CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 10/23/2021

Fantasy and Fairy Tales in 'Kay Nielsen: An Enchanted Vision'

Featured spreads are from MFA Publications’ superb new compendium on the early twentieth-century Danish illustrator Kay Nielsen. Perhaps best known for his masterful book illustrations for East of the Sun and West of the Moon (1914) and Fairy Tales by Hans Andersen (1924), many will also recognize some element of magic in his work on Walt Disney Studios’ landmark animated film, Fantasia. “A highly skilled draftsperson capable of rendering exceptional detail, Nielsen precisely constructed images that come to life in the viewer’s mind as they convey narrative moments of heightened emotion," Meghan Melvin writes. "His compositions, often featuring just one or two figures, offer windows into enchantingly complex imaginary worlds. Their confident deployment of dense and highly patterned elements with contrasting large empty spaces creates a dramatic visual undercurrent for every tale as it unfolds for the reader.”