Freyja and Svipdag 1911

John Bauer made this drawing of Freyja and Svipdag at the beginning of the 20th century, though with what materials, and exactly when, is unknown. Look at these two figures rendered in graphite and ink, emerging from a field of tiny flowers. I wonder what it was like for Bauer to work on such a detailed composition, making all those little marks. There's a real stillness to this image. Svipdag towers in his helmet, almost unmoved by Freya's touch. And she in turn seems caught between devotion and supplication, her impossibly long hair cascading down. The landscape and the figures almost feel like they are part of a dream. I'm reminded of other artists who found inspiration in folklore, like Paula Modersohn-Becker. It makes me wonder about how artists throughout history have created these types of symbolic characters and scenes to help us understand ourselves. We are all, after all, constantly reinterpreting familiar stories.