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Almost simultaneously with the publication of the first fairy tales, there was a growing effort to create artistic expressions that would enrich stories and help convey the emotions, moods, and ideas of their creators.

The earliest illustrations in printed works visually interpreted the narrative content of stories and helped readers better imagine characters, places, and events. Because they evoke a wide range of emotions and reactions, illustrations became an important aspect of literary creation and gradually gained prominence as printing technologies advanced.

Through visual elements such as color, shape, composition, contrast, and other artistic means, illustrations communicate with audiences and influence their perception and understanding of art. At the same time, they help decode the essence of stories, reveal their layers of meaning, and stimulate readers’ own interpretive imagination.

Illustrations also adorned printed collections of Slovak fairy tales from the final third of the nineteenth century onward. Their quantity, complexity, and diversity were largely determined by the cost of producing them. Over time, numerous distinguished artists contributed to illustrating various editions of fairy tales, particularly those collected by Pavol Dobšinský, including Mikuláš Galanda, Martin Benka, Ľudovít Fulla, and Albín Brunovský.