Tove Jansson
Tove Jansson was a, Swedish-speaking, Finnish author, novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. Brought up by artistic parents, Jansson studied art from 1930 to 1938 in Helsinki, Stockholm and Paris. She held her first solo art exhibition in 1943. Over the same period, she penned short stories and articles for publication, and subsequently drew illustrations for book covers, advertisements, and postcards. She continued her work as an artist and author for the rest of her life. Paul Gravett writes (in Illustratören Tove Jansson, 2022):
Jansson had innate artistic talent and began drawing and writing at an early age, strongly encouraged by her parents. As an adult, she became a painter, illustrator, cartoonist, set designer and muralist
- and also an author: she wrote fiction books for both children and adults, as well as drama and autobiographical works. The amazing thing was that she shone in all these roles. And that was also a problem, because her main dream was to become a visual artist. She was one of only two women in her class at art school, and although she was sometimes close to achieving her goal, factors such as the war years, the gender discrimination in the volatile art market, and the need for a livelihood stood in the way. But this was not a failure. Jansson’s diverse life brought us her most famous and beloved creation, the inimitable Moomins, and several other wonders.
The “inimitable Moomins”, who made an inconspicuous debut in an illustrated short story in 1945, have since conquered the world with their motley cast of strong characters like Fillyjonks (Filifjonkan), The Groke (Mårran) and Stinky (Stinky). Some of the characters were also based on real people. Snufkin (Snusmumriken), who lives in a tent, plays the harmonica and smokes a pipe, for example, was based on Jansson’s ex-fiancé Atos Wirtanen (1906 – 1979) who was also known to wander in the forests. The handy craftswoman and philosopher Too-ticky (Too-ticki), on the other hand, was modelled after Tuulikki Pietilä (1917 – 2009), Tove Jansson’s lover and life partner for more than 45 years.
As a Swedish-speaking lesbian, Jansson represented three minority positions in 20th-century Finland. She loved women, even though she knew that homosexuality was classified under Finnish law as a crime until 1971 and as a mental illness until 1981. But she also had the advantage of knowing both Swedish and Finnish culture. Women in Finland had a relatively equal position in the agrarian society and worked side by side with the men. From 1906 onwards, women could vote and stand for election; in 1907, the Finnish Parliament, as the first parliament in the world, introduced female representation. The nineteen members made up a tenth of the country's new highest decision-making body.
Tove Jansson is famous all over the world, mainly because she wrote and illustrated the Moomin books, thought-provoking and imaginative stories that appeal to readers of all ages. A reviewer in The Times Literary Supplement took note of the magic: “What creates enchantment in these Moomin books is that the author never undermines the possible of this dreamlike world through explanations or excuses.” Jansson also won recognition for her visual art, mainly landscape and interior paintings, still lifes and abstract works. Her fifteen adult books, without illustrations, are also hugely popular. Jansson, who wrote in Swedish, is Finland’s most translated author, whose books have been published in almost sixty languages. She was awarded the Pro Finlandia Medal in 1976, and as a posthumous honour, the Finnish Government announced in 2020 that her birthday, 9 August, was to become an annual flag day. Tove Jansson died, of lung cancer, on 27 June 2001 at the age of 86. She is buried at the Hietaniemi Cemetery in Helsinki.
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