John Bauer

I knew these images from my childhood, never knew the name of the artist. "Par accidente" I rediscovered these fantastic drawings.

John Bauer was a Swedish painter/illustrator in the early 1900s, most famous for his fairy tales. 

Bauer was born on June 4, 1882 (Rackham in 1867, Nielsen in 1886) in Jonkoping, Sweden. At 16 he studied art in Stockholm and by 18 he was at the Swedish Royal Academy. The prevailing styles of the day were those of Anders Zorn and Carl Larsson - two great Swedish artistic icons. Bauer strongly felt their influence, but also was swayed by the surreal/fantasy work of Arnold Bocklin. While still a student, he received his first major commission. It was a collection of fairy tales by Anna Wahlenberg called Lange, Lange Sedan (Long, Long Ago). After four years of study at the Academy, he was commissioned to illustrate a book on Lapland.

The following year Bauer began his association with Bland Tomtar och Troll (Among Elves and Trolls), an annual Christmas book for children. It was this work that made him famous in Sweden (and among artists elsewhere).

Well, that is what I spend my afternoon on... This morning I cleaned the house and made everything pretty, I even did the dishes! Then the market for flowers and "provisions". Tonight I'm going out for dinner with friends!