Midsommar Bear Picture

Description

Poor little bear! 1912

Midsommar, a film with horror elements, by Ari Aster, some say uses the bear as a symbolism of Norse and Scandinavian folklore. It is known that a bear is an important figure in folklore. Though for Ari Aster, this is a fairy tale. The Midsommar bear painting is by the Swedish artist and illustrator, John Bauer, which can be seen on Dani’s wall.
The painting is translated to Poor Little Bear, a folk tale about a princess meeting different creatures in the dark forest. The picture shows the little princess kissing the nose of the bear and is part of the series Among Gnomes and Trolls (Bland tomtar och troll in Swedish). John Bauer’s love for exploring forests heavily influenced his illustrations.
In Midsommar, Dani is played by Florence Pugh and Jack Reynor as Christian. They say the film complements the painting where the princess kisses the nose of the bear as when Dani bids farewell to Christian upon choosing him to be sacrificed.
John Bauer made use of watercolor with muted colors to create the Poor Little Bear painting.