, from the checkered patterns to the varied thicknesses of the cushions, provides a tactile reality to the fantastical premise of the story. The print captures the original watercolour's delicate washes and fine line work, preserving the specific aesthetic of the Golden Age of Illustration. It is a piece that invites close inspection of its textures and the subtle interplay of light within the confined, ornate space of the bedroom.