Svipdag transformed 1911

John Bauer made this drawing, Svipdag transformed, using monochrome ink washes and fine line work. It reminds me of how a story unfolds, line by line, allowing for the unexpected to emerge. Look at the texture he's created, the way the ink pools and dries, giving the beast a sense of weight and depth. The thin, almost trembling, lines that describe the woman’s hair against the solid, dark form of the dragon. This isn't just illustration, it’s a feeling. The dragon is caught mid-roar, saliva dripping, a moment of transformation suspended. Bauer's work, like that of other Nordic artists such as Edvard Munch, embraces a certain ambiguity. It's this ambiguity that allows the work to breathe, to resonate differently each time we encounter it. There’s a conversation happening here between the seen and unseen, a dialogue between form and feeling, that's still ongoing.