Characters, from 'Jack the Giant Killer', Plate 2 for a Toy Theater
Benjamin Pollock
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
Pollock's characters for 'Jack the Giant Killer', second plate for a toy theater. A traditional fairy tale in England, it tells the story of Jack, who climbs his way up to the round table of King Arthur by killing the various giants that menace the lives and happiness of people in the reign. The print features ten characters of the story, organized in two rows of five. On the upper row, in the center, is Goldglisten, the princess, standing in a ballet pose with her arms open to the sides, holding her scepter in her right hand, and wearing her crown and a dress of red, pink and yellow fabric; a blue cape is extended behind her back, tied to cuffs around her wrists. She stands inside a sort of shell-shaped platform, framed with foliage and tree branches of vivid colors, upon which white doves are perched. To her sides are Brassnob and Delvediggenhauson, two devil-like characters, dressed with red and yellow costumes and wearing large masks with big noses, long hair, and pointed ears. On the corners are Rubybeam and Sunbeam, dressed in pink and red costumes, their hairs styled with long curls, and each holding a staff in one hand. On the bottom row is Lightspark, wearing the same costume as Rubybeam and Sunbeam, and four more demons, all of them wearing red and yellow outfits and demon masks: two of them are making the Cap of Knowledge and the Invisible Scarf, the two other grinding the Sword of Sharpness, all of which would be given as gifts to Jack after he spared their castle when fighting with one of the giants.
Drawings and Prints
An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.