Tove Jansson was a 20th century Finnish artist, and is best known as the creator of the Moomins. Lots of people

do not know that Tove also painted, drew pictures for books, and wrote

stories of her own. In this exhibition you will see her paintings, book illustrations,

and of course...the Moomins!

Help yourself to pencils from the Family Trolley and start your journey

through the life and work of Tove!

Who was Tove Jansson?

© Moomin Characters™

LET’S MEET TOVE JANSSON

Look at the portraits in this room. The young, blonde woman who keeps appearing in them is Tove!

How many paintings of her can you see in this room?

After looking at all of these portraits, do you have an idea of what Tove was like? Her facial expression, poses and clothes might give you some ideas. In the box below circle the words you think describe her best.

FriendlyShy

Brave

Creative

Clever

Serious

Silly

HappySad

Have you spotted the family label under Woman (Self Portrait) (1942)? Look out for these labels in each room, they have special challenges just for you!

What about you? Are you like Tove? In a different coloured pencil circle words that best describe you. Are there any words that describe you and Tove?

Both of Tove’s parents are in white overalls. Can you imagine from this painting what her parents’ jobs might be?

You can see Tove standing in the middle of the group.

You can also see her mother and father, and her two brothers playing chess: Lars (on the left) and Per Olov (on the right). There are lots of clues in this painting about what her family was like, and the world Tove grew up in.

Another painting that can tell us more about Tove is Family (1942).

Now it’s your turn to draw your family portrait! Think about drawing objects and clothes that show what your family are like, and what they enjoy doing.

Tove Jansson, Family, 1942, Oil, Private Collection. Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Hannu Aaltonen.

In Tove’s paintings you can still see that she’s a great storyteller. It’s not surprising that she illustrated and wrote books! Take a look at Still Life (1945).

Can you spot the mysterious figure standing at the back of the room? Write a short story in the box below about what you think is hap-pening in this painting:

Can you count how many paintings she did of: PEOPLE? PLACES? OBJECTS?

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From a young age, Tove had always wanted to be a painter. Both of her parents were artists, and she went to art schools in Stockholm, Finland and Paris. In the exhibition’s first two rooms, you can see that Tove painted people, places and objects. A painter needs different skills to do all of these things.

TOVE THE PAINTER

‘In this room you will see some of the illustrations Tove did for other people’s books, like J.R.R. Tolkien and Lewis Carroll. Illustrations are a way of telling stories with pictures. They need to tell the story, but also spark your imagination!

TOVE THE ILLUSTRATOR

Now it’s your turn to illustrate a story that you like. Choose a special event from your favourite book and draw a picture of it here. Remember to include important characters and objects that tell the story.

Sit down & read some of Tove’s

books in the Mausoleum!

Tove is most famous for creating her Moomin characters. An important part of storytelling is the characters. They are who the story is about. Their appearances and personalities must be carefully created before the story can begin!

Tove first started drawing the Moomins in the 1930s, and created them by doing lots of sketches. In this room you can see lots of different drawings she did of them for her books. Look for one of her first drawings Illustration for the book Comet in Moominland (1946).

TOVE THE CREATOR

The Moomins were inspired by Tove and her family. Like Tove’s mother, Moominmamma is also very loving and a good secret keeper.

In the box below, create a creature inspired by someone you know. Maybe you or someone in your family! Think about what makes them special and try to include that in your design.

YOUR CREATURE’S NAME:

TOVE THE STORYTELLER

Tove began writing stories about the Moomins during World War Two, and wrote nine books in total. You can see from the sketches and final illustrations in this room that the Moomins got in to all sorts of trouble. But they always managed to be brave and face their problems together.

In the sketches for the story Moominpappa at Sea can you spot the Moomins making friends with the Groke? Instead of being mean to it, they were kind and became friends.

Think about a time where you have been brave and faced a problem. Using this storyboard, sketch out your story from beginning to end!

1. 2.

3. 4.

Later in Tove’s life the Moomins became famous all over the world! Their stories were written in 40 different languages and sold as far as Japan. There were also plays, operas and television shows all about the Moomins.

Tove used the Moomins’ popularity for good to support important things. She made lots of posters for different charities, hoping the images of the Moomins would get people’s attention. Take a look at her posters for the ‘Keep Sweden Clean campaign’. These posters were put up around Sweden in the 1970s to encourage people to take care of nature.

TOVE THE CELEBRITY!

Can you name a cause that is important to you?

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Why do you think it is important?.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

What could you do to make sure people know more about it?.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................