In the area of Sweden in which I live, thick and sometimes seemingly endless forests surround us. At the risk of sounding cliché, they are often other-worldly places where ancient traditions of Nordic mysticism seem to come alive. Few have captured this as well as Swedish artist John Bauer did in the early 1900s. His countless illustrations for the Swedish folk and fairy tale annual Bland tomtar och troll (Among Gnomes and Trolls) "reflected… a world where the physical reality and the mythical are present at the same time", according to Sweden’s National Encyclopedia. In my latest short #ThrowbackThursday article for The Local Sweden, "The day Sweden’s trolls and fairies wept" (https://bit.ly/2UdmMt6 - subscriber content), I briefly explore Bauer's art, his tragic death in 1918, and his lasting legacy. Image: Bauer's llustration of Walter Stenström's The boy and the trolls or The Adventure in anthology Among Gnomes and Trolls, 1915, courtesy Wikimedia Commons. #Sweden #history #JohnBauer #EstherElqvist #art https://www.instagram.com/victoriamartinezwriter/p/Bv1vvugAQh8/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=wwukziaewt00