Schneewittchen 1890

This is Ferdinand Leeke's painting of Schneewittchen, also known as Snow White, made with oil on canvas. Leeke's skilled brushwork brings to life the Brothers Grimm's tale of a maiden rescued by dwarfs. But let's consider those dwarfs for a moment. The Grimm's fairy tales are a product of early industrialization, where folklore and oral traditions were collected, and given a unified literary form. These tales often portray the lives of those working in trades and manufacturing. The painting has a division of labor. The dwarfs, likely miners extracting raw materials from the earth, stand in contrast to the pure, idle Snow White. The painting's medium, oil on canvas, links it to a tradition of fine art, yet the subject pulls it toward folklore and the lived realities of working people. Leeke prompts us to consider the social context and labor involved in creating the world around us.