Bearskin and the Devil
Date1917
Artist
Louis John Rhead
(American painter and illustrator, 1857–1926)
Illustration CitationThe Brothers Grimm and Louis Rhead, Grimm's Fairy Tales, Stories and Tales of Elves, Goblins, and Fairies (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1917)
MediumInk on illustration board
Dimensionscomposition: 9 7/8 × 4 1/2 in. (25.1 × 11.4 cm)
sheet: 11 9/16 × 7 5/16 in. (29.4 × 18.6 cm)
sheet: 11 9/16 × 7 5/16 in. (29.4 × 18.6 cm)
Credit LineF. V. du Pont Acquisition Fund, 1986
Object number1986-71
On View
Not on viewClassificationsDRAWING
Label TextThis illustration for a story in the Brothers Grimm collection of folktales involves a young man who makes a pact with the devil. In this scene, the devil combs his hair, ending seven years in which the man - according to his agreement with the devil - has not been able to wash or change his clothing. His increasingly unkempt appearance earned him the name Bearskin.
