Often we read out loud at night. The place always differs....sometimes in front of a fire, sometimes on the top bunk of a bed, under a make shift tent, but always we are together and always out loud.
One of our favorite books is Swedish Folk Tales. The stories are enchanting but what really draws the reader in are the incredible illustrations of John Bauer. We had a lengthy discussion about him tonight and realized for all of the years we have enjoyed his paintings we know very little about him. Thus began our journey into the magical world of John Bauer.
John Bauer was one of the world's greatest illustrators of fairy tales. He was born in 1882 in the Swedish city of Jönköping. His father came from southern Germany; his mother was Swedish. As a boy, he showed an interest in and a gift for drawing, and his school books are filled with caricatures. He also diplayed a warm feeling for nature, and often made long excursions on foot, alone, through the deep forests that line Lake Vättern, on the shore of which Jönköping is situated.
When he was no more than sixteen years old he went to Stockholm, seeking to enter the Royal Academy of Arts; but while his great talent was obvious, he was too young to be admitted. He had to wait two more years, during which time he further improved his skill as a draftsman.
At the Academy, Bauer soon achieved a respected name, among both teachers and pupils. He drew with serene and sure strokes, with spirited detail, and with a pronounced feeling for form.
In his spare time Bauer studied historic costumes, weapons, and buildings, and the value of this reserach shows itself particularly in his later fairy-tale illustrations. These also reflecty his strong feeling for his native land---the deep forests with mossy boulders, the smiling glades, the low houses, the tarns, and the mountains.
While still a student at the Academy he received his first big commission as an illustrator of fairy tales: it was Anna Wahlenberg's book Länge,länge Sedan (Long, Long, Ago._ Three years later he made his real breakthrough when the annual Julstämning (Christmas Spirit), under the aegis of Cyrus Graner, began publishing the collection Bland tomtar och troll(Among Tomtes and Trolls) which came out once a year. Of the first ten editions, eight were illustrated entirely by Bauer, and his clumsy, strangely natural-looking troll figures were soon beloved by every Swede. During his short lifetime, he illustrated the work of almost every well-known swedish story teller, the best of whom are represented in the collection of swedish tales titled,"Swedish Folk Tales". Generations of Scandinavian children have been brought up among his pictures, both in their books and on their walls.
John Bauer did not wish to remain illustrator of children's books forever. He had long felt a strong urge towards other kinds of painting but was never able to fulfil this ambition. With his wife and their two year old son, John Bauer was among the passengers on the steamer Per Brahe which, on a dark November night in 1918, sank in Lake Vättern, drowning all on board.
You can find your copy of the book Swedish Folk Tales in the LearnSweden bookstore, www.learnsweden.com.
For more information about John Bauer have a look at these sites as well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John-Bauer
