Bland tomtar och troll 1913

John Bauer’s Bland tomtar och troll—or, "Gentle Goblins and Trolls"—is a real deep dive into the world of Swedish folklore. Look closely, and you'll see the way he builds up the image, one fine mark at a time, like he's conjuring the forest itself. He’s working in watercolor, and there’s this ethereal quality to it, almost like a dream, or a memory. See how the colors melt into each other? It's like the trees are breathing, and the whole scene is alive. I love the way the figure is reflected in the water, it makes you feel like you are there, present in the space. It reminds me a bit of Odilon Redon, with that similar dreamlike quality, where you can't quite tell what's real and what's not. And just like in Redon's work, Bauer embraces that ambiguity, inviting us to get lost in the mystery of the image.