Tove Jansson

Infobox Comics creator
name = Tove Jansson


imagesize = 200px
caption =
birthname = Tove Marika Jansson
birthdate = birth date|1914|8|9|mf=y
location = Helsinki, Finland
deathdate = death date and age|2001|6|27|1914|8|9
deathplace = Helsinki, Finland
nationality = Finnish
area = artist, writer
alias =
notable works = "The Moomins"
awards = Hans Christian Andersen Award, 1966

Tove Marika Jansson (Audio|Sv-Tove_Jansson.ogg|pronunciation; August 9, 1914 – June 27, 2001) was a Finnish novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. She was the author of, among other works, the "Moomin" books.

Life and family

Tove Jansson was born and died in Helsinki, Finland, and was the daughter of the sculptor Viktor Jansson and the illustrator Signe Hammarsten-Jansson. Her brothers were also artists in different fields: Per Olov Jansson was a photographer, and Lars Jansson was an author and comic strip artist.

As a Finnish citizen whose mother tongue was Swedish, she was part of the Swedish-speaking Finns minority. Thus, all her books were originally written in Swedish.

The sea was Tove Jansson's greatest inspiration. When she was a child her family lived in summer in the Stockholm archipelago. Later in life, she had her atelier in Helsinki, but lived much of her life on a small island called Klovharu, one of the Pellinki Islands near the town of Porvoo. Tove Jansson lived with her partner, the graphic artist Tuulikki Pietilä.

Her book "Bildhuggarens dotter" (1968, "Sculptor's Daughter") is an autobiographical account of her youth.

Painter and illustrator

Tove Jansson studied at University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm 1930 – 1933, at the Graphic School of the Finnish Art Academy 1933 – 1937, and at L'École d'Adrien Holy and L'École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1938. Although she became known first and foremost as an author, Tove Jansson considered her careers as author and painter to be of equal importance. She painted her whole life, changing style from the classical impressionism of her youth to the highly abstract modernist style of her later years.

Jansson displayed a number of artworks in exhibitions during the 30s and early 40s, and her first solo exhibition was held in 1943. Despite generally positive reviews, criticism induced Jansson to refine her style such that in her 1955 solo exhibition her style had become less overloaded in terms of detail and content. Between 1960 and 1970 Jansson held five more solo-exhibitions [http://www.kansallisbiografia.fi/english/?id=1395 "Jansson, Tove (1914 - 2001)"] . Biografiakeskus. Ahola, Suvi.; Tr. Fletcher, Roderick] .

Jansson also created a series of commissioned murals and public works throughout her career which may still be viewed in their original locations. Among others, Jansson created works for:
*The canteen at the Strömberg factory at Pitäjänmäki, Helsinki (1945)
*The Aurora Children's Hospital in Helsinki [http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/tjansson.htm "Tove (Marika) Jansson (1914-2001)"] . Books and Writers.]
*The Kaupunginkellari restaurant of Helsinki Town Hall
*The Seurahuone hotel at Hamina
*The "Wise and Foolish Virgins" altarpiece in Teuva Church (1954)
*A number of fairy-tale murals in schools and kindergartens including the kindergarten in Pori (1984)

In addition to providing the illustrations for her own Moomin books Jansson also illustrated Swedish translations of other classics such as J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" and Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland".

Author

Tove Jansson wrote and illustrated her first Moomin book, "The Moomins and the Great Flood" (1945, during World War II. She said later that the war had depressed her, and she had wanted to write something naïve and innocent.

The publisher refused to use the name "Moomin" in the title of the book, afraid that it would confuse the public, and used the term "Little Trolls" instead. The first book was hardly noticed, but the next Moomin books "Comet in Moominland" (1946) and "Finn Family Moomintroll" (1948) (English title - the original title translates to "The Magician's Hat") made her famous.

The style of the Moomin books changed as time went by. The first books, up to "Moominland Midwinter" (1957), are adventure stories including floods, comets, and supernatural things.

"Comet in Moominland" is the story of a comet that almost destroys Moominvalley (some critics have considered this as an allegory of nuclear weapons).

"Finn Family Moomintroll" is a loose collection of summer tales. "The Exploits of Moominpappa" (1950) tells the story of Moominpappa's adventurous youth and cheerfully parodies the genre of memoirs.

"Moominsummer Madness" (1955) pokes fun at the world of the theatre: the Moomins explore an empty theatre and perform Moominpappa's pompous hexametric melodrama. The characters in these books do not undergo any psychological development.

"Moominland Midwinter" marks a turning point in the series. The books take on more realistic settings ("realistic" in the context of the Moomin universe) and the characters start to acquire some psychological depth. "Moominland in Midwinter" focuses on Moomintroll, who wakes up in the middle of the winter (Moomins sleep from November to April, as mentioned on the back of the book), and has to cope with the strange and unfriendly world he finds. The short story collection "Tales from Moominvalley" (1962) and the novels "Moominpappa at Sea" (1965) and "Moominvalley in November" (1970) are serious and psychologically searching books, far removed from the light-heartedness and cheerful humor of "Finn Family Moomintroll". After "Moominvalley in November" Tove Jansson stopped writing about Moomins and started writing for adults.

Besides the Moomin novels and short stories, Tove Jansson also wrote and illustrated four original and highly popular picture books: "The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My" (1952), "Who will Comfort Toffle?" (1960), "The Dangerous Journey" (1977), and "An Unwanted Guest" (1980).

Comic strip artist

Tove Jansson worked as illustrator and cartoonist for the Finland-Swedish satirical magazine "Garm" from the 1930s to 1953. One of her political cartoons achieved a brief international fame: she drew Adolf Hitler as a crying baby in diapers, surrounded by Neville Chamberlain and other great European leaders, who tried to calm the baby down by giving it slices of cake - Austria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, etc. Jansson also produced illustrations during this period for the Christmas magazines "Julen" and "Lucifer" (just as her mother had earlier) as well as several smaller productions. Her earliest comic strips were produced for productions including "Lunkentus" ("Prickinas och Fabians äventyr", 1929), "Vårbrodd" ("Fotbollen som Flög till Himlen", 1930), and "Allas Krönika" ("Palle och Göran gå till sjöss", 1933) [http://lambiek.net/artists/j/jansson_t.htm] .

The figure of the Moomintroll appeared first in Jansson's political cartoons, where it was used as a signature character near the artist's name. This "Proto-Moomin," then called Snork or Niisku, was thin and ugly, with a long, narrow nose and devilish tail. Jansson said that she had designed the Moomins in her youth: after she lost a philosophical quarrel about Immanuel Kant with one of her brothers, she drew "the ugliest creature imaginable" on the wall of their WC and wrote under it "Kant". This Moomin later gained weight and a more pleasant appearance, but in the first Moomin book "The Moomins and the Great Flood" (originally "Småtrollen och den stora översvämningen"), the Immanuel-Kant-Moomin is still perceptible. The name "Moomin" comes from Tove Jansson's uncle, Einar Hammarsten: when she was studying in Stockholm and living with her Swedish relations, her uncle tried to stop her pilfering food by telling her that a "Moomintroll" lived in the kitchen closet and breathed cold air down people's necks.

In 1952, after "Comet in Moominland" and "Finn Family Moomintroll" had been translated into English, a British publisher asked if Tove Jansson would be interested in drawing comic strips about the Moomins. Jansson had already drawn a long Moomin comic adventure, "Mumintrollet och jordens undergång" ("Moomintrolls and the End of the World"), based loosely on "Comet in Moominland", for the Finland-Swedish newspaper "Ny Tid", and she accepted the offer. The comic strip "Moomintroll", started in 1954 in the "Evening News", a newspaper for the London area and London commuters (no longer in business). Tove Jansson drew 21 long Moomin stories from 1954 to 1959, writing them at first by herself and then with her brother Lars Jansson. She eventually gave the strip up because the daily work of a comic artist did not leave her time to write books and paint, but Lars took over the strip and continued it until 1975.

The series was published in book form in Swedish, and books 1 and 2 have been published in English, "Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip".

Theater

Several stage productions have been made from Jansson's Moomin series including a number that Jansson herself was involved in.

The earliest production was a 1949 theatrical version of "Comet in Moominland" performed at Åbo Svenska Teater.

In the early 50s, Jansson collaborated on moomin-themed children's plays with Vivica Bandler, and in 1952 Jansson designed stage settings and dresses for "Pessi and Illusia", a ballet by Ahti Sonninen ("Radio tekee murron") which was performed at the Finnish National Opera. By 1958, Jansson began to become directly involved in theater as Lilla Teater produced "Troll i kulisserna", a play with lyrics composed by Jansson and music composed by Erna Tauro. The production was a success and later performances were held in Sweden and Norway.

In 1974 the first Moomin opera was produced with music composed by Ilkka Kuusisto.

Jansson's cultural heritage

In 1966 Tove Jansson won the Hans Christian Andersen Award for her contributions to children's literature.

Jansson's Moomin books, originally written in Swedish, have been translated into 33 languages. After the "Kalevala" and books by Mika Waltari, they are the most widely translated works of Finnish literature.

The Moomin Museum in Tampere displays much of Jansson's work around the Moomins. There is also a Moomin theme park named Moomin World in Naantali.

Tove Jansson was selected as the main motif in a recent Finnish commemorative coin, the €10 Tove Jansson and Finish Childrens Culture commemorative coin, minted in 2004. The obverse depicts a combination of Tove Jansson portrait with several objects: the skyline, an artist's palette, a crescent, and a sailboat. The reverse design features three Moomin characters.

Bibliography

The Moomin books

Novels

*"Småtrollen och den stora översvämningen" (1945, "The Moomins and the Great Flood")
*"Kometjakten" (1946, "Comet in Moominland") (translated into English)
*"Trollkarlens hatt" (1948, "Finn Family Moomintroll"; in some editions "The Happy Moomins") (translated into English)
*"Muminpappans bravader" (1950, "The Exploits of Moominpappa") (translated into English)
*"Farlig midsommar" (1954, "Moominsummer Madness") (translated into English)
*"Trollvinter" (1957, "Moominland in Midwinter") (translated into English)
*"Pappan och havet" (1965, "Moominpappa at Sea") (translated into English)
*"Muminpappans memoarer" (1968, "The Memoirs of Moominpappa"; reworked edition of "The Exploits of Moominpappa") (translated into English)
*"Sent i November" (1970, "Moominvalley in November") (translated into English)

hort story collections

*"Det osynliga barnet och andra berättelser" (1962, "Tales from Moominvalley") (translated into English)

Picture books

*"Hur gick det sen?" (1952, "The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My"), (translated into English)
*"Vem ska trösta Knyttet?" (1960, "Who Will Comfort Toffle?") (translated into English)
*"Den farliga resan" (1977, "The Dangerous Journey") (translated into English)
*"Skurken i Muminhuset" (1980, "An Unwanted Guest")
*"Visor från Mumindalen" (1993, "Songs From Moominvalley") (songbook. With Lars Jansson and Erna Tauro)

Comic strips

*"Mumin", Books 1-7 (1977-1981, "Moomin"; Books 3-7 with Lars Jansson) (all seven printed in Swedish, Books 1 and 2 printed in English)

Other books

Novels

*"Bildhuggarens dotter" (1968, "Sculptor's Daughter") (semi-autobiographical, translated into English)
*"Sommarboken" (1972, "The Summer Book") (translated into English)
*"Solstaden" (1974, "Sun City") (translated into English)
*"Den ärliga bedragaren" (1982, "The Honest Swindler")
*"Stenåkern" (1984, "The Field of Stones")
*"Anteckningar från en ö" (1993, "Notes from an Island") (autobiography; illustrated by Tuulikki Pietilä)

hort story collections

*"Lyssnerskan" (1971, "The Listener")
*"Dockskåpet och andra berättelser" (1978, "The Dollhouse and Other Stories")
*"Resa med lätt bagage" (1987, "Traveling with Light Luggage")
*"Rent spel" (1989, "Fair Play") (translated into English)
*"Brev från Klara och andra berättelser" (1991, "Letters from Klara and Other Stories")
*"Meddelande. Noveller i urval 1971-1997" (1998, "A Winter Book") (compilation of earlier material. Translated into English)

Picture books

*"Sara och Pelle och näckens bläckfiskar" (under the pseudonym of Vera Haij) (1933, "Sara and Pelle and the Octopuses of the Water Sprite")

References

External links

* [http://virtual.finland.fi/finfo/english/jansson.html Tove Jansson biography] : writer, painter and illustrator
* [http://users.kymp.net/jari.kolehmainen/moomins.html The Moomins] History and links
* [http://www.moominvoices.com Moomin Voices] The Original Moomin Songs.
* [http://www.moomintrove.com/ The Moomin Trove] Comprehensive lists of Tove Jansson's Moomin books
* [http://scifan.com/writers/jj/JanssonTove.asp Tove Jansson bibliography] on SciFan
* [http://tove-jansson.ru tove-jansson.ru Tove Jansson ru] Extensive Russian Moomin site ru_icon