Julbocken 1912

John Bauer's "Julbocken" is a drawing, and the way he renders the world feels like watching someone think. Look at how the colors are muted, almost like memories fading into a soft focus, and the lines are so delicate, they seem to breathe. The paint is applied thinly, letting the paper peek through, which adds to this sense of fragility. I love the way he handles the texture of the Julbocken's fur. Each strand seems individually rendered with this almost obsessive, loving attention, as if by describing the surface in such detail he could get at some deeper, inner truth. And then there's the child, small and self-contained, perched on this giant creature. It reminds me of Arthur Rackham but more haunted. I think of Paula Modersohn-Becker, who, like Bauer, was trying to capture the soul of everyday life, but with a touch of the fantastical. It's all about feeling, not just seeing.