John Bauer's illustrations have been enchanting and captivating me while slowly seeping into my dreams. The depictions of these fragile fey like children amongst comically grotesque trolls elicits an emotionally surreal trigger in my brain. I wish I could find these books translated... for now I can only guess what these scenes hint at.
Illustrated lithographs by John Bauer found via monsterbrains
Excerpt here:
"Born in 1882 in Sweden, Bauer studied at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. In 1904, he illustrated his first book, Lappland, but in 1907 he began work on a series of Christmas annuals that would make him famous. Bland Tomtar Och Troll (Among Gnomes and Trolls) is a Swedish tradition, beginning in 1907 and continuing to this very day. I’m afraid I don’t speak Swedish, so I can’t speak for the folk tales Bauer is illustrating, but the illustrations are stunning.
Bauer had a way with trolls… they are grotesque, yet appealing. The simple, yet elegant compositions conveyed the essence of the image clearly with a sense of humor that both children and adults could understand. His style influenced generations of artists from Gustaf Tenggren (who took over the Bland Tomtar Och Troll series after Bauer’s death in a shipwreck in 1918), Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac and Kay Nielsen to Brian Froud and Jim Henson (The Dark Crystal).
Very little information on Bauer exists outside of his native country of Sweden. There is a museum dedicated to his work in the city where he was born." - quote source from this article on Bauer by Stephen Worth, director of ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive.
They're so delicate and slight, wonderful
ReplyDeletefragile and beautiful. big Rackham fan myself.
ReplyDeleteI am trying to figure out why your new posts don't show up on my blogroll. I'm not ignoring you, really I'm not. I even checked to make sure you were in there and sure enough, you're there! ack!
I see there's another lovely post I've missed. sigh