When she woke up again she was lying on the moss in the forest 1913

John Bauer made this illustration, "When she woke up again she was lying on the moss in the forest", with watercolor and graphite, and it’s like stepping into a dream. The whole thing has this muted, earthy palette, mostly greens and browns, which gives it a fairytale mood, but also a kind of intimacy, like you’re peering into someone’s secret world. Bauer’s lines are so delicate, almost tentative, especially in the way he renders the trees and the figures. You can see how he’s layering the watercolor to create depth and shadow, but it’s never heavy-handed. Look at the two trolls huddled together. The way he uses short, scratchy lines to build up their forms is really beautiful. You can almost feel the texture of their rough clothes and hair. There’s something about the way Bauer balances detail with ambiguity that reminds me of Odilon Redon. Both artists seem to understand that the power of art lies in what it leaves unsaid, in the space it creates for our imaginations to roam.