John Bauer (1882 -1918) was a Swedish painter and illustrator. His work was mostly of landscape and mythology and he is best known for his illustrations of early editions of Bland Tomtar Och Troll (Among Gnomes and Trolls), an anthology of Swedish folklore and fairy tales. Bauer’s illustrations of Swedish fairytales and legends had a lasting influence on how we still today imagine these creatures and characters.

His greatest inspiration was Swedish nature; the dense and evocative world of the draped forests, where the light barely dapples through the heavy tree canopies. Ever since he was little he had wandered in the dark woods of Smaland imagining all the creatures living there.  His paintings frequently included detailed depictions of plants, mosses, lichens and mushrooms he found there. Consequently, his work is a beautiful melding of the organic, natural world and the creatures and mythical beings that live there.

Tragically, Bauer drowned, together with his wife Ester and their son Bengt, in a shipwreck in southern Sweden.  He was 36.