Rumpelstiltskin

While nowhere in the tale of Rumpelstiltskin is mentioned that he is a dwarf, we can safely presume this on our own.

• He is described as 'small, ugly, old'.
• He lived in the woods.
• He has magical powers.
• He is obviously a gold expert.
• He wants a small kid.

All these characteristics fit the general perception of dwarfs who live in the wilderness, are always focused on treasures, especially gold, possess different kinds of magic abilities, and are known as willing to steal children or at least 'borrow', often keeping them in fairy world for as long as their outside world is completely changed and everybody they know dead or very old.

The Tale of Rumpelstiltskin is focused on the miller's daughter who is in big trouble due big mouth of her father but this trouble can also serve as an opportunity. She is given a seemingly impossible task when a magical helper (Rumpelstiltskin) pops up and saves her life.

But his help is not completely free and at the end of the story she is given another impossible task. She must guess his name.

These two tasks (spinning straw into gold and finding the secret name) inspired generations of illustrators from all over the world.

For starters here are sixteen illustrations by fourteen prominent artists. In time, we'll probably add more. There are also a few links to give you a chance for further explorations of Rumpelstiltskin, its variations, other magical beings, and fairy tales in general.

Anne Anderson (1874-1952)

We have two illustrations by the same artist. The first is from 1922 for the Scottish version of Rumpelstiltskin which is titled Miller's Daughter. The plot is virtually the same. For instance, it is so close to Grimms it was published in the 1933 edition of Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm illustrated by Anne Anderson.

The second illustration is from 1935 and was made for Anne Anderson's Old, Old Fairy Tales.

Getrud Caspari (1873-1948)

This illustration was first published four years after the artist's death.

Fritz Deringer (1903-1950)

(illustration from 1939)

Robert Ambrose Dudley (1867-1951)

The illustration comes from the book titled Once Upon a Time, published by Ernest Nister in 1900.

Warwick Goble (1862-1943)

It's one of 32 color illustrations from The Fairy Book, published by MacMillan in 1913.

Richard Flockenhaus (1876-1943)

This is one of five full-color illustrations for The Most Beautiful Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm, published by Verlag Jugendhort in 1910.

Paul Hey (1867-1952)

The illustration was probably made around 1915.

Curt Liebich (1868-1937)

In this case, we are dealing with two illustrations created by the same painter again. One is a black and white drawing, and the other full-color illustration, both from 1925.

Karl Muehlmeister (1876-1945)

(illustration from 1930)

Ralph Noel Pocock (1878-1949)

(illustration from 1930)

Harry Rountree (1878-1950)

The illustration comes from Stories from Grimm, published in 1910.

Franziska Schenkel (1880-1945)

(illustration from 1913)

Franz Stassen (1869-1949)

This illustration is part of a series of six drawings made in 1921. All of them can be seen here.

Max Wulff (1871-1947)

The illustration was very likely made between 1915 and 1920.

For the end of this overview, we recommend visiting an article about Rumpelstiltskin, its variations, and the secret meanings of his name. If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends. All used images are in Public Domain, so you can use them virtually for whatever you want. A link to this page would be nice.