An old, old fairy tale

We all grew up on the immortal creations of the world's leading storytellers:" The Little Mermaid "by Andersen," Snow White " by the brothers Grimm, or, say," Sleeping Beauty " by Charles Perrault.

But here's the trick: we think with pictures and images that were born almost a century later than the fairy tales themselves-thanks to Disney animators or Soviet artists.

Meanwhile, it is possible to catch the true idea and catch the unique author's vision of the progenitors of children's literature themselves only by the works of their contemporaries — illustrators of the end of the century before last.

We found the authors of the first pictures to the most famous fairy tales — and immediately believed in miracles!

Illustration by Wilhelm Pedersen for Amadeus Hoffmann's fairy tale " The Nutcracker and the Mouse King»

Wilhelm Pedersen (1820-1859) was a Danish painter and naval officer, particularly known for being the first to illustrate the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen. Early fairy tales were published without illustrations, but in 1849 a five-volume collection of his fairy tales with 125 illustrations by Pedersen was published. The author liked the illustrations so much that even today they are considered inseparable from Andersen's fairy tales.

Wilhelm Pedersen's illustration of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale " Wild Swans»

Wilhelm Pedersen's illustration of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale " The Shopkeeper's Brownie»

Illustration by Wilhelm Pedersen for Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale " Ole Lukoye»

Wilhelm Pedersen's illustration of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale " The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep»

John Tenniel's illustration of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland»

Sir John Tenniel (1820-1914) - English artist, cartoonist; the first illustrator of Lewis Carroll's books Alice in Wonderland and Alice through the Looking Glass, whose illustrations are considered canonical today. He made his debut as an illustrator for the first edition of Samuel Hall's Book of English Ballads, and worked as a regular cartoonist for the popular Punch magazine at the time.

John Tenniel's illustration of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland»

John Tenniel's illustration of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland»

John Tenniel's illustration of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland»

John Tenniel's illustration of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland»

Gustave Dore's illustration of the fairy tale "Puss in Boots" by Charles Perrault»

Paul Gustave Dore (1832-1883) was a legendary French engraver, illustrator and painter. From early childhood, he impressed others with the skill of drawing, for example, at the age of ten, he performed illustrations for Dante's "Divine Comedy". Dore did not receive an art education, but spent all his free time in the Louvre and the National Library, studying paintings and prints. Over the years, Dore has created thousands of illustrations for dozens of literary masterpieces, including "Gargantua and Pantagruel" and the fairy tales of Charles Perrault, the adventures of Baron Munchausen and Don Quixote. Dore is called the greatest illustrator of the XIX century for the unsurpassed play of light and shadow in his graphic works.

Gustave Dore's illustration of the fairy tale "Cinderella" by Charles Perrault»

Gustave Dore's illustration of The Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault»

Gustave Dore's illustration of Charles Perrault's fairy tale " The Donkey's Skin»

Gustave Dore's illustration of the fairy tale "Tom Thumb" by Charles Perrault»

Illustration by Arthur Rackham for the Grimm Brothers 'fairy tale" Little Red Riding Hood»

Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) was a prolific English artist who illustrated virtually all of the classic children's literature in English (The Wind in the Willows, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan), as well as Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and the famous Song of the Nibelungs.

Rackham was primarily a brilliant draughtsman, preferring the intricate twisting lines of intertwined branches, foaming waves, and humanoid trees. His influence is felt in the first Disney animated films, in the films of Tim Burton (who chose Rackham's former apartment as his London office) and Guillermo del Toro (who says that he was inspired by Rackham's drawings when creating "The Faun's Labyrinth").

Illustration by Arthur Rackham for "Tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table" by Nelly Montijn-The Fouw

Illustration by Arthur Rackham for "Tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table" by Nelly Montijn-The Fouw

Illustration by Arthur Rackham for "Tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table" by Nelly Montijn-The Fouw

Illustration by Arthur Rackham for "Tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table" by Nelly Montijn-The Fouw

Anna Anderson's illustration of the Brothers Grimm's fairy tale "Rapunzel»

Anna Anderson (1874-1930) - British artist of Scottish origin; illustrator of literature for children, all her life she collaborated with periodicals and drew greeting cards. The work of Anna Anderson influenced the style of such famous illustrators as Jesse King, Charles Robinson, Mabel Lucy Attwell.

Anna Anderson's illustration of the Grimm brothers ' fairy tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs»

Anna Anderson's illustration of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale " The Girl with Matches»

Anna Anderson's illustration of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale " The Little Mermaid»

Anna Anderson's illustration of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale " Wild Swans»

Well, as a postscript — the very first role of the famous Pinocchio, belonging to the brush of the Italian engineer Enrico Mazzanti (1850-1910). It is noteworthy that this image is the only thing that has been preserved in history in memory of this talented person.