Dutch author Hans Christian Andersen (1805 – 1875) is renowned for publishing more than 150 literary fairy tales. In 1966 Salvador Dalí created 10 illustrations to celebrate some of the tales.
The Red Shoes was first published in 1845. It tells the story of a girl named Karen that is adopted by a rich family after her mother’s death. Her new mother purchases her a pair of red shoes and Karen is so besotted by the shoes that she wears them everywhere. Due to her vanity, the shoes become cursed, and Karen is forced to dance in them continually. Salvador Dalí’s illustration of The Red Shoes is one of the more colourful artworks in the series. Dancing figures are surrounded by line work to show movement and a large red shoe sits towards the top of the stairs.