Women Artists

Tove Jansson’s Life of Wonders

Natalia Tiberio 9 February 2023 min Read

Best known for the children’s character Moomin, Tove Jansson was an illustrator, painter, and writer. Born in the Northern nature-surrounded city of Helsinki, she led a fascinating life full of creativity and her thoughtful personality can be seen throughout her artworks which continue to charm new generations.

A Path of Creativity

Tove Jansson, the multi-faceted Finnish artist, was born in the summer of 1914 in Helsinki, then part of the Russian Empire. Raised in a creative environment (her mother was an illustrator and graphic designer and her father was a sculptor) she was encouraged to be an artist from an early age. Trained in fine arts in Stockholm, Helsinki, and Paris, she led a successful and prolific career in illustration, painting, and writing.

Jansson’s most famous and beloved creation, the Moomin series, came out during the 1940s as an escape from the terrors of WWII. It incorporated all the themes she explored throughout her life, such as home, family, care, and freedom. 

Another important aspect of her work is the presence of nature. Jansson grew up close to birch forests and stone beaches and spent many summers of adulthood on the isolated island of Klovharun, together with her partner, artist Tuulikki Pietilä. Nature is therefore felt both as background for the stories and illustrations as well as more subjectively in how the characters behave.

Tove Jansson Moomins:  Reino Loppinen, Tove Jansson with Moomin figurines, 1956. Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

 Reino Loppinen, Tove Jansson with Moomin figurines, 1956. Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

Moomins and the Valley

The Moomins are undoubtedly the best known of Tove Jansson creations. These warm stories of a troll family, illustrated in simple ink, and their adventures in the Moomin Valley have been an essential part of the Finnish culture since the 1940s. The Moomins and the Great Flood inaugurated the saga in 1945 and the last book of the series released in 1970. During this period the stories reached a massive audience and were translated into more than 60 languages. 

In addition to the books, The Moomins was published as a comic strip in the London newspaper The Evening News for almost 30 years. Today a complete collection of these witty and wise strips are reunited in a beautiful book, also published in various languages. 

Because of its huge success, The Moomins became an animated series, a play, a musical, toys and there is even a Moomin amusement park in Finland!

AdVertisment

Exploring Painting

Her passion for fine arts kept Jansson painting, drawing, and sketching her whole life. She received many commissions for paintings and murals and a significant number of her works are part of the Helsinki Art Museum collection.

Portraits of family and friends, landscapes, and self-portraits depicted with attention to light and color are the main characteristics of her works.

AdVertisment

Books and Stories 

Besides writing children’s fantasy tales, Jansson dedicated her time to adult fiction, publishing five novels and collections of short stories. Her writing deepens the themes of family life, freedom, and home, and has a more philosophical and contemplative view of her experiences. The Summer Book (1974), is considered a classic of Finnish and Swedish literature. In a clear and minimalist way, it tells the story of a grandmother and her granddaughter spending the summer on an island, sharing reflections about love, solitude, and happiness.

Tove Jansson Moomins: Tove Jansson’s selection of adult fiction books. Forlaget.

Tove Jansson’s selection of adult fiction books. Forlaget.

Modern Recognition

In 2020, the artist’s life became a movie, Tove, directed by Zaida Bergroth and follows her career, The Moomin’s creation, and her relationships.

Recommended

Lubaina Himid, The Operating Table, 2019. Women Artists

Stories of Black Britishness by Lubaina Himid

Winner of prestigious awards, including the Turner Prize, Lubaina Himid has a long and prolific career as an artist, curator, and teacher. Her art...

Natalia Tiberio 24 April 2023

Suzanne de Court. Suzanne de Court, Oval Plaque with the Annunciation, c. 1600, Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD, USA. Women Artists

Suzanne de Court’s Enamel Masterpieces

Suzanne de Court was a French artist who was active at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. She focused on the production of enamel pieces with...

Jimena Escoto 24 April 2023

Anna Boberg Women Artists

Anna Boberg – Self-taught Painter of Lofoten Landscapes

Anna Boberg was a multidisciplinary self-taught artist active in Stockholm and Paris. She is best known for her arctic landscapes from Lofoten in...

Europeana 20 March 2023

Conservators restoring Plautilla Nelli’s Last Supper, found by Jane Fortune and her association. Women Artists

Art Detective Jane Fortune: Rediscovering Forgotten Female Artists

When Jane Fortune arrived in Florence in the 1960s to study art she was left with one burning question: where are the women artists? As she often...

Natalia Iacobelli 20 March 2023