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 Finland-Swedish
artist and children's book writer, famous for Moomintrolls, which
have found friends worldwide. Jansson's books have been compared
to the work of Lewis Carroll and J.R.R. Tolkien. A Moomintroll is
a bland-faced little creature, who lives with his Moominpappa and
Moominmamma in the Valley of the Moomins.
"Life is like a river. Some people sail on it slowly, some
quickly, and some capsize."
(from Moominvalley in November 1970)
Jansson drew the comic strip Moomin for the Evening News,
London, from 1953 to 1959 and then her brother Lars Jansson, who
had helped Jansson to translate the original texts into English,
continued the work. After Lars Jansson, who drew and wrote Moomin
until 1975, the work was continued by others. The Moomintrolls became
a huge success with their individualistic characters, sophisticated
humour, and deep sense of freedom. Although Jansson's works have
gained worldwide popularity among the children, the Moomintrolls
are also much appreciated by adults.
The international Moomin boom came in two waves, first in the 1950s
in the West, and then in the 1960s and during the 1970s in the East
Europe and other sides of the globe, including Japan. The Moomin
are now licensed, and Jansson has little to do with the recent avalanche
of comic books, Japanese animated movies and other products (see
From Moomins to a Party Game by Juhani Niemi in Muumien
taikaa, 1996).
Tove Jansson was born in Helsinki. Her father was the sculptor
Viktor Jansson (1886-1958) and mother the graphic artist Signe Hammarten-Jansson
(1882-1970), belonging to the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland.
For the first six years Tove was the only child in the family. Her
brother Per was born in 1920 and in 1926 her second brother Lars
(d. on July 31, 2000).
 Her
childhood's bright summer days Jansson spent in the Porvoo islands,
where the family used to rent a cottage from the local fishermen.
This happy milieu became later scene for many Moomin adventures.
Jansson studied art in Stockholm (1930-33) at Konstfack, in Helsinki
(1933-37) at the drawing school of the Finnish Art Society, and
in Paris at Ecole d'Adrien Holy and Ecole des Beaux Arts (1938).
From 1932 Jansson has participated in several exhibitions in Finland
and abroad; her first private exhibition was in 1943 in Helsinki.
Her second exhibition, in 1946, at the Bäcksbacka gallery, was a
commercial success, and her works received critical acclaim. In
the late 1930s and early 1940s Jansson was considered to be among
the most prominent young artists in Finland, including Torger Enckell,
Eva Cederström, and Sam Vanni. Her first picture book, SARA OCH
PELLE OCH NÄCKENS BLÄCKFISKAR, was published in 1933, under the
name Vera Haij. In 1944 Jansson moved into a studio home in lanlinnankatu
in Helsinki, which has been her working place since.
In the late 1920s Jansson started her career as a cartoonist and
illustrator in the magazine Garm, publishing her first drawing
at the age of 15. Jansson'works appeared in the magazine for 25
years. From 1947 to 1948 she worked for Ny Tid and from 1953
to 1959 for The London Evening News. In 1991 Jansson donated
to the Art Museum of Tampere her drawings made for Garm between
the years 1933-1953.
Jansson's first Moomin story SMÅTROLLEN OCH DEN STORA ÖVERSVÄMNINGEN
was published in 1945. She adapted her story Comet in Moominland
into a comic strip for the magazine Ny Tid and made a study
trip to The Evening News, learning the basics of professional
cartoon production. Later Jansson depicted these experiences in
a short story, which was published in the collection DOCKSKÅPET
OCH ANDRA BERÄTTELSER (1978).
In 1949 Comet in Moominland was produced in Svenska Teater.
Lilla Teater produced in 1958 Jansson's Troll i kulisserna.
The production visited later Sweden and Norway. Jansson wrote lyrics
for the play, music was composed by Erna Tauro. In 1952 Jansson
designed stage settings and dresses for Ahti Sonninen's balet Pessi
and Illusia and in 1974 the Moomins climbed on the opera stage
- the music was composed by Ilkka Kuusisto.
 Jansson
has also written adult fiction, short stories and memoirs. Although
she became famous with the Moomin characters, Jansson considered
herself first as an artist. Her first large mural painting was made
for the restaurant Kaupunginkellari in 1947. The work was followed
by several others, among them the paintings for the Aurora Children's
Hospital in Helsinki. After Jansson concluded her career as a cartoonist
in 1959, she devoted herself to art. Her style have changed during
the years from figurative expression into A more abstract, but in
1975 she returned again to figurative art, after spending time in
Paris in Cité des Arts. In 1992-93 Amos Anderson Art Museum presented
Jansson's paintings in a large exhibition.
The Moomin museum was opened in Tampere in 1987. The Moominvalley
collection at Tampere Art Museum comprises some 2 000 items, including
over 1 000 Moomin illustrations. In Naantali the Moomin World has
been a very popular visiting place. During her long career as an
artist, Jansson has received a number of awards. In 1963, 1971 and
1982, she was awarded the Finnish State Award in literature and,
in 1993, the first Suomi Award. The Swedish Academy has honoured
her twice, she has received Pro Finlandia medal, and she was appointed
honorary professor at the Åbo Akademi University. In 1995 she was
awarded the title Honorary Professor. Among Jansson's illustrated
fantasy works for other writes are translated editions of Lewis
Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and The Hunting
of the Snark and J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.
More information: Tove Jansson, The Moomintroll Home Page;
Muumilaakso-Moominvalley - For further reading: Tove Holländer:
Från idyll till avidyll (1983); W. Glyn Jones: Tove Jansson: Moominvalley
and beyond (1984); Tordis Örjasaeter: Tove Jansson, muumilaakson
luoja (1987); Boel Westin: Familjen i dalen (1988); Erik Kruskopf:
Kuvataiteilija Tove Jansson (1992); Barbro K. Gustafsson: Stenåker
och ängsmarken (1992); Salme Aejmelaeus: Kun lyhdyt syttyvät (1994);
SkämttecknarenTove Jansson, (1995, foreword by Erik Kruskopf);
Muumien taikaa / The Magic of Moomins, ed. Virpi Kurhela (1996);
Tove Jansson (in Kansallisgalleria, 1996, pp. 214-221, written
by Erik Kruskopf); Muumilaakso - Moominvalley - from stories to
a museum collection by Mirja Kivi (1999) - See other fantasy
worlds: C.S. Lewis (Narnia), J.R.R. Tolkien (Middle-Earth),
Lewis Carroll's Wonderland
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