Enchantment


Image result for john bauerImage result for john bauerImage result for john bauer


 Image result for john bauer

Forests, wild creatures, princesses, bears, trolls...all were subjects for this Swedish artist and illustrator,
John Bauer.
Imagine the delight in discovering he was from the Swedish city I'm currently living in! Born in Jonkoping on June 4, 1882, and living here until he went to a private art school in Stockholm, John
showed much promise as an artist at an early age.  By 1903 he received his first commission as a fairy tale illustrator. He married Ester Ellqvist in 1906.  By 1912, he was Sweden's only fairy tale artist and was known by his "mood landscapes, populated by trolls with kind and inquisitive eyes, delicate little princesses and plucky little boys."

Image result for john bauer

And let's not forget his beautiful Lucia!

Image result for john bauer lucia

(Sadly, his own life didn't have a fairy tale ending as he, his wife and their family were drowned 
in Lake Vattern as their ferry sank. He was only 36 years old.)

Image result for john bauer

This past week, the students took a field trip to the Lans Museum in Jonkoping
and I was able to join the group to see the special John Bauer exhibit there.




Upon entry through this door, you are given costume options!








Do note the back side of the moose in the costume area!
Once costumes are on, you enter an enchanted area. Works of John Bauer are here and there throughout this special exhibit.







I just love that our group is getting so comfortable together in experiences like these...
I find them rather enchanting, too!








Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In Search of Svamp

Image
The Swedish word for mushroom is svamp.  And I'm continually on a search for them as we take our walks in the nearby woods.  Earlier this month, I took the above pictures on one such walk. After showing these cell phone pictures to a Swede, she said not one of them was edible --- especially the top red polka-dotted (makes me think of happy little gnomes!) one which is an Amanita muscaria (fly agaric) which, when ingested, will act on the central nervous system causing loss of coordination, agitation, nausea and sometimes even hallucinations. No thanks! Though I have seen chanterelle mushrooms in stores, I hoped to find some in the wild. No such luck --- and even if I did find one I would be worried about false identification and causing great harm to my body if I ate it.  So, I decided to go with a safer option of finding one/many in an outdoor market.  There they are!  Right next to the lingonberries and blueberries! I bought a container full...
Read more

Läckö Slott and Lidköping

Image
We headed out from our apartment on Sunday morning to drive to this destination:  the castle named as the "most beautiful in Sweden" - Lacko Slott.   But, first, lucky timing on the way allowed us to step inside this church for a bit of the Sunday service at Skara Cathedral.   This church dates to the 11th century, the 13th century for its Gothic style and the 1760s after a new facade was added to the southern side, and the 1800s for yet another restoration. During the actual service, it's not good to take pictures.  I snuck one shot as we were on our way out.  The music was inspiring and ethereal. Onward and forward!  This castle is our destination. It is surrounded by water on three sides and is situated on the shores of Lake Vanern. Our first view did not disappoint! I know I've said it before but wow. Wow. Wow.  Originally built in the 13th century by a Bishop (Brynolf Agotsson), this beauty chang...
Read more

A Quick Trip to Stockholm (Part 2)

Image
After eating breakfast at our hotel, the group headed out for more exploration of Stockholm. Imagine my surprise when someone rushed up to me on the streets of Stockholm...and I knew this someone!  The young woman in the turquoise hat is Anne Clausen Anderson.  She is the same age as our son, John, and is from our home church in Libertyville.  Presently, Anne and her family are living in Stockholm while Petey is on the staff of Immanuelkyrkan in Stockholm. Of course, a quick snapshot needed to be taken as proof of this serendipitous moment! Then we headed in separate directions: she to her Dr. appointment and us to the Vasa Museum . Actually, Wes and I and two others students had already been here so we chose to visit the nearby The Nordic Museum is dedicated to the past and present culture history - folk, people and nation - of Sweden. I loved it, especially, for the costumes, hats, mittens and needlework. And great big 'ol Gustav Vasa in the Stora ...
Read more