HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN - WIT, ARTIST, TRAVELLER

As a child, Hans Andersen made puppet costumes and later sketched, produced collages and paper-cuts of swans, ballet dancers, court ladies, dancing millers, storks, the sandman and folklore figures, which are exquisite and magical. A sharp observer of life in Copenhagen, he said of his stories “Every character is taken from life; I know and have known them all.” Influenced by his friend, scientist H. C. Orsted, he was thrilled by the scientific discoveries of his day, putting them into some of his 156 published stories. Karin shows Andersen’s work and illustrations of his stories by artists, including Arthur Rackham, Edmond Dulac, Lars Bo and Kai Nielsen, Christen Kobke and other Danish artists.

Karin Fernald is known for her entertaining lectures on writers and diarists connected with the arts, from the mid 18th-19th centuries. Karin has  worked in  Germany, France, Japan, New Zealand, Cape Town and Australia. Her lectures are brought to life by extensive research into diaries and letters, illustrated with images of contemporary pictures and portraits.