John Bauer was Swedish. Had he been English, we would be speaking of him in the same reverent breaths we use for Rackham and Nielsen. In fact, his influence on both of those, and other artists, is the subtext for this essay.
Bauer was born on June 4, 1882 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. Lappland. Det stora svenska framtidslandet, was published in 1906. In 1904 he also painted a portrait of his fellow art student, Ester Ellqvist (at right), and in 1906 he married her.
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. Bland Tomtar och Troll became a Swedish tradition and Bauer's illustrations the benchmark for all other artists. Bauer did the Bland Tomtar och Troll annuals from 1907 to 1910.
In 1908, he and Ester took a holiday to Germany and Italy, gathering more artistic input for what was to be a brilliant, but short career. Bauer's trolls, no matter how twisted and ugly, weren't frightening. Even when they were performing dastardly deeds or were the size of a mountain, there were drawn with such gentle humor and with such sympathy that their features were still, well, pleasant. 1909 was the year that Bauer devoted his full artistic abilities to the depiction of these children's fantasies and, in doing so, raised the expectations of children and adults for children's literature.
1911 he illustrated Fadernas Gudasaga and stories for other children's magazines. These other magazines only heightened his popularity and gained him more exposure. He illustrated works by nearly every famous Swedish storyteller. From 1912 through 1915, he returned to the annual Bland Tomtar och Troll with what was to become his most powerful and recognizable work. Each canvas was a stage and we, the audience for his performance, were transported to such forests and caves and glens as Bauer chose.
At the age of 35, Bauer, Ester and their three year old son were drowned when a ferry they were taking to Jonkoping sank in Lake Vattern.
(source: http://www.bpib.com/illustrat/bauer.htm)