John Bauer

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. At 16 he moved to Stockholm to study at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. 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 partly influenced by the Renaissance and Sami cultures. Most of his works are watercolors or prints in monochrome or muted colours; he also produced oil paintings and frescos. 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 Vättern, a lake in southern Sweden.

Biography

Early life and education

John Bauer was born on 4 June 1882 in Jönköping, the son of Josef Bauer, a man of Bavarian 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. 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. , 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. The painting was shown at Bauer's first exhibition at the Valand Academy in Gothenburg in 1905 (where he was one of eleven debutants) and in Norrköping 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; 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. 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 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. 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 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 [Bauer] only 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.

quotation | Ove Eklund on Bauer: Yes, there he was, John Bauer, with his brown, eternal pipe glued to the corner of his mouth. Now and then he blew a small cloud of brown troll smoke straight up into the turquoise-bleu, sun-sparkling space. And muttered something far behind his tight, narrow lips—not always so easy to decipher. But I, having had the key for many years, understood most of it. 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 or charcoal just as well as a sketch in oil.

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 and 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 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) 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 illustrations in a muted color scheme; he also contributed with covers, vignettes and other smaller illustrations. 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 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. He also made his first oil of Ester, The Fairy Princess, a painting with elements from the Pre-Raphaelites. This work indicates what kind of paintings Bauer wanted to do, but his commissions from illustrating "Among gnomes 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, 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 mural, 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, Den helige Martin (Saint Martin, the Holy). At the same time, the new Stockholm Court House 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 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". 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

Other works

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, Rebecca Guay, 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, 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 art of the late 1800s and the art of Albrecht Dürer."

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 in bronze of Bauer, which sits in the National Portrait Gallery at Gripsholm Castle.

Celebrating John Bauer's centennial birthday in 1982, the Swedish postal service issued three stamps with motifs from Among Gnomes and Trolls. Four more were issued in 1997. In Mullsjö a street was named after Bauer, and in Nyköping a square was named after him.

Popular culture

In 1986, Sveriges Television produced and broadcast the movie Ester—om John Bauers wife (Ester—About John Bauers Wife). Ester was played by Lena T. Hansson, 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 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 in November 2013. Bauer is mentioned in Neil Gaiman's comic book series The Sandman. The visual look of the motion picture The Dark Crystal, directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz, was developed by primary concept artist and chief creature designer, Brian Froud, 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 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, 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.