Design 'The Worlds of Tove Jansson’ marks the fourth chapter of Nordic Stories. Celebrating the work of a pioneering artist, who dedicated her life to writing, painting and striving towards humanity, beyond the traditional roles of women of her time.
Tove Jansson (1914–2001) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish author and visual artist. Primarily recognised for her beloved children’s books about the Moomin family, she was equally significant as a painter, novelist and short-story writer.
'She strived towards a humanity, beyond the traditional roles of women of her time.'
Published just after the Second World War, her first Moomin books brought her immediate appreciation and commercial success. A unique literary debut followed by life-long and deeply original artistry, including the much-loved ‘The Summer Book’ and a richly diverse art collection of landscape, portrait and abstract paintings, and illustrations.
With a continuous interest in real life, Tove Jansson’s visual and written work expressed poetic intelligence, melancholy and an unparalleled sense of humour. Mirroring themes like identity, nature, family, friendship, parenthood and independence, she devoted her life to creativity and creation, using the unifying power of art and literature to ask timeless questions about what it means to be human.