"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.
"Bauer suffered from depression and self-doubts. By 1918 his marriage was falling apart, divorce was being discussed, and the world was at war. John and Esther, and their two-year old son, Bengt or Putte, were on their way to a new home in Stockholm, where John hoped for spiritual renewal and a new life for himself and his family. In the wake of the recent well-publicized train accident of Getå, John booked their return to Stockholm on a ferry, the Per Brahe steamer. John Bauer died in the shipwreck of Per Brahe along with Ester and Bengt." - quote source
7 comments:
wonderful -- i can see how closely Brian Fraud and Berenstein's troll book resemble this stuff. post more when you get it!
Great collection! John Bauer is one of my heroes and I haven't seen some of these before. Thanks!
Epic. Incredible. Classic. <3
Indeed, a clear influence on Froud. Bauer has long been a favourite - many thanks for organising this collection!
more can be said for the artists that are not recognized and die horrendous deaths such as this. Bekinski comes to mind when I read about these tragedies. Great works in life and then a sudden dead end.
Love this style and mood!
He is pretty unknown outside of Sweden (where he is a national treasure) and deserves to be discovered because of his unique style. There are great books about him in Swedish though. He modeled the princesses after his wife, and was out in the dark woods all the time, Swedes love the woods because that's where we lived before migrating to the cities, they are like a homely piece of the Swedish soul and the old pagan way. the trolls, älvor, the huldra and the näcken are like the old primitive pagan in us lurking with its greed and lust. Many believe that when he was lost in the lake Vättern, it was the supernaturals who wanted him at their side.
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