While skimming through the list of available artists to write about, one name, in particular, stood out to me. Tove Jansson. It was strange because I tend to either recognize a name, or I don’t! In this case, I couldn’t assign a visual to it, but it felt super familiar

A quick google search cleared up my questions immediately. Of course! Tove Jansson was the woman who created the Moomin series. I’ve heard her name so many times, I was surprised that it didn’t linger with me. I used to love her cute character’s when I was younger, and I still hold a soft spot for them.

It’s so easy to disregard the creator when the art has taken on a life of its own. I figured that, since I’m going to have to write a blogpost anyway, why not do it on someone so influential? Humanize her a little bit.

Before her career even began, Tove Jansson had two, very artsy parents. Her father was a sculptor, and her mother worked as both an illustrator and an artist. Born in Helsinki, Finland on the 9th of August, 1914 to Swedish-speaking parents, her environment was a chaotic mix of studio and home. With the lines being so blurred, both she and her younger brothers ended up becoming creatives themselves. Jansson would even help her mother with commissions in her youth. 

She studied art in a few different places, from Stockholm to Helsinki and even Paris. At 23, she left her home country to study painting in France. The École des Beaux-Arts was her place of study and remains an influential figurehead in the Paris art scene. 

Jansson was known to write many letters to friends and family, allowing a snapshot into her mindset at various points in her life. Unfortunately for the school, she made it clear in her writings that it was awful. She only lasted 2 weeks, deeming the entire experience disappointing and the assignments irrelevant. 

Her following years pre-Moomin are hard to pin down. She studied art in a smaller atelier and displayed her work in various exhibitions. Travelling was a big part of her life. The places she would go inspired a lot of her work, as did the people she knew. From the 30s to 40s, Jansson was doing freelance work. Illustrating for magazines, writing, designing book covers, postcards, among many other things.

She didn’t find any extreme success, and with the coming of the Second World War, things started to look bleak. It was hard to stay optimistic. As a sort of coping mechanism, she created the Moomins, debuting in 1945. They were fat, white troll creatures resembling hippos. They were featured in the book “The Moomins and the Great Flood”. In terms of escapism, they weren’t that detached from the harshness of the real world. They still experienced misfortune, and extreme disasters, but what made them hopeful was the consistent happy endings. 

The first book was not considered a success, but the following two books bought her some fame. It continued to grow from there. More books were written, she was offered employment to make a Moomin-centred comic strip, and a little empire began to form. It goes without saying that she made something long-lasting. Even after her death in 2001, her creation lives on in its new adaptations. There is even a Moomin museum in Tampere, Finland. If that isn’t a legacy, I don’t know what is.

Being an iconic figurehead wore her down, though. After finishing “Moominvalley in November”, and passing off the comic strip to her brother in 1959, she stepped away from them completely. Her writings began to cater towards adults, covering a variety of genres. 

In looking at her paintings, and reading about her online, I realize that I still have no idea what art movement she could really be categorized in. Apparently, she was inspired by Salvador Dali’s Surrealism, but that was only in the beginning. Her later work has been described as modernism. She seems to have bounced through painting styles often, never finding an exact look. This is in contrast to her very consistent, very recognizable illustrations. To her, writing and painting were of equal value. Still, maybe the scattered nature of her paintings was freeing, in a way. Devoid of the expectations a lot of her other jobs had.

She is able to depict the whimsical, and the mundane, in her paintings. Some pieces truly look like they’ve been done by different people. It’s interesting, how we are so conditioned to artists staying within a “style”. Variety is weirdly surprising?

There is so much to say about her that I could keep writing on and on. It’s always hard to stop learning about a legend. Even still, I have to stop at some point. 

I believe that she was a very interesting, creative person. She dipped her toes into a lot of mediums, which enhanced the way she could tell stories. I have a great appreciation for people who can express themselves in more than one way.

Also, apparently, she was a queer woman. I had no idea! I can’t help but admire her now. Existing in a man’s world is already a tough thing to navigate. Doing it when you’re a lesbian is even more daunting. For better or for worse, I feel more connected to her now, knowing what I know. 

I’m thankful that she gave the world her gifts even when, at times, it gave nothing back. Hopefully, I’ll have a chance to read some of her biographies during the break.

References:

https://www.moomin.com/en/blog/tove-jansson-art-love-moomins/#77de6e4b
https://www.wikiart.org/en/tove-jansson/all-works#!#filterName:all-paintings-chronologically,resultType:masonry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tove_Jansson
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/04/06/inside-tove-janssons-private-universe
https://tovejansson.com/tovepedia/
https://observer.com/2017/12/moomin-creator-tove-janssons-art-goes-on-view-at-dulwich-picture-gallery/
https://www.moomin.com/en/tove-jansson/

Images retrieved from:

https://kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2016/07/04/tales-of-art-and-obsession/
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/04/06/inside-tove-janssons-private-universe
http://www.artnet.com/artists/tove-jansson/7