John Bauer (illustrator)
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John Albert Bauer (4 June 1882 – 20 November 1918) was a Swedish painter and illustrator. His work is concerned with landscape and mythology, but he also composed portraits. He is best known for his illustrations of early editions of '' Bland tomtar och troll'' (''Among Gnomes and Trolls''), an anthology of Swedish folklore and fairy tales. Bauer was born and raised in
Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat of Jönköping Municipa ...
. At 16 he moved to Stockholm to study at the
Royal Swedish Academy of Arts The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts ( sv, Kungliga Akademien för de fria konsterna), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, archite ...
. While there he received his first commissions to illustrate stories in books and magazines, and met the artist Ester Ellqvist, whom he married in 1906. He traveled throughout Lappland, Germany and Italy early in his career, and these cultures deeply informed his work. He painted and illustrated in a romantic nationalistic style, in part influenced by the Italian
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...
and
Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...
cultures. Most of his works are
watercolors Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...
or prints in monochrome or muted colours; he also produced oil paintings and
fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plast ...
s. His illustrations and paintings broadened the understanding and appreciation of Swedish folklore, fairy tales and landscape. When Bauer was 36, he drowned, together with Ester and their son Bengt, in a shipwreck on
Lake Vättern A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larg ...
in southern Sweden.


Biography


Early life and education

John Bauer was born and raised in Jönköping, the son of Josef Bauer, a man of
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...
n origin, and Emma Charlotta Wadell, from a farming family from the town Rogberga just outside Jönköping. Josef Bauer came to Sweden in 1863, penniless. He founded a successful charcuterie business at the Östra Torget in Jönköping. The family lived in the apartment above the shop until 1881 when the construction of their house in Sjövik was completed. John, born in 1882, lived at the Villa Sjövik by the shore of Lake Rocksjön with his parents and two brothers, one older and one younger; his only sister died at a young age. The family home would remain central to him long after he lived on his own. His initial schooling was at the ''Jönköpings Högre Allmäna Läroverk'' (The Jönköping Public School of Higher Education), followed by the ''Jönköpings Tekniska Skola'' (The Jönköping Technical School) from 1892 to 1898. He spent most of his time drawing caricatures of his teachers and daydreaming, something not appreciated by his teachers. He was given to sketching and drawing from an early age, without encouragement from his family. However, when he turned sixteen and wanted to go to
Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...
to study art, they were enthusiastic for him and backed him financially. In 1898, he was one of the 40 applicants to study at the
Royal Swedish Academy of Arts The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts ( sv, Kungliga Akademien för de fria konsterna), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, archite ...
, and although he was deemed well qualified for a place at the academy, he was too young to be accepted. He spent the next two years at the Kaleb Ahltins school for painters. During this time he was, like many teenagers, torn between hope and despair, something that is reflected in his artwork. By 1900, he was old enough to attend the Academy of Arts, and was one of the three students admitted that year; the two other successful applicants were his friends Ivar Kamke and
Pontus Lanner Pontus or Pontos may refer to: * Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea) * Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology * Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in mode ...
. He studied traditional illustrations and made drawings of plants, medieval costumes and croquis; all of which served him in his later work. One of his teachers, professor and noted historic painter, Gustaf Cederström praised Bauer: While at the academy, he received his first commissions to illustrate magazines (including the ''Söndags-Nisse'' and ''Snöflingan'') and books (e.g. ''De gyllene böckerna'', ''Ljungars saga'' and ''Länge, länge sedan''). In 1904 he traveled to Lappland to create paintings for a book on the culture of the county and its "exotic wilderness". At the end of 1905, he left the academy and put "Artist" on his business card.


Journey to Lappland

Following the discovery of
iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the ...
deposits in the north of Sweden, Lappland became a frontier for industrial development, instead of an exotic wilderness of the Sami culture and
midnight sun The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When the midnight sun is seen in the Arctic, ...
. Opportunistically, Carl Adam Victor Lundholm published his ''Lappland, det stora svenska framtidslandet'' (Lappland, the great Swedish land of the future). He engaged noted Swedish artists—such as ,
Alfred Thörne Sven Alfred Thörne (24 April 1850, Horn - 15 March 1916, Stockholm) was a Swedish landscape painter. Biography His father, Sven Petter Thörne, was a cobbler. From 1874 to 1880, he studied at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts with Per Dan ...
,
Per Daniel Holm Per Daniel Holm (11 September 1835, Smedjebacken Municipality, Smedjebacken - 7 August 1903, Stockholm) was a Swedish landscape painter. Biography His father, Alexander Holm, was a pastor at . He attended the KTH Royal Institute of Technology un ...
and Hjalmar Lindberg—to create the illustrations. Since Bauer was an inexperienced illustrator by comparison, Lundholm tested his abilities by sending him to create some drawings of Sami people at Skansen. Although reluctant to audition for the commission, on 15July 1904 Bauer left for Lappland and stayed there for a month. Coming from the dense, dark forests of
Småland Småland () is a historical province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means ''Small Lands''. The Latinized f ...
he was overwhelmed by the open vistas and colorful landscapes. His encounters with the Sami people and their culture became important for his later works. He took many photos, sketched and made notes of the tools, costumes and objects he saw, but he had difficulty becoming close to the Sami, due to their shyness. He recorded his experiences in his diary and in letters to his family and friends. After a visit to a Sami
goahti A goahti (Northern Sámi), goahte (Lule Sámi), gåhte (Pite Sámi), gåhtie (Ume Sámi) or gåetie (Southern Sámi), (also ''gábma''), ( Norwegian: ''gamme'', Finnish: ''kota'', Swedish: ''kåta''), is a Sami hut or tent of three types of c ...
he noted: "All light from above. If the head is tilted forward it is dark. The lit parts of the figure always lighter than the tent canvas. Sharp shadows run like spokes from the middle of the goathi." The book on Lappland was published in 1908, with eleven watercolors by Bauer. They were painted in Stockholm, almost 18 months after his visit, using the photos and sketches he had collected during his journey. Many of the photos resulted in other drawings and paintings. Most of these were romanticized versions of the photos, but he succeeded in capturing the nuances and ambiance of the goahtis, and the richness of the Sami garments and crafts. Details from the Sami culture, such as the bent knives, shoes, spears, pots and belts, became important elements in the clothes and ornamentations of Bauer's trolls. Bauer's eye for detail and his numerous notes also made the material an
ethnographic Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject ...
documentation of the era.


Courtship and marriage

Bauer met fellow student Ester Ellqvist at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. Ellqvist studied at the separate department for women, since women were not allowed to attend the same classes as the men and their education was conducted in a different manner. So, while Ellqvist was talented and ambitious, she did not have an equal opportunity as her male colleagues to develop her artistry, and society's expectation was that her role in life would be that of housewife, not artist. Bauer started courting her in 1903, but since they were apart most of the time, this was done by mail. Their relationship developed as they shared their dreams, aspirations, doubts and insecurities in their correspondence. For Bauer, Ellqvist became his inspiration, muse, and "fairy princess"; it was as such he painted her for the first time in ''Sagoprinsessan'' (The Fairy Princess). He made sketches for the painting in 1904, and finalized them in an oil painting in 1905. Ellqvist is portrayed as a strong, enlightened and unobtainable
Valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997: ...
. The painting was shown at Bauer's first exhibition at the
Valand Academy Valand Academy ( sv, Akademin Valand) is a school for film, photography, literary composition, and fine art at the University of Gothenburg in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was formed in 2012 through the merger of three formerly independent schools/de ...
in
Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
in 1905 (where he was one of eleven debutants) and in
Norrköping Norrköping (; ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Linkö ...
in 1906, where it was sold to a private collector. It is now in the Jönköpings läns museum. Bauer tried to mold Ellqvist into his vision of a creature of the woods and as the perfect artist's wife; he wanted her to make a home for them in a romantic cottage in the woods, while he wandered about the forest seeking inspiration. Ellqvist, on the other hand, had been raised in Stockholm and was a lively person who enjoyed the social life that could only be found in towns or cities. She wanted to settle down in a comfortable place with a husband and have children. Bauer was not sufficiently established an artist to provide for a family; throughout his entire lifetime he relied on his parents for financial support. When he proposed to Ellqvist, Bauer did so without the approval of his parents, who thought that he should be more established in a career and self-supporting before marriage. On 18December 1906, Bauer and Ellqvist were married. Little is known of their first years together since they now lived in the same house, making letters unnecessary. Bauer had jobs illustrating covers for magazines, like ''Hvar 8 Dag'', and began work on ''Bland tomtar och troll'' (Among Gnomes and Trolls). In 1908, John and Ester traveled to Italy together; on their return they found a house, the "Villa Björkudden", situated on the shores of Lake Bunn just outside
Gränna Gränna () is a locality in Jönköping Municipality, Jönköping County, Sweden with 2,665 inhabitants in 2018. Founded in 1652 by Count Per Brahe, it is in Småland on the eastern shores of the lake Vättern, about 40 km north of Jönköpi ...
. They bought the house in 1914, and the following year their son Bengt (called "Putte") was born. The birth of Putte marked a harmonious and joyful time for the couple. Bauer made his final illustrations for ''Among Gnomes and Trolls'', his grand farewell to the series, which freed him to explore playwriting and make frescos. He showed his paintings at exhibitions and experimented with
modernism Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...
, but all this came at a cost. Bauer was often away, leaving Ellqvist alone at home, and he no longer had the steady income that the illustrations had provided. By 1917, their marriage was in trouble, and in 1918, Bauer put his thoughts about a divorce in a letter to his wife. Over time, Bauer used Ellqvist as a model less frequently. With the birth of their son, Bauer started to paint pictures with children as part of the composition. The painting ''Rottrollen'' (The Root Trolls), completed in 1917, is of Putte sleeping among troll-shaped roots in a forest.


Journey to Italy

Bauer and his wife made a long journey to Italy at Josef's expense in 1909. They chose to travel through Germany and on to Italy based on his readings of medieval towns during a 1902 visit to Germany with his father. The couple visited
Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...
,
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...
,
Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...
and spent two months in
Volterra Volterra (; Latin: ''Volaterrae'') is a walled mountaintop town in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its history dates from before the 8th century BC and it has substantial structures from the Etruscan, Roman, and Medieval periods. History Volt ...
. They continued through
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...
and
Capri Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has be ...
, spending the winter in Rome. Throughout their travels they studied art and visited churches and museums, which appealed to Bauer's eclectic mind. In the evenings they went to small tavernas to enjoy the ambiance; all of which is recorded in the letters they sent home to Bauer's family. Bauer's sketchbooks are full of studies of antique objects and
Renaissance art Renaissance art (1350 – 1620 AD) is the painting, sculpture, and decorative arts of the period of European history known as the Renaissance, which emerged as a distinct style in Italy in about AD 1400, in parallel with developments which occ ...
, some of which he used for his illustrations. A portrait of Ghirlandaio by
Sandro Botticelli Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), known as Sandro Botticelli (, ), was an Italian Renaissance painting, Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th cent ...
is said to be the basis for ''Svanhamnen'' (The Swan maiden), and Piero della Francesca's work was the inspiration for ''Den helige Martin'' (Saint Martin, the Holy). He also became intrigued by frescoes. He was exuberant in the study of art, but he also became homesick for the quiet serenity of the Swedish forest which resulted in some of his best winter pictures with white snow, dark woods and the sky glittering with tiny stars. Their journey was abandoned after a murder in their building in Rome. Bauer was interrogated by Italian police due to a misunderstanding. He was never a suspect but the situation became public, leaving a bitter memory of their visit to Rome.


Death on Lake Vättern

Bauer, Ester and their three-year-old son, Bengt, were on their way to their new home in Stockholm, where Bauer hoped for spiritual renewal and a new life for himself and his family. A recent, well-publicized
train accident Classification of railway accidents, both in terms of cause and effect, is a valuable aid in studying rail (and other) accidents to help to prevent similar ones occurring in the future. Systematic investigation for over 150 years has led to the ra ...
at
Getå Getå is a minor locality in Norrköping Municipality, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN Worl ...
caused Bauer to book their return to Stockholm by boat, the steamer ''Per Brahe''. On the night of 19November 1918, when the steamer left
Gränna Gränna () is a locality in Jönköping Municipality, Jönköping County, Sweden with 2,665 inhabitants in 2018. Founded in 1652 by Count Per Brahe, it is in Småland on the eastern shores of the lake Vättern, about 40 km north of Jönköpi ...
it was loaded with iron stoves, plowshares, sewing machines and barrels of produce. All the cargo did not fit into the hold and a significant portion was stored unsecured on deck, making the ship top-heavy. The weather was bad and by the time the steamer was at sea a full storm was raging; the wind caused the cargo on deck to shift, some of it falling overboard, further destabilizing the ship. The ship capsized and went down, stern first, just from the next port, Hästholmen, killing all 24 people on board, including the Bauers. Most of the passengers had been trapped in their cabins. The wreckage was found on 22November 1918 at a depth of , and was salvaged on 12August 1922. Investigations indicated that just one third of the cargo had been stowed in the hold, the rest unsecured on deck. The salvage operation turned into a bizarre public attraction; for example, a sewing machine from the steamer was smashed into pieces and sold for one crown each. It is estimated that about 20,000 people came to watch the raising of the ship, requiring the addition of trains from
Norrköping Norrköping (; ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Linkö ...
.
Newsreel A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a cinema, newsreels were a source of current affairs, inform ...
s featuring the raising of the ship were shown in cinemas all over Sweden. In order to finance the salvage operation, the ''Per Brahe'' was sent on a macabre tour throughout Sweden. The newspapers fed people's superstitions that the mythical creatures of the forests had claimed Bauer by sinking the ship. The most common theme was connected to the tale ''Agneta och sjökungen'' (Agneta and the Sea King) from 1910 in which the Sea King lures a maiden into the depths. On 18August 1922, the Bauers were buried at the Östra cemetery in Jönköping (in quarter 04 plot number 06).


Career


Subjects

Bauer's favorite subject was Swedish nature, the dense forests where the light trickled down through the tree canopies. Ever since he was little he had wandered in the dark woods of
Småland Småland () is a historical province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means ''Small Lands''. The Latinized f ...
imagining all the creatures living there. His paintings frequently included detailed depictions of plants, mosses, lichens and mushrooms found in the Swedish woods. He is best known for his illustrations of ''Among Gnomes and Trolls''. In a 1953 article in ''Allers Familje-journal'' (Allers Family Journal), his friend Ove Eklund stated that "although aueronly mumbled about and never said clearly", he believed that all the creatures he drew actually existed. Eklund had on several occasions accompanied Bauer on his walks through the forests by Lake Vättern, and Bauer's description of all the things he thought existed made Eklund feel he could see them as well.


Inspiration

Bauer and his friends were part of a generation of Swedish painters who started their careers just before the
Modernism Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...
movement began to flourish, but at the same time were considerably younger than those dominating the Swedish art scene: artists such as
Carl Larsson Carl Olof Larsson (; 28 May 1853 – 22 January 1919) was a Swedish painter representative of the Arts and Crafts movement. His many paintings include oils, watercolors, and frescoes. He is principally known for his watercolors of idyllic fa ...
,
Anders Zorn Anders Leonard Zorn (18 February 1860 – 22 August 1920) was a Swedish painter. He attained international success as a painter, sculptor, and etching artist. Among Zorn's portrait subjects include King Oscar II of Sweden and three American ...
and
Bruno Liljefors Bruno Andreas Liljefors (; 14 May 1860 – 18 December 1939) was a Swedish artist. He is perhaps best known for his nature and animal motifs, especially with dramatic situations. He was the most important and probably most influential Swedish wi ...
. Bauer was inspired by these artists, but from his heritage came in contact with
Fritz Erler Fritz Erler (15 December 1868 – 11 December 1940) was a German painter, graphic designer and scenic designer. Although most talented as an interior designer, he is perhaps best remembered for several propaganda posters he produced during Wor ...
,
Max Klinger Max Klinger (18 February 1857 – 5 July 1920) was a German artist who produced significant work in painting, sculpture, prints and graphics, as well as writing a treatise articulating his ideas on art and the role of graphic arts and printmak ...
and other German illustrators. He lived in an era when the
Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...
were romanticized throughout Scandinavia, and borrowed ideas and motifs from artists like
Theodor Kittelsen Theodor Severin Kittelsen (27 April 1857 – 21 January 1914) was a Norwegian artist. He is one of the most popular artists in Norway. Kittelsen became famous for his nature paintings, as well as for his illustrations of fairy tales and legend ...
and Erik Werenskiöld, yet his finished works were in his own style. After his journey to Italy his works clearly showed elements from the 14th century
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...
. The pictures of princes and princesses had elements from
Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...
, and even the trolls garments were pleated, much like the draped clothing seen in antique Roman sculptures.


Style

Bauer had a time-consuming technique when painting: he would start with a small sketch, no bigger than a stamp, with just the basic shapes. Then he would make another, slightly bigger, sketch with more details. The sketches grew progressively in size and detail until the work reached its final size. Most of the originals for ''About Gnomes and Trolls'' are square pictures about . He doodled on anything at hand, from used stationery to the back of an envelope. Many of his sketches resemble cartoon strips where the pictures get bigger and more detailed. He would also do several versions of the same finished picture, such as one where the motif is depicted in a summer and winter scene. He did not observe the traditional hierarchy in the mediums or techniques at that time. He could make a complete work in
pencil A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage, and keeps it from marking the user's hand. Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving a tra ...
or
charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ...
just as well as a sketch in
oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
. From an early age Bauer had to adapt his illustrations to contemporary printing technique. Full-colour was expensive, so the illustrations were made in one colour plus black. As the process developed and his works became in greater demand, his pictures were eventually printed in full colour.


Watercolor

The most noted of Bauer's pictures are his watercolors, the technique he used when illustrating for books and magazines; he alternated between
aquarelle Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...
and
gouache Gouache (; ), body color, or opaque watercolor is a water-medium paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent (usually gum arabic or dextrin), and sometimes additional inert material. Gouache is designed to be opaque. Gouache ...
. When he created illustrations the two mediums were sometimes mixed, since he needed both the speed of the aquarelle and the contrast and
impasto ''Impasto'' is a technique used in painting, where paint is laid on an area of the surface thickly, usually thick enough that the brush or painting-knife strokes are visible. Paint can also be mixed right on the canvas. When dry, impasto provide ...
that the gouache provided. These water-soluble, and fast drying, media allowed Bauer to work on his pictures until the last minute before deadline, something he was prone to do.


''Among Gnomes and Trolls''

In 1907, Bauer was asked by the Åhlén & Åkerlund publishing house (now
Bonnier Group Bonnier AB (), also the Bonnier Group, is a privately held Swedish media group of 175 companies operating in 15 countries. It is controlled by the Bonnier family. Background The company was founded in 1804 by Gerhard Bonnier in Copenhagen, Denma ...
) to illustrate their new series of books, ''Among Gnomes and Trolls''. The books would be published annually, and contain stories by prominent Swedish authors. The majority of Bauer's pictures for the book were full-page
watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...
illustrations in a muted color scheme; he also contributed with covers, vignettes and other smaller illustrations. Bauer's most significant creatures, the trolls, were rendered in shades of gray, green, and brown, the colors of the forests, as if these beings had grown from the landscape itself. Due to the limitations of the technology available to his printers, the 1907–10 editions were produced in just two colors: black and yellow. Some of Bauer's original paintings for these prints were in full color. In 1911, when Bauer again was asked to illustrate the book, he made it clear to the publisher that he wanted to retain his pictures along with the copyrights after publication. The publishing house had kept the original illustrations for the previous editions and considered them their property. Bauer was backed up in his request by other artists facing the same problem. The publishers did not budge from their position and without Bauer's illustrations, book sales dropped. The publisher yielded to Bauer for the 1912 edition; he was again illustrating his own book. Printing techniques had also been updated and the pictures could be printed in three colors: black, yellow and blue. With this technical improvement, the prints almost resembled Bauer's original paintings. Bauer illustrated the 1913–15 editions, printed in the same three colors as previously. 1913 marked the peak of his performance in these books, and Bauer's illustrations from that edition are among the most reproduced of his works. In 1914, his illustrations started to be influenced by the
Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...
. At that time Bauer wanted to stop illustrating the series, but was contractually obligated to illustrate one more edition. 1915 was the last year he worked with trolls and gnomes; he said he "was done with them and wanted to move on". The war in Europe had altered Bauer's vision of the world and he stated that he could no longer imagine it as a fairy tale.


Tuvstarr

''Ännu sitter Tuvstarr kvar och ser ner i vattnet'' (Still, Tuvstarr sits and gazes down into the water), painted in 1913, is one of Bauer's most noted works. Until the 1980s, the most reproduced and publicized of Bauer's works were two paintings depicting the princess and the moose from ''Sagan om älgtjuren Skutt och lilla prinsessan Tuvstarr'' (The Tale of the Moose Hop and the Little Princess Cotton Grass), published in 1913. The first picture is of the princess riding on the moose and the second is of the moose standing guard over the sleeping princess. They were mainly used as pictures on the wall in nurseries. The same tale also contains the picture of Tuvstarr gazing down into the tarn looking for her lost heart, an allegory of innocence lost. Bauer made several studies of this motif. During the 1980s the painting of Tuvstarr and the tarn was used in advertising for a shampoo. This started a debate in Sweden about how works of art, considered part of the national heritage, should be used. In 1999, the picture again appeared in advertising, this time in a manipulated version in which all the trees had been cut down and Tuvstarr seemed to be lamenting them. The award-winning advertising campaign was made by the
Swedish Society for Nature Conservation Sveriges Natur. The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation ( sv, Naturskyddsföreningen, previously known as , ''SNF'') is a non-profit, non-partisan, Swedish environmental organization. It is the largest and oldest environmental society in Swed ...
and helped further the newly awakened environmental movement in Sweden. In his biography on Bauer, Gunnar Lindqvist argues that the picture has become too commercialized.


Oil painting

Bauer created most of his major works in oil at the beginning of his career, since this was the traditional technique taught at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. The trip to northern Sweden resulted in many sketches and watercolors for the Lappland book, but also in an oil on canvas entitled, ''Kåsovagge'' (1904). From 1903 to 1905, he made several portraits and landscapes influenced by
Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it ra ...
. He also made his first oil of Ester, ''The Fairy Princess'', a painting with elements from the
Pre-Raphaelites The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, Jame ...
. This work indicates what kind of paintings Bauer wanted to do, but his commissions from illustrating "Among gomes and trolls" got in the way. He wrote that he "felt like a Jack-of-all-trades", and made regular outbursts in letters to editors and publishers asking for his help, saying that he "had to work, he wanted a future painting in oil and the rest be damned". By the time he ceased painting his trolls and gnomes, he was tired and worn out and turned to other venues such as
scenography Scenography (inclusive of scenic design, lighting design, sound design, costume design) is a practice of crafting stage environments or atmospheres. In the contemporary English usage, scenography is the combination of technological and material ...
, writing a compendium on drawing to be used in schools, and starting with frescos. He never got to revisit oil painting fully before he drowned.


Large works

As in his earlier works at the academy, Bauer showed an interest in large frescos and, after his visit to Italy, this interest grew. His first chance to create a major work using this technique was in 1912, when he completed a
fresco-secco Fresco-secco (or a secco or fresco finto) is a wall painting technique where pigments mixed with an organic binder and/or lime are applied onto a dry plaster. The paints used can e.g. be casein paint, tempera, oil paint, silicate mineral pain ...
mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanis ...
, ''Vill-Vallareman'', at the home of publisher Erik Åkerlund. In 1913, he was asked to do a fresco for the Odd Fellows lodge in
Nyköping Nyköping () is a locality and the seat of Nyköping Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 32,759 inhabitants as of 2017. The city is also the capital of Södermanland County. Including Arnö, the locality on the southern shore of the ...
, ''Den helige Martin'' (Saint Martin, the Holy). At the same time, the new
Stockholm Court House The Stockholm Court House ( sv, Stockholms rådhus) is situated on Kungsholmen in Central Stockholm, Sweden. The building is connected to the Stockholm Police House through an underground pedestrian walkway. The Stockholm City Court was situat ...
was under construction. Contests regarding decorations for the building were held, and most of the noted Swedish artists at that time presented entries and suggestions. Bauer made a number of sketches for these competitions, but his confidence failed and he did not submit any of his drafts. Bauer's last large work was an oil painting for the auditorium at the ''Karlskrona flickläroverk'' (The
Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to Swe ...
School for Girls) in 1917. It depicts Freja, the old Norse goddess of love, war and magic. Ester posed nude for the painting; Bauer shows her as strong, sensual and forceful. Their friends teasingly called it the "breast picture of Mrs. Bauer".


Exhibitions

Some of the exhibitions of his work during his lifetime were: * 1905 Gothenburg * 1906 Norrkoping * 1911 Rome * 1913 Munich * 1913 Dresden * 1913 Brighton * 1913 Stockholm * 1914 Malmö * 1915 San Francisco – Bauer was awarded the medal of honor. Posthumous exhibitions include: * 1934–45 Traveling exhibition * 1968 Jönköpings läns museum, Jönköping * 1973 Thielska galleriet, Stockholm * 1981–82 Nationalmuseum, Stockholm * 1993 Milesgården, Stockholm * 1994 Göteborgs konstmuseum, Gothenburg


Collections

The Jönköpings läns museum owns over 1,000 paintings, drawings and sketches by Bauer, which is the world's largest collection of his artwork. He is also represented at the
Nationalmuseum Nationalmuseum (or National Museum of Fine Arts) is the national gallery of Sweden, located on the peninsula Blasieholmen in central Stockholm. The museum's operations stretches far beyond the borders of Blasieholmen, the nationalmuseum manage ...
in Stockholm, the
Gothenburg Museum of Art Gothenburg Museum of Art ( sv, Göteborgs konstmuseum) is located at Götaplatsen in Gothenburg, Sweden. It claims to be the third largest art museum in Sweden by size of its collection. Collections The museum holds the world's finest collect ...
and the Malmö konstmuseum. The John Bauer Museum in Ebenhausen, Germany is a museum dedicated to the life and works of Bauer.


Works

For illustrations from the famous children's anthology, see ''
Among Gnomes and Trolls ''Among Gnomes and Trolls'' (), is a popular Swedish folklore and fairy tales annual and children's fairy tale anthology published since 1907. One of the most noted of the early illustrators is artist John Bauer. Writers and illustrators F ...
'' Other works File:Lappar i snöstorm av John Bauer.jpg, ''Lapplanders in snowstorm'', 1904–1905, watercolor File:Ester in the cottage, aquarell by John Bauer 1907.jpg, ''Ester in the cottage'', 1907, watercolor File:Awake Groa Awake Mother - John Bauer.jpg, ''Wake up Groa, wake up Mother'', 1911, watercolor File:Rottrollen - John Bauer 1917.jpg, ''Root trolls'', 1917, pen and wash drawing File:John Bauer 1915.jpg, ''Look at them, mother Troll said. Look at my sons! You won't find more beautiful trolls on this side of the moon'', 1915, watercolor Written work *


Self-reflection

Bauer consistently and privately doubted himself. He considered the praise he received for his pictures of trolls and princesses to be "a nice pat on the head for making funny pictures for children". He wanted to paint in oil and make what he called "real art", but he needed the money he received for his illustrations. His self-doubts were contrary to his public persona and how he presented himself in self-portraits: strong minded but self-deprecating.


Legacy

Bauer's pictures continue to be popular at art auctions. At a sale in 2014, one of Bauer's gouaches, ''Humpe I trollskogen'' (Humpe in the Troll Forest), sold for 563,500 kronor (about US$87,000), and a watercolor, ''En riddare red fram'' (A Knight Rode Forth), made 551,250 kronor (c. US$85,100). His illustrations have been reprinted many times, and are considered among the classics in fairy tales. , books with Bauer's pictures have been published in ten languages. Bauer's works have influenced Sulamith Wülfing, Kay Nielsen,
Brian Froud Brian Froud (born 1947) is an English fantasy illustrator and conceptual designer. He is most widely known for his 1978 book ''Faeries'' with Alan Lee, and as the conceptual designer of the Jim Henson films '' The Dark Crystal'' (1982) and ' ...
,
Rebecca Guay Rebecca Guay is an artist known early in her career as an illustrator, commissioned for work on role-playing games, collectible card games, comic books, as well as work on children's literature. Guay subsequently turned primarily toward gallery ...
, and other illustrators. In his biography on Bauer, Gunnar Lindqvist states that: "Although Bauer's work is sometimes credited to have influenced that of
Arthur Rackham Arthur Rackham (19 September 1867 – 6 September 1939) was an English book illustrator. He is recognised as one of the leading figures during the Golden Age of British book illustration. His work is noted for its robust pen and ink drawings, ...
, and vice versa, these artists did not come in contact with each other's works until the 1910s when they had already established their own style. Any similarities must therefore be credited to their common inspirations by the romantic
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...
art of the late 1800s and the art of
Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...
." In Jönköping, a memorial in honour of Bauer stands in the Town park, which was created in 1931 by Swedish sculptor Carl Hultström. Hultström also made a
bust Bust commonly refers to: * A woman's breasts * Bust (sculpture), of head and shoulders * An arrest Bust may also refer to: Places * Bust, Bas-Rhin, a city in France *Lashkargah, Afghanistan, known as Bust historically Media * ''Bust'' (magazin ...
in bronze of Bauer, which sits in the National Portrait Gallery at
Gripsholm Castle Gripsholm Castle ( sv, Gripsholms slott) is a castle in Mariefred, Södermanland, Sweden. It is located by lake Mälaren in south central Sweden, in the municipality of Strängnäs, about 60 km west of Stockholm. Since Gustav Vasa, Gripsho ...
. Celebrating John Bauer's centennial birthday in 1982, the Swedish postal service issued three stamps with motifs from ''
Among Gnomes and Trolls ''Among Gnomes and Trolls'' (), is a popular Swedish folklore and fairy tales annual and children's fairy tale anthology published since 1907. One of the most noted of the early illustrators is artist John Bauer. Writers and illustrators F ...
''. Four more were issued in 1997. A park and an adjacent street at the place where Villa Sjövik, Bauer's family home, once stood were named after him. The area is now part of the municipality of Jönköping. In Mullsjö a street was named after Bauer, and in
Nyköping Nyköping () is a locality and the seat of Nyköping Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 32,759 inhabitants as of 2017. The city is also the capital of Södermanland County. Including Arnö, the locality on the southern shore of the ...
a square was named after him.


Popular culture

*In 1986,
Sveriges Television Sveriges Television AB ("Sweden's Television Stock Company"), shortened to SVT (), is the Sweden, Swedish national public broadcasting, public television broadcaster, funded by a public service tax on personal income set by the Riksdag (national ...
produced and broadcast the movie ''Ester—om John Bauers wife'' (Ester—About John Bauers Wife). Ester was played by
Lena T. Hansson Lena Teresia Hansson (born 18 May 1955) is a Swedish actress. She was born in Stockholm and began acting at Vår teater, a children's theatre. She studied at Swedish National Academy of Mime and Acting in Stockholm. Hansson is in a relationship ...
, while John was portrayed by Per Mattsson. *A short film for children about Bauer and storytelling, ''John Bauer, fantasin och sagorna'' (John Bauer, Fantasy and Tales) was made in 2013; created by Ulf Hansson, Kunskapsmedia AB, in co-operation with the Jönköpings läns museum and John Bauer Art HB. *The Sveriges Television series ''Konstverk berättar'' (A Work of Art Tells a Story) featured the picture ''At dusk she often snuck out just to get a whiff of the good smell'' in the episode "The childhood picture", by Bengt Lagerkvist on 24January 1977. The episode is available in Sweden through the Swedish Television Open Archive. *A film project about John and Ester Bauer was started in 2012, by Börje Peratt. Called ''John Bauer—Bergakungen'' (John Bauer—The Mountain King), the movie focuses on the fairy tale artist and his love for Ester.
Gustaf Skarsgård Gustaf Caspar Orm Skarsgård (born 12 November 1980) is a Swedish actor. He is known for his roles in ''Evil'' (2003), '' The Way Back'' (2010) and '' Kon-Tiki'' (2012). He also appeared in the HBO TV series ''Westworld'' (2018), as Merlin in t ...
is slated for the role of Bauer. *Swedish photographer Mats Andersson published a book where he revisited the forests of Bauer, using a camera instead of drawing. The pictures were also exhibited at the Abecita art museum in
Borås Borås ( , , ) is a city (officially, a locality) and the seat of Borås Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 66,273 inhabitants in 2010. Geography Borås is located at the point of two crossing railways, among them th ...
in November 2013. *Bauer is mentioned in
Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gra ...
's comic book series '' The Sandman''. *The visual look of the motion picture ''
The Dark Crystal ''The Dark Crystal'' is a 1982 dark fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. It stars the voices of Stephen Garlick, Lisa Maxwell, Billie Whitelaw, Percy Edwards, and Barry Dennen. The film was produced by ITC Entertainment and The ...
'', directed by
Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...
and
Frank Oz Frank Oz (born Frank Richard Oznowicz; May 25, 1944) is an American actor, puppeteer, and filmmaker. He began his career as a puppeteer, performing the Muppet characters of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle in ''The Muppet Show ...
, was developed by primary concept artist and chief creature designer,
Brian Froud Brian Froud (born 1947) is an English fantasy illustrator and conceptual designer. He is most widely known for his 1978 book ''Faeries'' with Alan Lee, and as the conceptual designer of the Jim Henson films '' The Dark Crystal'' (1982) and ' ...
, who was inspired by Bauer's art. *Italian musician Gianluca Plomitallo, a.k.a. "The Huge", made an album called ''John Bauer–Riddaren Rider'', in which all the songs are named after pictures by Bauer. *Norwegian Artist
Mortiis Mortiis is an electronic band from Notodden, Norway fronted by Håvard Ellefsen, who is also known as the namesake of the band. The name is a misspelling of the word "mortis", which is the pronunciation used by the band. Mortiis started as th ...
uses the art of Bauer on his ambient albums. *Swedish poet Roger L. Svensson recalls the Bauer Memorial and Bauer's creations in his poems. *The 2019 horror movie ''Midsommar'' uses inspiration from his artwork and includes Bauer's piece "Stackars lilla basse!" early in the film. *The Lush Caves from the popular sandbox game,
Minecraft ''Minecraft'' is a sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios. The game was created by Markus "Notch" Persson in the Java programming language. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made public in May 2009 before b ...
, were inspired by the Oskuldens Vandring painting. *Netflix Original Chilling Adventures of Sabrina uses many works by Bauer throughout the Spellman Mortuary and The Academy of Unseen Arts.


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * *


Further reading

* * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Art Signature Dictionary – signatures and monograms
20 examples of genuine signatures and monograms by John Bauer.
John Bauer Museum

Pictures by John Bauer
at
Project Runeberg Project Runeberg ( sv, Projekt Runeberg) is a digital cultural archive initiative that publishes free electronic versions of books significant to the culture and history of the Nordic countries. Patterned after Project Gutenberg, it was founded ...

11 Illustrations from Die Göttersage der Väter (1911)

Perilous Passage - Swedish film (2020) on the sinking of Per Brahe 1918
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bauer, John 1882 births 1918 deaths 20th-century Swedish painters 20th-century Swedish male artists Swedish male painters Swedish fantasy illustrators People from Jönköping 20th-century illustrators of fairy tales Deaths due to shipwreck Accidental deaths in Sweden