Princess and the Pea

Artist / Maker Christian Petersen (Danish - American, 1885 - 1961)

Date1939

MediumClay study

Dimensions10 x 7 x 5 in. (25.4 x 17.8 x 12.7 cm)

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LineGift of Maridee Hegstrom. In the Christian Petersen Art Collection, Christian Petersen Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object numberUM2010.257

Status

Not on view

Collections

Label TextHans Christian Andersen (Danish, 1805 - 1875) is the author of many children's fairy tales and fables. Christian Petersen created the sculpture Princess and the Pea after being inspired by his fellow Dane's fairy tale by the same name published in 1835. Andersen's fairy tales, called eventyr in Danish, continue to inspire the young and old. Some of his most well-known fairy tales include The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling, The Nightingale, and The Emperor's New Clothes. Christian Petersen would have been in his mid-fifties when this clay sculpture was created, however he likely heard the tale as a child growing up in Denmark. Petersen also created an undated sketch of the author in one of his numerous drawing books. In 1939, Petersen chose to revisit the tale of a young Princess trying to prove her membership into the royal family by detecting a pea under a series of mattresses. At the time of this sculpture's creation, Petersen's third daughter, Mary, would have been around 3 years old. It is likely that he and his wife Charlotte told little Mary the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the princess and her sleepless night. Petersen found inspiration in Andersen's fairy tale, and during the same year also created sculptures based on his daughter Mary (Two Children), his travels to the Appalachians (Mountain Mother), and family strife in the aftermath of natural disaster (Soon After the Flood). Petersen sought inspiration from his daily life, family and fatherhood in the many works of art based on children that would follow in the years to come, most notably the Marriage Ring located in MacKay Hall on central campus. More about the Plot of The Princess and the Pea: The story tells of a prince who wants to marry a princess, but is having difficulty finding a suitable wife. Something is always wrong with those he meets, and he cannot be certain they are real princesses. One stormy night, a young woman drenched with rain seeks shelter in the prince's castle. She claims to be a princess, so the prince's mother decides to test their unexpected unwitting guest by placing a pea in the bed she is offered for the night, covered by 20 mattresses and 20 feather-beds. In the morning, the guest tells her hosts that she endured a sleepless night, kept awake by something hard in the bed; which she is certain has bruised her. The prince rejoices. Only a real princess would have the sensitivity to feel a pea through such a quantity of bedding. The two are married, and the pea is placed in the Royal Museum. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Princess_and_the_Pea)

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